LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — In 65 days, Interstate 65 will shut down completely through the heart of downtown Louisville.
While the road will stay closed for two months, construction in the area will last much longer.
The 5-mile stretch of I-65 will shut down from June 1 through Aug. 1. But the entire project won't be complete until the end of 2027. That means lane closures on the busy interstate for nearly two years.
During the shutdown, crews will replace overpasses between the Watterson Expressway and Jefferson Street downtown.
Three bridges built in the 1950s are in bad shape and will be replaced first, but six more overpasses need to be replaced or rehabilitated.
Three overpasses, or bridges, would be torn down and rebuilt as part of the $150 million first phase of the "I-65 Central Corridor Project" (Source: project website)
When the full closure ends, only two lanes of traffic will be open in each direction, and the work won't be finished until late 2027.
"When you're talking about the late 50s, early 60s, that's when much of the interstate was built. These bridges were built in the same time period," said Mindy Peterson, a spokesperson for the I-65 Central Corridor project. "And you can maintain them, all along through the years you can maintain them, but they get to a point where they really truly reach the end of their service life and that's where we are and they just need to be replaced."
Traffic will be detoured onto Interstate 264 through west Louisville. The closure will impact anyone who drives downtown. Tens of thousands of drivers travel the stretch of highway daily.
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