Louisville’s 2-month I-65 closure will send traffic over 'poor' overpasses set for repairs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- When a planned two-month shutdown of Interstate 65 begins next year, the recommended detour will divert tens of thousands of vehicles away from downtown Louisville each day.

Closing part of I-65 between the Watterson Expressway and downtown will let crews focus on replacing "the worst of the bridges in this corridor" — three aging overpasses built more than 60 years ago.

During the work, officials want drivers to use a nearly 16-mile stretch of highways to get around the work zone. But the route also is peppered with deteriorating sections that will certainly see more wear and tear, including seven overpasses in "poor" condition — four of which are set for their own repairs and even replacement, according to a WDRB News analysis of public data.

The project led by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet declined interview requests for this story. But in written responses to questions, spokesperson Ed Green said state engineers don't expect increased traffic on the route next June and July to "negatively impact the bridges."

"These bridges are engineered and built to serve much greater volumes than are currently traveling on them," Green said.

Preliminary work on the "I-65 Central Corridor Project" already has begun. In early September, state officials closed parts of South Brook Street, Kentucky and Hill streets and Burnett Avenue in Old Louisville to prepare for ramp work.

But the biggest changes are scheduled for next year. Plans call for shutting down I-65 completely from Jefferson Street to Interstate 264 starting next June. That would give workers two months to focus on razing and replacing three overpasses.

Two are in Old Louisville: A bridge over Kentucky and Brook streets, and one at an area where Hill Street, Burnett Avenue and a railroad line meet.

The other is farther south over Bradley Avenue near the Kentucky Exposition Center.

All date from the late 1950s and are listed in "poor" condition — the lowest of three classifications assigned by the Federal Highway Administration. That rating doesn't mean the structures are unsafe, but it does indicate that inspectors found issues such as major defects or concerns with bridge components.

The detour route aims to keep interstate traffic on interstates "as much as possible," Green said.

"The route announced last month has the most available capacity for traffic and is the shortest travel distance, creating the least overall impact," he said. "Alternative interstate detours would be much longer routes and are in more congested areas."

The detour route

The detour route snakes some 16 miles across Louisville, using I-264 and I-64 to link drivers back to I-65. It's meant for traffic coming through the city; local drivers likely will choose other roads.

The detour carries less traffic than the I-65 section being rebuilt. For example, about 125,000 vehicles use the I-65 area today – compared with about 83,100 that travel on I-64 through downtown each day, according to state data.

Still, the designated bypass includes seven overpasses in "poor" condition.

Among them is the Watterson overpass near Dixie Highway that saw its rating drop to "poor" in 2025.

As I-264 moves west and becomes the Shawnee Expressway, it passes over Garrs Lane in Shively. Inspectors lowered their opinion of that bridge as a result of the load-bearing superstructure moving from "satisfactory" in 2023 to "poor" this year.

To the north, a Shawnee overpass near Camp Ground Road is in "poor" condition and slated to be removed as part of a $30 million project. Green, the I-65 project spokesman, said the work is "in the design phase."

"It will result in a new bridge designed to last more than 75 years," he said. "No timetable has been announced for construction."

Also set for future work are three I-64 overpasses along the Ohio River in downtown Louisville, including one at the Great Lawn of Waterfront Park. Green said those bridges, which are part of a "maintenance and rehabilitation project" that would happen sometime after mid-2027, are being inspected regularly.

A 'detailed plan'

While the recommended detour is along I-264 and I-64, there are other ways to get around the two-month I-65 closure.

Rick Taylor, president/CEO of the Kentucky Trucking Association, said truckers coming from the south might choose the Gene Snyder Freeway to start bypassing Louisville sooner. "This slight inconvenience will pay long-term benefits by rehabbing these structures on a major north-south route," he said.

Meanwhile, there may be lessons to learn from other cities that have dealt with similar closures.

In downtown Indianapolis, a yearslong project to rebuild an area at I-70 and I-65 resulted in months of closures and detours. Dozens of overpasses were replaced.

But local officials there did not "effectively communicate" with the trucking industry, said Gary Langston, president and CEO of the Indiana Motor Truck Association.

"As a consequence of that, there were a lot of trucks that ended up in places they shouldn't be," he said. "And by that, I mean downtown Indianapolis, on city streets, trying to figure out where they were and how to get the hell out of it as quickly as possible."

In Louisville, I-65 project leaders began their public outreach nearly a year before the major closures.

Mayor Craig Greenberg referred to the state's proposed detour when asked Thursday about the city's plan to keep those trucks off local streets.

"We're going to be encouraging as much traffic as possible to use those highways, as opposed to using our side streets," he said. "But we're going to have a whole detailed plan that we're going to be sharing with the city as we get closer to that shutdown."