I-64 widening has begun in Eastern Jefferson Co (Louisville, Bardstown: homes, costs)

[censusdata]

Widening of I-64 in Jefferson Co. to begin | LOCAL NEWS | WHAS11.com | News for Louisville, Kentucky (http://www.whas11.com/news/local/stories/whas11-local-090519-64-widening.1b07659c.html - broken link)

They've got orange cones along the entire stretch and a concrete wall going up on the wb side. Supposed to be finished in just over a year

[gocards1289]

I was wondering when this would follow suit. I haven't been on this stretch of road in almost a year but most of I-64 had been widened east of the 2nd Shelbyville exit (exit 36?) at the time.

[censusdata]

Originally Posted by gocards1289

I was wondering when this would follow suit. I haven't been on this stretch of road in almost a year but most of I-64 had been widened east of the 2nd Shelbyville exit (exit 36?) at the time.

The only logical reason could be that some of the bridges on that stretch were in immediate risk of collapse and since there was plans to widen it anyway they replaced the bridges during widening

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by censusdata

The only logical reason could be that some of the bridges on that stretch were in immediate risk of collapse and since there was plans to widen it anyway they replaced the bridges during widening

It doesn't make sense. This is the only state I have seen where the rural areas have better roads than the state's major city. I can't tell you how many 3 lane freeways I have seen on 64 and 71 and 75 in rural KY, and somehow Louisville still has major traffic carriers only two lanes wide!

[mdawg]

Originally Posted by stx12499

It doesn't make sense. This is the only state I have seen where the rural areas have better roads than the state's major city. I can't tell you how many 3 lane freeways I have seen on 64 and 71 and 75 in rural KY, and somehow Louisville still has major traffic carriers only two lanes wide!

It costs more and takes longer to widen interstates in cities than it does in rural areas. In cities they have to destroy homes and in Louisville's case, blow out more bedrock to make room for more lanes, but in rural areas they just take some more farmland or forest and make more lanes. 64 really can't be widened in Louisville unless they do something with the tunnels and I don't see that happening anytime soon. 71 has that long stretch of bedrock between the Zorn exit and 264 that would be extremely expensive to blow up.

[censusdata]

Not only is it more expensive in urban areas it also has more environmental consequences, as there is already asphalt everywhere. Making I-64 6 lanes around Cherokee Park would create even more storm runoff flowing into Beargrass Creek. I've been wading in BC before when a mini tsunami comes up from a small storm over St Matthews - the water goes from 2 feet to 3 feet deep in seconds. By comparison everything around the I-64 widening project in rural JeffCo is forest or fields

[gocards1289]

64 and 71 between the Watterson and Spaghetti Junction are way inadequate...especially 64. Its a bottleneck every morning on 64 westbound at the Watterson (where it narrows down to 2 lanes) and is almost always moving slow or completely backed up (often in both directions) on weekdays during the late afternoon thoughout that stretch of road (about 6 miles).
But it is true that really not much can be done (or at least not without an ungodly cost) due to the reasons censusdata mentioned.
The stretch of the Gene Snyder between I-71 and I-64) as well as between I-65 and Bardstown Rd should be considered to be widened I think.

[bw87a]

what if they built a completely new stretch of 64 going into downtown louisville and raised it up in the air so that it went above the tunnel! haha j/k.

[Future Trooper]

Originally Posted by mdawg

It costs more and takes longer to widen interstates in cities than it does in rural areas. In cities they have to destroy homes and in Louisville's case, blow out more bedrock to make room for more lanes, but in rural areas they just take some more farmland or forest and make more lanes. 64 really can't be widened in Louisville unless they do something with the tunnels and I don't see that happening anytime soon. 71 has that long stretch of bedrock between the Zorn exit and 264 that would be extremely expensive to blow up.

I dont know much about I-64 through Jefferson Co. Kentucky but from what you guys are saying I think I-64 through the area in question would be a suitable candidate for elevated roundabouts at its exits.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by gdude

I dont know much about I-64 through Jefferson Co. Kentucky but from what you guys are saying I think I-64 through the area in question would be a suitable candidate for elevated roundabouts at its exits.

No, its an urban area. What I-64 in the city needs at the very least is updating of the interchanges at Canons and Grinstead, and probably also Story. Also, the onramps need to have stop lights and longer merge lanes to allow better merging at peak hours. These two things alone would eliminate all but 30 minutes of traffic, which is not too bad for a metro of 1.3 million.

I have now been to 80 of the largest 100 metro areas. My goal is to make it to the last 20 in the next 3 years. That said, I have never seen so many urban freeways as there are in Louisville with just two lanes in each direction and antiquated interchanges that were literally originals from the 1950's and 1960's. I blame this DIRECTLY on the state governemnt and its anti-Louisville bias.