Construction on a major redesign of the interstate in a busy area of Louisville’s East End is nearly complete, according to project officials.
I-Move Kentucky, which extends from the Gene Snyder Freeway at Taylorsville Road to Interstate 71 near Crestwood, could happen sometime in the fall of 2024.
The Courier Journal reported in July 2023 that the I-Move project would be completed this spring. In December 2020, officials said they were targeting a completion date of November 2023.
I-Move aims to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety by rebuilding interchanges and adding lanes. At a cost of more than $180 million, it is Kentucky’s largest highway project since the Ohio River Bridges Project was completed in 2016, according to officials.
“The I-Move Kentucky project is part of the administration’s commitment to safe, reliable highways that boost the economy and improve the quality of life for all Kentuckians,” the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said in a statement.
Why was the project completion date pushed back to fall 2024?
Supply chain issues are the main reason why the I-Move project was delayed twice, the transport cabinet said.
The transport cabinet added that it “remains committed to keeping the road open to car and truck traffic while this important transformation along high-volume corridors is carried out.”
What does the I-Move project entail?
These are the tasks listed on the I-Move Kentucky website:
- Widen I-265 from four lanes to six lanes from the I-71 interchange to Taylorsville Road
- Widen I-71 from four lanes to six lanes from I-265 to Kentucky 329 in Oldham County
- Add a collector-distributor lane on I-71 south at the I-265 interchange
- Rebuild the interchange at I-64 and I-265
How much does I-Move cost?
The construction cost of the project was originally estimated at $180 million, but the state has since had to spend an additional $1.8 million due to the rising cost of road materials and “corrective work for a portion of the shoulders,” reported the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. saying.
“These adjustments are standard for large projects and are agreed upon during the procurement process,” KYTC said in a statement.
I-Move progress: New interchange ramp to open
In a monthly newsletter distributed Wednesday, I-Move officials said a new ramp carrying traffic from eastbound I-64 to northbound I-265 would open in “early June.” Known as the “elevated ramp”, it is longer than the previous ramp, which was part of a cloverleaf interchange. The new ramp will cross a bridge over I-64.
The new ramp “would significantly reduce (traffic) congestion, making daily commutes more efficient,” officials said in the bulletin.
Crews are working to build another flyover ramp, which would move vehicles from northbound I-265 to westbound I-64, project officials said.
Are raised ramps safer than cloverleaf ramps?
I-Move project officials previously said the newly designed interchange at Interstates 64 and 265 would reduce crashes on I-64 by 16% and by 14% on I-265, The Courier Journal reported in 2019.
In a January 2024 video, a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet official said cloverleaf interchanges “are not the most effective design solution for areas with high traffic volumes.” The interchange where I-64 and I-265 meet carries up to 94,000 vehicles per day, about four times as many vehicles as the interchange at Interstates 71 and 265, according to data from I-Move Kentucky.
In an article on its website, the Ohio Department of Transportation said it advises against building cloverleaf interchanges if more than 1,000 vehicles per hour are common on two adjoining cloverleaf ramps.
Contact reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@gannett.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
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