Construction on a major highway redesign in a busy area of Louisville’s East End is nearing completion, according to project officials.
I-Move Kentucky, which stretches from the Gene Snyder Freeway at Taylorsville Road to Interstate 71 near Crestwood, could be ready 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. Officials say it will cost more than $180 million and is the largest road project in Kentucky since the Ohio River Bridges Project was completed in 2016.
“The I-Move Kentucky project is part of the Administration’s commitment to safe and reliable highways that stimulate the economy and improve the quality of life for all Kentuckians,” the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said in a statement.
Why has the project completion date been moved to autumn 2024?
Supply chain problems are the main reason why the I-Move project was postponed twice, the transport cabinet said.
“While supply chain shortages have contributed to project delays, work has consistently progressed overnight and on weekends to meet the fall 2024 completion date,” a statement said.
The Transportation Cabinet added that it “remains committed to keeping the roadway open to vehicle and truck traffic as it carries out this important transformation along high-volume corridors.”
What does the I-Move project entail?
Here are the tasks listed on the I-Move Kentucky website:
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Expand I-265 from four to six lanes from the I-71 interchange to Taylorsville Road
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Expand I-71 from four lanes to six lanes from I-265 to Kentucky 329 in Oldham County
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Add a collector-distributor lane on I-71 South at the I-265 interchange
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Rebuild the interchange at I-64 and I-265
How much does I-Move cost?
Construction costs for the project were originally estimated at $180 million, but the state has since had to spend another $1.8 million due to rising costs for road materials and “corrective work on a portion of the shoulders,” according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet . said.
“These adjustments are standard for major projects and are agreed upon during the tender process,” KYTC said in a statement.
I-Move progress: new interchange ramp opens
In a monthly newsletter distributed Wednesday, I-Move officials said a new ramp for traffic from eastbound I-64 to northbound I-265 would open “in early June.” Known as a ‘viaduct ramp’, it is longer than the previous ramp, which was part of a cloverleaf-shaped interchange. The new ramp goes over a bridge above I-64.
The new ramp would “significantly reduce (traffic) congestion, making the daily commute more efficient,” officials said in the newsletter.
Crews are working to build a new overpass ramp, which would move vehicles from northbound I-265 to westbound I-64, project officials said.
Are viaduct ramps safer than cloverleaf ramps?
I-Move project officials previously said the newly designed interchange at highways 64 and 265 would reduce crashes on I-64 by 16% and on I-265 by 14%, 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 high traffic volume areas.” 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 highways 71 and 265, according to I-Move Kentucky data.
In an article on its website, the Ohio Department of Transportation said it discourages the construction of cloverleaf interchanges if more than 1,000 vehicles per hour travel through two adjacent cloverleaf ramps.
Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@gannett.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter
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This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: Why the completion of an interstate project in Louisville was delayed again
