Interstate 64 in Kentucky
Interstate 64 (I-64) in the U.S. state of Kentucky travels for 191 miles (307 km), passing by the major towns and cities of Louisville, Frankfort, Lexington and Ashland. It has several major junctions with other Interstates, including I-65, I-71, I-264 and I-265 in Louisville, and I-75 in Lexington.
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I-64 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by KYTC | ||||
| Length | 191 mi[1] (307 km) | |||
| Existed | 1956–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   | |||
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| East end | | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties | Jefferson, Shelby, Franklin, Woodford, Scott, Fayette, Clark, Montgomery, Bath, Rowan, Carter, Boyd | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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The portion of I-64 in Kentucky is host to two "exceptionally significant" structures indicated by the Federal Highway Administration. One is the Cochran Hill Tunnel,[2] a twin tube at Cherokee Park in Louisville built in 1974,[2] and the other is a 1960s-era modern-styled rest area near Winchester.[3]
In Downtown Louisville, I-64 passes under a public plaza called the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, one of the only structures in the state built on top of an Interstate.
Between the Indiana state line and Lexington, I-64 is named the Daniel Boone Expressway.
The entire length of I-64 in Kentucky has been designated as a portion of the Purple Heart Trail[4][5].
History
The Cochran Hill Tunnel in Louisville, also known as the Cherokee Park Tunnel, underwent restoration in 2001, which involved the reconstruction of the concrete pavement, the installation of new tiles and improvements to lighting. Efforts were made to paint the interior tiles of the tunnel with a mural, but were dropped because opponents stated that drivers would become distracted while passing through the tunnel, driving and viewing the art work at the same time.[6][7] The tunnels, which opened in 1974, are one of three sites in Kentucky deemed "exceptionally significant" by the Federal Highway Administration. The designation meant that it will be very difficult for the stretch of interstate running through Cherokee Park ever to be widened.[3]
Construction began on a Kentucky Route 180 interchange improvement project in the summer of 2006.[8][9] The $34 million project entailed the rebuilding of six bridges, the widening of Kentucky Route 180 to four-lanes in the vicinity of the interchange and the conversion of the ramps into a diamond. The project was finished in the fall of 2008.
In March 2007, Governor Ernie Fletcher signed Senate Bill 83 which allowed for an increase in speed limits on rural interstates and parkways. Speed limits on rural sections of Interstate 64 were increased from 65 MPH to 70 mph (110 km/h), following an engineering study by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. New signage was installed in July[10]
On June 7, 2007, Interstate 64 between the junction of Interstate 264 and Interstate 65 and Interstate 71 in downtown Louisville was closed to through traffic.[11] The section of highway featured three-lanes of traffic in each direction on an elevated viaduct paralleling the Ohio River, carrying 90,000 vehicles-per-day. The closure was part of a $50 million refurbishment project that involved replacing 132 expansion joints and repaving more than four-miles (6 km) of interstate and interchanges.[12] The work was completed in two phases, starting with the entire project area being closed on three weekends in June, followed by a section of highway closed from 3rd to 22nd Streets in early July to early August. However, the Interstate was not finished because of the section between Frankfort and Lexington. The state could not attain the right of way here because of very famous horse parks northwest of Lexington. After a couple of tries to get the right of way, the state was able to get the right of way and began construction on this segment. It was the last segment of Interstate 64 to be completed in Kentucky.
"8664"
Controversially, I-64 runs through Louisville Waterfront Park, a key part of the revitalization of Downtown Louisville, and portions of the park exist under it. 8664.org, a grassroots campaign with popular support but little apparent political momentum, aimed to re-route and remove I-64 to enhance Louisville's waterfront. I-64 through Louisville would be re-signed as I-364. I-64 was to be widened over the park as a part of the Ohio River Bridges Project. But plans to widen the freeway over the park were abandoned to reduce costs of the Ohio River Bridges Project.[13]
Exit list
| County | Location[14] | mi[15] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio River | 0.0 | 0.0 | Sherman Minton Bridge | |||
| Jefferson | Louisville | 0.9 | 1.4 | 1 | | Western terminus of I-264, exits 0A-B westbound; tri-stack interchange |
| 2.7 | 4.3 | 3 | | Eastern terminus of concurrency with US 150 | ||
| 3.9 | 6.3 | 4 | 9th Street / Roy Wilkins Avenue – Downtown | |||
| 4.5 | 7.2 | 5B | 3rd Street / River Road – Downtown | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
| 5.2 | 8.4 | 5A | | Signed as exit 5A (south) and 5B (north) eastbound; eastbound exit to I-65 north closed until 2017 | ||
| 5.9 | 9.5 | 6 | | Eastbound access only; I-71 exit 1B northbound to I-64 eastbound, 1A southbound to 64 westbound; southern terminus of I-71 | ||
| 6.4 | 10.3 | 7 |   | |||
| 7.8 | 12.6 | 8 | Grinstead Drive | Access to Lexington Road (US 60 Alt) to Southern and Louisville Seminaries | ||
| 8.1 | 13.0 | Cochran Hill Tunnel | ||||
| 10.3 | 16.6 | 10 | Cannons Lane | |||
| 12.3 | 19.8 | 12 |  | Signed as exits 12A (west) and 12B (east) eastbound; I-264 exits 19A-B | ||
| 14.9 | 24.0 | 15 |  | signed as exits 15A (south), 15B (south-local access), and 15C (north) eastbound | ||
| Jeffersontown | 17.1 | 27.5 | 17 | Blankenbaker Parkway (KY 913) | No signage for KY 913 | |
| 18.9 | 30.4 | 19 | | Signed as exits 19A (south) and 19B (north); I-265 exits 25A-B | ||
| Shelby | Simpsonville | 27.5 | 44.3 | 28 |  | |
| Shelbyville | 31.8 | 51.2 | 32 |  | ||
| 35.1 | 56.5 | 35 |  | |||
| | 43.3 | 69.7 | 43 |  | ||
| Franklin | Frankfort | 47.7 | 76.8 | 48 |   | |
| 48.8 | 78.5 | 49 |  | |||
| 53.0 | 85.3 | 53 | | Signed as exit 53A (south) and 53B (north) | ||
| 57.8 | 93.0 | 58 | | |||
| Woodford | Midway | 65.2 | 104.9 | 65 |   | |
| Scott | | 68.8 | 110.7 | 69 | | Ramps provide access to both eastbound and westbound US 62 |
| Fayette | Lexington | 74.7 | 120.2 | 75 | | Western terminus of concurrency with I-75, exit 118 southbound, uses I-75 exit numbers and mile markers. |
| 76.9 | 123.8 | 115 |   | |||
| 79.2 | 127.5 | 113 |   | |||
| 81.3 | 130.8 | 81 | | Eastern terminus of concurrency with I-75, exit 111 northbound. | ||
| 87.3 | 140.5 | 87 |  | |||
| Clark | Winchester | 94.0 | 151.3 | 94 |   | |
| 96.1 | 154.7 | 96 | | Signed as exits 96A (south) and 96B (north) westbound | ||
| | 97.5 | 156.9 | 98 |  | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; westbound exit is via a U-turn at exit 96 | |
| | 101.6 | 163.5 | 101 | | ||
| Montgomery | Mount Sterling | 109.6 | 176.4 | 110 |  | |
| 112.3 | 180.7 | 113 | | |||
| Bath | Owingsville | 121.1 | 194.9 | 121 |  | |
| 122.9 | 197.8 | 123 | | |||
| Rowan | | 132.8 | 213.7 | 133 |  | |
| Morehead | 137.1 | 220.6 | 137 |  | ||
| Carter | | 156.0 | 251.1 | 156 |   | |
| Olive Hill | 161.3 | 259.6 | 161 | | ||
| Grayson | 171.4 | 275.8 | 172 |     | ||
| | 178.3 | 286.9 | 179 |  | ||
| Boyd | Coalton | 181.2 | 291.6 | 181 | | |
| Ashland | 185.2 | 298.1 | 185 |  | ||
| | 190.5 | 306.6 | 191 |  | ||
| | 191.0 | 307.4 | | Continuation into West Virginia | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Related route
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| Location | Louisville–Glenview Manor |
Interstate 264 is an inner loop route in Metro Louisville. Signed as the Georgia Davis Powers Shawnee Expressway between its western terminus at I-64 in Shawnee and US 31W/US 60 (Dixie Highway) in Shively, and as the Watterson Expressway from US 31W/US 60 to its northeastern terminus at I-71 in Glenview Manor. Along the way, it provides access to Louisville International Airport at its junction with I-65.
See also
- Roads in Louisville, Kentucky
References
- Federal Highway Administration (October 31, 2002). "FHWA Route Log and Finder List: Table 1". Retrieved February 24, 2009.
- "Final List of Nationally and Exceptionally Significant Features of the Federal Interstate Highway System" (PDF). Federal Highway Administration. November 1, 2006. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
- Elson, Martha (January 17, 2007). "Tunnel could stop wider I-64". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on April 8, 2013.
- "The Purple Heart Trail Program". The Military Order of the Purple Heart. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- "I-64 Designated the Purple Heart Trail". KentuckyRoads.com. December 30, 2002. Retrieved March 12, 2019.
- Shafer, Sheldon S. (February 5, 2001). "Interviews for tunnel artist set to begin". The Courier-Journal. p. B1.
- "Tunnel mural proposal drawing criticism". The Independent (Ashland). February 5, 2001.
- Hart, Kenneth (January 1, 2007). "Road Work Ahead". The Independent (Ashland). Retrieved January 2, 2007.
- "I-64 improvement project under way in Boyd". The Independent (Ashland). October 5, 2007. Retrieved October 10, 2007.
- "New speed limit signs erected". The Independent (Ashland). January 4, 2007.
- Tabor, Britney (June 8, 2007). "I-64 shutdown starts without major problems". The Courier-Journal. p. B1.
- Shafer, Sheldon (March 11, 2007). "Big I-64 headache coming". The Courier-Journal. p. A1.
- "Study says cost-cutting measures could reduce Ohio River Bridges". WDRB. June 2, 2011. Retrieved October 4, 2014.|
- U.S. Census Bureau. "2009 Boundary and Annexation Survey Maps". Retrieved June 4, 2009.
- Google (August 2, 2014). "Overview map of Interstate 64 in Kentucky" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
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Kentucky | Next state: West Virginia |