Department of Highways, District 5
MAJOR CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON I-65, DOWNTOWN TO WATTERSON EXPRESSWAY

MAJOR CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON I-65, DOWNTOWN TO WATTERSON EXPRESSWAY
$21.7 million project involves total asphalt replacement, water proofing, lane closures

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 28, 2012) – Motorists traveling in the Louisville area this week will see construction signs followed by lane closures and tractor-trailer detours as the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet undertakes a total pavement replacement and other improvements on a 4.2-mile stretch of Interstate 65.

The project area will be along I-65 from just north of the Watterson Expressway (I-264) to the Chestnut Street overpass near “Hospital Curve” (mile points 131.2 to 135.4). 

The $21.7 million project involves removal of the old asphalt pavement, down to the concrete base, and replacing it with eight inches of asphalt, including a waterproofing mixture on the surface.  It also involves construction of a higher median barrier. In addition, concrete patching and a waterproofing overlay will be performed on 42 bridges – 21 in each direction – throughout the project limits.

Two periods of lane closures will be required – the first to begin Friday, March 30, and run through April 9. Following a break for the Kentucky Derby Festival, a second and longer period of lane closures – mainly nights and weekends – will commence May 7th and run throughout the summer.

In the initial, nine-day closure – from 7 p.m. EDT Friday to 5 a.m. EDT Monday, April 9 – the left lane of I-65 will be closed in both directions as crews replace the concrete median barrier between Manning Road and Woodbine Street.  In its place will be constructed a new, 50-inch high concrete wall that meets current federal standards. The new, higher wall will reduce headlight glare and greatly reduce the potential for large trucks to tip over into oncoming lanes in times of accidents.

To help reduce congestion and provide for a safer work zone, tractor-trailers will be required to detour the project area throughout the nine-day period.

Trucks traveling northbound on I-65 will be detoured via westbound I-264 to eastbound I-64, from which they can access I-65 at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge. Trucks traveling south from southern Indiana will be detoured via westbound I-64 to eastbound I-264, from which they can access I-65 near Louisville International Airport and the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center.  Law enforcement officers will be stationed at each end of the project to enforce this detour.

 This truck detour will also be in place on weekends that lane closures are in place.

Construction will be suspended from April 19, to May 6, the day after the Kentucky Derby.   Once work resumes May 7th, a second cycle of lane closures will begin.

Lane closures are possible weeknights from 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. the following day. On weekends, lane closures are possible from 7 p.m. on Friday through 5 a.m. on Monday.

The construction contract permits each side of I-65 to be closed entirely for a weekend – one weekend northbound and another weekend for southbound – in the latter stages of the project. A total closure is needed for application of an asphalt waterproofing surface.  The project completion date is Sept. 30, 2012.  The contractor is Hall Contracting of Kentucky Inc.

Dial 511 or log on to 511.ky.gov for the latest in traffic and travel information in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Traffic information for the District 5 counties is also available at www.facebook.com/KYTCDistrict5.

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