Ohio River Bridges Project - East End Bridge

East End Bridge

The result of many community discussions for over 30 years, the East End Bridge is part of a new 6.5 mile (10.5 km) highway that will connect I-265 in Indiana to I-265 in Kentucky. The completion of the bridge would connect the two disjointed interstates and form a 3/4 beltway around the Louisville metropolitan area. There is currently no plan to construct a bridge on the west end of I-265.

Design A-15 was chosen over six alternatives for the I-265 connection, which includes the East End Bridge. The new highway will pass through the historic Drumanard Estate in Kentucky, in which a tunnel will be constructed to pass underneath as the property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The interstate will reappear from the tunnel near the Shadow Wood subdivision before crossing Transylvania Beach and then the Ohio River. The highway will pass north of Utica, Indiana, near the old Indiana Army Ammunition Plant.

This design came as a result of the $22.1 million, four-year Ohio River Bridges Study, which stated that in order to solve the region's traffic congestion, the solution would be to construct two new bridges and reconstruct the Kennedy Interchange.

109 residences, most in Clark County, Indiana will be displaced, the majority of which were constructed in the past year. Half of the Shadow Wood subdivision and two condominium buildings at Harbor of Harrods Creek in Jefferson County, Kentucky will be razed.

Limited land acquisition began in 2004, with the number of homes taken by eminent domain expected to be higher because of development occurring in the route path.

The only new interchange along the 6.5-mile (10.5 km) eastern route will be in Indiana at Salem Road. That full interchange will provide access to the Clark Maritime Center and the old Indiana Army Ammunition Plant, a 10,000-acre (40 km2) site that has been targeted for redevelopment. The ammunition plant is now called the River Ridge Commerce Center.

The new East End Bridge will include accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists. Former Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon said he could not wait for construction to begin, adding, "We'll finally be able to take down that sign at the end of Interstate 265 near the Clark Maritime Center that says 'No Bridge to Kentucky,'" he said to applause.

In September 2005, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet released plans to reconstruct the U.S. Highway 42 interchange and rebuild the "super-two" roadway from I-71 north to the interchange. The super-two roadway already has a right of way wide enough for a six lane freeway, although currently only two lanes worth of space is being used. The incomplete US 42 interchange was constructed in the early 1960s with the original construction of Interstate 265. The reconstruction of the northern two miles (3 km) will include the widening of the super-two alignment to six-lanes, the rebuilding and widening of the ramps at US 42, the installation of two traffic signals at the base of the ramps, and stub roadways that will eventually lead into a tunnel to the immediate north of the interchange in a few years.

On July 19, 2006, the final design alternatives for the East End Bridge were announced. The three designs chosen include: a cable-stayed bridge with two diamond-shaped towers with the cables reaching to the outside; a cable-stayed two-tower bridge with the towers in the center of the bridge deck and cables reaching to the outside; and a cable-stayed two center towered bridges with the cables extending to the center of the deck. It was also announced that the new bridge would cost $221 million and feature three northbound and three southbound lanes.