Evening Commute Without Sherman Minton Bridge 'Better Than Expected'

State officials say this evening’s commute from Louisville to Indiana was not as bad as they expected in the wake of the Sherman Minton Bridge closure. Chuck Wolfe of the Kentucky Department of Transportation watched the commute via traffic cameras in MetroSafe.“Well, from what we can see on the Trimark cameras, traffic is moving so well that frankly it’s surprising,” he said.Wolfe says he’s not sure whether many drivers altered their routes to avoid the bridges at peak times, but so far traffic has been moving fairly smoothly at all hours and drivers have been on their best behavior.“It would appear that our Kentuckiana citizens have been pretty much on their best behavior today driving,” Wolfe said. “We would fervently hope that they would keep this up as the days unfold.”From lessons learned during this morning’s commute, traffic will no longer be allowed to exit on Third Street and stay on Third Street—it’ll be redirected down River Road. Also, road crews will increase the number of pylons on the Kennedy Bridge to prevent lane hopping.More than 80,000 people drove across the Sherman Minton Bridge every weekday. The bridge was shut down Friday after inspectors discovered a crack in the span.