Construction on Interstate 65 will significantly disrupt traffic patterns.
The planned Interstate 65 shutdown, through central Louisville, will allow the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to replace three bridges on I-65, officials say. The interstate will be closed to all traffic from June 1 through Aug. 1, creating a major impact to traffic in Louisville’s urban core. About 111,000 vehicles travel through this part of I-65 each day.
City officials, along with representatives from KYTC, Louisville Water and MSD, held a meeting this week to brief community members on the construction and their plans to mitigate the impact on the surrounding neighborhoods.
Residents can also sign up for text or email updates on the project’s website.
Here’s what you need to know:
What parts of I-65 are getting a facelift?
During the two-month shutdown, workers will replace bridges at Bradley Avenue, Hill Street/Burnett Street and Kentucky Street/Brook Street. Workers are already closing the portions of these streets that run underneath the overpass to through traffic.
The I-65 Corridor Project will replace or rehab nine bridges in total, which means residents, visitors and people passing through Louisville will be impacted far longer than during the closure.
When all of I-65 reopens in August 2026, traffic will be limited to two lanes from the Watterson Expressway, Interstate 264, to downtown. Drivers can expect the partial capacity status to last until March 2027. The second phase of the project, which includes work on three more bridges downtown, could also impact traffic from August 2026 until September 2028.
The final three bridges that are part of the project – Floyd Street, Liberty Street and the Muhammad Ali Boulevard on-ramp – are near the hospitals downtown. Work on those bridges is still early in the planning phase, there isn’t a set date for construction.
Ed Green, a spokesperson hired by KYTC for the project, told residents that the agency chose to go with a complete shutdown because it’s the least disruptive option overall.
“In this case, we’re trying to do it in a planned way, address these bridges in a way that we can make choices about how we travel, how we commute versus having on some random Wednesday afternoon everybody finds out that the interstate is closed,” he said.
Green said the project will help prevent future unplanned closures to address the “falling concrete” and “rusting metal” under these aging overpasses. He said the project will also ensure that no major roadwork should be needed again for decades.
KYTC does not plan to repave this stretch of I-65, which is currently dotted with potholes and crumbling pavement, until after the second phase is completed in 2028.
What are the alternative routes?
The main detour route during the shutdown will be the Watterson Expressway/I-264, which takes drivers around the western edge of Louisville, connecting to I-64 going east into downtown.
Drivers can expect that detour to add significant time and mileage to their trips. These days, traveling on I-65 from the Watterson Expressway to East Market Street is a six-mile trip, taking about eight minutes outside of rush hour, according to Google Maps. That same trip on the Watterson detour will be 18 miles, or about a 20-minute drive.
KYTC has released a detour map showing other potential alternative routes using city streets. Those routes include major local thoroughfares, such as Preston Highway, Dixie Highway and Poplar Level Road, but they also include some streets that are lined with homes, like Goss Avenue, Taylor Boulevard and South 22nd Street.
What will KYTC do to mitigate the nuisance to neighborhoods?
Many of the residents who attended the town hall meeting live in and around I-65.
They asked whether KYTC could erect temporary sound barriers to protect nearby neighborhoods from noise pollution during construction. They also wanted to know whether to expect around-the-clock construction.
Green, the KYTC representative, told residents that sound barriers or planting additional trees along I-65 are not part of the plan. He said workers will only be working during “daytime hours” and will do their best to limit the use of heavy equipment.
“What I’ve heard is we will not have a lot of pounding that would add a whole lot of extra noise to your neighborhood, in excess of the noise that’s already there,” he said.
Residents of Old Louisville repeatedly asked about the potential for increased heavy truck traffic in the historic neighborhood, a concern that predates the I-65 Corridor Project.
Green said KYTC will do everything it can to push truck traffic onto the Watterson Expressway/I-264 detour, rather than through neighborhoods. He said KYTC has already reached out to the Kentucky Trucking Association to educate them on the detour.
“They very much expect their members to go around the Gene Snyder and the Watterson Expressway,” Green said.
Still, residents can expect additional traffic on residential streets in the urban core as drivers try to find other ways to get where they’re going, at least during the two-month shutdown next summer.
How will ambulances get to the hospitals downtown?
The total shutdown of I-65 could also affect how quickly people can get to the hospital in emergencies.
The shutdown will include exits that offer direct access to some of Louisville’s largest hospitals, an area the city is attempting to rebrand as the LOUMED District. Between East Broadway and East Chestnut Street downtown are Norton Hospital, Norton Children’s Hospital and U of L Hospital, the only Level 1 trauma center in the region.
When transporting people experiencing a medical emergency, every second counts.
Green said KYTC has been meeting with stakeholders, including MetroSafe and downtown hospitals, to discuss “the logistical things that have to happen.” He said MetroSafe, which helps ambulances get their destination, has assured KYTC they have a plan.
“They’ve assured us that this is not uncommon for them, that they have a plan and that they can get [first responders] where they need to go,” Green said.
Green said KYTC engineers will work closely with MetroSafe and hospital officials to give them “as much access as possible” during the shutdown.
Monica Harkins, a spokesperson for MetroSafe, told LPM News in a statement that the city does not expect any changes to Emergency Medical Services response times because of the closure.
“EMS adjusts to obstacles regularly, sometimes with little notice,” Harkins said. “Thankfully, with advance notice, like with the upcoming I-65 closure, our crews have ample heads up to adjust. Additionally, with GPS technology our crews have access to efficient routes on any given day.”
How will local businesses be impacted?
The shutdown, and limited capacity of I-65 through 2028, will undoubtedly make it more difficult for people to get to work and businesses in Louisville’s core.
Leaders of some businesses, like the new outdoor venue Jubilee Field, say they’re already feeling the weight of disruption. Jubilee Field opened off of Burnett Avenue in the Meriwether neighborhood last month, three weeks after KYTC shut down part of the street for pre-construction on the overpass.
Isaiah Dietrich, manager of Jubilee Field, said he thought the roadwork would last maybe a month. He learned at the town hall that it actually won’t wrap up until 2027.
“Before this, KYTC’s own data showed 3,615 cars passed by Jubilee Field every day,” Dietrich said. “Now, it’s virtually zero. We’re trapped behind a wall and warning signs that say, ‘road closed.’”
He said people who are trying to visit the venue “turn around, confused, thinking we’re a dead-end construction site.”
It’s not just Jubilee Field that’s “felt the squeeze of this,” said District 15 Metro Council Member Jennifer Chappell. She said Oscar’s Hardware, Dairy Del and 21st in Germantown have already been impacted by the Burnett Avenue closure.
Louisville Economic Development Alliance CEO Trevor Pawl said his organization, a new business league created by the city, plans to help businesses as best they can. Pawl said they’re exploring what financial resources might be available.
“Clearly there aren’t resources to give every business in the community that is impacted by construction a large sum of money,” he said. “But because of the gravity of this, we need to get creative.”
Pawl said the Alliance will pass along regular updates on the roadwork to businesses. They’re also forming a team that will go out into the community and meet with businesses hurt by the I-65 Corridor Project.
KYTC is also open to working with businesses on ways to increase access and visibility, Green said.
