Sherman Minton closed Indefinitely.........I-64 west end of Louisville.

[ShawnP]

Welcome to Gridlock Louisville and environs. Other than the Kennedy this is the worst thing for the Louisville area. I-65 and I-265 will be backed up for miles.

http://www.whas.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=283307%3Ffeed%3D283307&article=9090398
Post Merge: December 31, 1969, 06:59:59 PM
Duh the shortcut is I-265 to I-65 to I-64 if eastbound and switched for westbound. Oh my, my major problems and to think some folks are still fighting for no new bridges.
Post Merge: December 31, 1969, 06:59:59 PM
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110909/NEWS01/309090090/Sherman-Minton-Bridge-closed-indefinitely-due-to-crack?odyssey=mod|breaking|text|Home

[tdindy88]

Hm....maybe they can start work on the East End Bridge this weekend. Louisville just better hope that this doens't become like the SR 912 Bridge situation in Northwest Indiana. That one has yet to open and its been close for about a year.

[ShawnP]

Heard it's a crack on a load bearing part of the bridge. Ouch, ouch and more ouch..........I'm not a Enigneer and didn't stay at a Hotel but this could be months.

[kharvey10]

my brother works near Louisville and head back to St. Louis on weekends - and avoids Louisville at all costs by taking that bridge in Brandenburg to cross the Ohio on his way to Elizabethtown.

[ShawnP]

IN-135 is actually pretty quiet south of Corydon.

[NWI_Irish96]

I live just off the part of I-65 that is getting all this extra traffic.  Went to the riverfront (IN side) for lunch today and noticed a long backup on I-65 southbound at midday on Saturday, so I can't imagine what a rush hour is going to be like.

If you have to cross at Louisville and it's too far out of the way to reroute to another crossing, I'd highly recommend timing your trip to avoid rush hour.

[ShawnP]

I'm thinking TRIMARC should post Riverfields Phone Number with the travel times on the message boards Monday.

[ShawnP]

Thought this today with all traffic blocked at I-265. What a time to finish a bit of paving with no traffic in the way.

[InterstateNG]

If you have to cross at Louisville and it's too far out of the way to reroute to another crossing, I'd highly recommend timing your trip to avoid rush hour.

How bad do you think Tuesday at 3PM will be.  I'll be heading through at that time.

[ShawnP]

Won't know till Monday or Tuesday. Will have to get a guage on people's commuting patterns. If you don't know much about Louisville there will be one basic overwhelming problem. Only one major river crossing (Kennedy) right now. The Kennedy is already at or past capacity and now add 80K to it and you see the problem. The Clark Memorial is there but only four lanes and will be converted to 3 in and 1 out. It will back up quickly also. On first glance I would say if your going east 3pm isn't horrible but coming west it will be ugly as people will start leaving early from work (I'm thinking rush hour will be much more spread out with different companies staggering work times).

[InterstateNG]

I'm actually heading through north to south on 65.  Been through Louisville many times, I've always enjoyed the drive.

[NomadS]

UPDATE:

http://www.wdrb.com/story/15433563/jeffersonville-announced-detour-plans-from-bridge-closure
is reporting the bridge will be out for at least 6 months.   Back ups with stop and go, bumper to bumper, traffic of over 9 miles are expected to happen during the work week.   

If you are planning on traveling on either of these interstate highways you may wish to rethink you route. Long delays should be expected if you choose to take these interstate highways.

IF traveling E-W consider rerouting to I-70 through Indianapolis, IN, or to I-24 or I-40 through Nashville, TN. If traveling N-S consider I-57 through Illinios or I-75 through Cincinnati, OH.

spread the word to truckers or travelers that pass through Louisville but don't have to stop there.

[Revive 755]

^ Traffic is that bad on the two bypass routes of Louisville that using I-65 to the parkways is not a good option?

[RoadWarrior56]

The I-64 closure should really back up the case to constuct one or two of the proposed new bridges in the Louisville area.

[NWI_Irish96]

If you have to cross at Louisville and it's too far out of the way to reroute to another crossing, I'd highly recommend timing your trip to avoid rush hour.

How bad do you think Tuesday at 3PM will be.  I'll be heading through at that time.

As of 6am this morning, it was taking an hour to travel the 6-7 miles from I-265 to the end of the bridge.  It won't be that bad at 3pm, but I wouldn't be surprised if it took you 30+ minutes. 

Unless your destination is right on or very close to I-65, using I-57 or I-75 is probably going to be quicker.

[InterstateNG]

I am heading to West Memphis, essentially, and the plan was from Indy to go 65->Western Kentucky Parkway->24->Purchase Parkway->51->155->55.

How is US-41 from Terre Haute to Evansville?  That would add only 6 miles to my route.  I ask because I've heard that the cops downstate on 57 in Illinois are pretty bad, or is that not true?

[NWI_Irish96]

I am heading to West Memphis, essentially, and the plan was from Indy to go 65->Western Kentucky Parkway->24->Purchase Parkway->51->155->55.

How is US-41 from Terre Haute to Evansville?  That would add only 6 miles to my route.  I ask because I've heard that the cops downstate on 57 in Illinois are pretty bad, or is that not true?

I've not travelled either stretch in a while, but 57 is an interstate, so even if the cops force you to stick to the speed limit I'd think it would be quicker.

[RoadWarrior56]

If you are going between Nashville and Chicago, 41 would be the shortest route if you aren't using 65.  The route is all four-laned and well designed.  The only delays you will likely encounter are some stop lights at Henderson, KY, and some stop lights at Terre Haute, and some other isolated locations in western Indiana, possibly Sullivan, IN, etc.

[hbelkins]

Depending on the time of day, the US 41 strip in Henderson, KY can clog up pretty badly.

What I would suggest? Coming south on I-65, take I-265 west to I-64 west and get off at Corydon, then take IN 135 south. It becomes KY 79. From there, you can either follow KY 79 and hit the WK Parkway at Caneyville, or if you prefer a more modern route, work your way over to US 31W from Brandenburg and then hit the WK.

For east-west I-64 traffic, a good detour would be a variation of that route. I-265 or I-264 around to US 31W, then head south and follow one of the Kentucky state routes or US 60 and some combination of routes to KY 79 and cross the river, then follow IN 135 north to Corydon.

[ShawnP]

Hopefully this as painful as it is. It will get the Bridges Project rolling. The dirty little secret is that the Kennedy itself is in bad shape and in need of a new deck.

[hbelkins]

The ramp from westbound I-64 to I-65 is closed at Spaghetti Junction. The KYTC-recommended detour for westbound I-64 through traffic is I-265 north to I-71 south to I-65, but I would recommend I-264 to I-71 instead.

[ShawnP]

If it's true and the Sherman must go this is going to cost the whole area.

[ShawnP]

Good Pics.................

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=B2&Dato=20110910&Kategori=EXTRAS18&Lopenr=309100064&Ref=PH

[InterstateNG]

Since my ultimate destination is to the west (Austin, writing this in Marion, AR) I decided to just avoid Louisville entirely and go over to 57.  Certainly not the most interesting drive, but when you have drives of 730 and 650 miles on back to back days with a housecat in the car, it isn't wise to sit in traffic.  Thanks for all the advice.

I noted that VMS signs in Indy, Mt. Vernon, IL and at the I-55/155 interchange all had messages telling drivers about I-64 being closed.

[kharvey10]

MoDOT posted messages on Highway 40 in St. Louis with the such message as well.  However, the local media is not talking about it.