I-265 Ohio River Bridge

[Grzrd]

Traffic deserves to get fucked.

I bet Steve Winwood was quite successful expressing that sentiment ...

[tidecat]

If only there was an east-west street full of buildings in poor condition like there was along the waterfront before I-64 was built.  Then the 8664 proponents get the improved park, and I-64 would still exist between I-65 and Ninth Street. The only access point 8664 would remove is Third Street.

[thefro]

Big lawsuit over this bridge just got settled

http://updates.kyinbridges.com/settlement-announced-in-bridges-project-lawsuit/

Settlement announced in Bridges Project lawsuit
Posted January 4th, 2013

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 4, 2013) — The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT), the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), the National Trust for Historic Preservation and River Fields, Inc. have reached a settlement agreement in the federal litigation relating to the Ohio River Bridges Project.  The lawsuit was filed in 2009 by the National Trust and River Fields.

All four parties have agreed to dismiss the pending lawsuit initiated by the National Trust and River Fields, in exchange for additional commitments to historic preservation and public involvement.

The settlement agreement (http://updates.kyinbridges.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Settlement-Agreement-1-4-13.pdf) recognizes that INDOT and KYTC have now entered into contracts that provide for essentially simultaneous construction of the downtown and east end portions of the Project.  The settlement agreement includes a range of commitments by INDOT and KYTC regarding the protection of historic properties, public involvement and communications during construction of the Project, and issues related to drainage and water runoff.

The settlement calls for both states to create a Historic Preservation and Enhancement Fund, to be established with $1.7 million in state funds provided equally by INDOT and KYTC.  The State Historic Preservation Officers for Indiana and Kentucky will use the Fund to administer grants to local governments and non-profit organizations for rehabilitating, preserving and enhancing historic properties and districts within the areas affected by the bridges project.  The agreement lists projects that are eligible for grants from the Fund.  Eligible projects include, among others, grants for the protection and interpretation of notable African-American sites in eastern Jefferson County, Ky., including the historic Jefferson Jacobs School, a Rosenwald School, in Louisville.

The agreement also includes commitments by INDOT and KYTC to carry out actions that go above and beyond the states' existing historic preservation commitments. These additional actions include efforts to protect and relocate historic homes in Jeffersonville, Ind., one of the nation's oldest cities west of the Alleghenies; to develop and submit nominations for properties to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places; to nominate a section of Upper River Road as a National Scenic Byway; and to install historical markers.

In addition, the agreement includes commitments regarding public meetings and communications during the construction phase of the project; development of blasting and vibration monitoring plans for historic properties; and public availability of information regarding permitting for the stormwater management features of the East End Crossing.

Based on these commitments by INDOT, KYTC, the National Trust and River Fields have agreed to dismiss all of their claims in the current lawsuit and waived the right to challenge permits and approvals issued prior to execution of the settlement agreement. All the parties will bear their own attorneys' fees and other costs of the litigation.

[ShawnP]

I see River Fields got their "bribe" money.

[tvketchum]

I see River Fields got their "bribe" money.

That's what they wanted after their actions to inflate the project's cost failed to stop it.

[mukade]

Construction activities on the Indiana and Kentucky approaches to the east-end bridge began this week. Tree clearing and vacant building demolition is under way in Kentucky and site preparation work was scheduled to begin Friday, according to Indiana Department of Transportation Spokesman Will Wingfield...

East-end Ohio River Bridge Project plans change, move forward (Indiana Economic Digest)

[ShawnP]

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130121/BUSINESS/301210082/ohio-river-bridges-project

[ShawnP]

Moving along.......

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130214/NEWS01/302140033/1001/Tree-clearing-begin-downtown-bridge-work

[ShawnP]

When will the tolls go away if ever?

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130319/BUSINESS/303190065/ohio-river-bridges-project-kentucky-public-transportation-infrastructure-authority

[ShawnP]

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130318/NEWS01/303180067/Demolition-of-Louisville-s-Baer-Fabrics-building-will-make-way-for-downtown-bridge?odyssey=underbox|text|Home

[vtk]

I suspect the "?odyssey=foo|bar..." part of links to articles on that site can be left out entirely.  Tracking how users navigate the site is one thing, but that info doesn't need to persist when the user shares an article with others – especially when that info is mangled anyway by phpBB which thinks the url stops at the first |.

[ShawnP]

http://www.whas.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=283307&article=11115177

[thefro]

It'll be interesting to see if Indiana renumbers the exits on their stretch of I-265 so that it continues on from the Kentucky exit numbering.  The Indiana stretch goes from 0 at I-64 to 10 at the end of SR 265, with another new exit for Old Salem Road (which would be 11 or 12 under the current numbering).

The Kentucky section starts at 1 at 841 & 31W and goes up to 35 where I-265 presently ends, and the US 42 partial interchange would be beyond that.

[vtk]

If I-265 were to form a complete circumferential loop, its exits should be numbered starting with 0 on the south side at I-65 and running clockwise.  As a half-circle loop with both its ends at the same Interstate, numbering should start at the south or west end, depending on the direction of the anchoring Interstate.

The unified I-265 will be a three-quarter-circle arc, intersecting I-64 and I-65 twice each.  AASHTO/FHWA don't offer guidance on that.  It seems like unified mileage and exit numbers would be preferable, but no specific solution seems to be superior to the others.

I think I'd lean towards extending Indiana's numbering over the Kentucky section, but not strongly so.

[thefro]

My thinking was that there's less mileage, far fewer exits (only 3 where the exit numbers are actively used at the moment), and less traffic on the Indiana side, so it'd be cheaper and lead to less disruption for Indiana to adopt Kentucky's numbering than the other way around.

I don't think the fact that the numbers would be going counter-clockwise would be a huge deal, since it's highly unlikely they'll ever see a need to finish the complete loop.

[ShawnP]

http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Dozens-of-acres-cleared-for-Ohio-River-Bridges-Project-199059411.html

[Brandon]

If I-265 were to form a complete circumferential loop, its exits should be numbered starting with 0 on the south side at I-65 and running clockwise.  As a half-circle loop with both its ends at the same Interstate, numbering should start at the south or west end, depending on the direction of the anchoring Interstate.

The unified I-265 will be a three-quarter-circle arc, intersecting I-64 and I-65 twice each.  AASHTO/FHWA don't offer guidance on that.  It seems like unified mileage and exit numbers would be preferable, but no specific solution seems to be superior to the others.

I think I'd lean towards extending Indiana's numbering over the Kentucky section, but not strongly so.

It's inconsistent, even within metro areas.  I'll use Indiana's next door neighbor Illinois as an example.

I-280 uses Iowa's numbering up to I-74.
I-255 uses Missouri's numbering back up to I-270; however...
I-270 resets at the Mississippi River coming from Missouri into Illinois.  Never mind that I-270 does what I-265 will do, meet two different interstates including its parent twice.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

The Indiana portion of I-265 should be numbered to connect with the numbering of the Snyder Freeway (not necessarily the I-265 portion, since the Snyder Freeway existed before I-265). Granted, it's a unique case with the southern end of the freeway not terminating at I-65 (though its child route does), and the northern end of the soon-to-be-complete I-265 terminating at I-64; however, I just feel the simplest solution for now is to renumber Indiana's section for uniformity, since it's the shorter portion of the future 3/4 circle.

If plans ever go through to build a western Ohio River bridge for I-265 and connect it to the current western end of the Snyder, then follow the I-275 model upriver, and number the mileage based on the loop, starting at "six o'clock" and counting up clockwise.

[vtk]

Did you mean upriver and clockwise?

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Did you mean upriver and clockwise?

After rereading my previous post, you are right on both fronts.

As for the clockwise part, I should have been much more specific. I based counter-clockwise on counting down, though I am sure it's easier to clarify with clockwise based on counting up.

I still stand by "six o'clock." Jokes aside, my original post will be edited for clarity.

[thefro]

I think this was already known, but not posted here:
http://updates.kyinbridges.com/all-electronic-tolling-no-toll-plazas-coin-buckets-or-waiting-in-line/

FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 16, 2013) — Members of the Kentucky Public Transportation Infrastructure Authority (KPTIA) today were briefed on all-electronic tolling, the kind of state-of-the-art system Kentucky and Indiana plan for use in the Ohio River Bridges Project.

No toll plazas. No coin buckets. No stopping and waiting in line. Traffic flows freely, unimpeded, through tolling points.

Unlike the toll plazas and traffic lines that once defined all of Kentucky's parkways and many of its bridges, all-electronic tolling is what the name implies: For drivers with transponders, tolls are automatically debited from a pre-paid account. Drivers without transponders are invoiced on the basis of license plate images captured by video cameras on overhead gantries. There is no cash collection option on the roadway.

"All-electronic tolling holds a number of benefits for the traveling public. There is greater safety because traffic keeps flowing at a sustained speed. And because there is less infrastructure, our capital and maintenance costs are lower,"  said Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock, who also is chairman of KPTIA.

Similar to other systems where you either have a transponder or they take a picture of your license plate and a bill comes in the mail to the owner of the car.

I presume Kentucky will join E-Z Pass once the bridges open.

[ShawnP]

Noticed some work today already on the Indiana side of downtown.

[ShawnP]

http://newsandtribune.com/local/x437165870/Bridge-work-starts-this-week

[Henry]

Finally, the eastern half of the I-265 outer loop will be complete by 2016!

[jpi]

Could be a potential road meet focus in about 2 to 3 years. :-)