Interstate 264 - Shawnee Expressway / Watterson Expressway
Interstate 264 is a 22.93 mile long urban loop encircling central Louisville between I-64 at the Sherman Minton Bridge and I-71 at Northfield. The Shawnee Expressway portion runs south from I-64 to Shively and U.S. 31W. The remainder of I-264 follows the Henry Watterson Expressway east to Louisville International Airport (SDF), Waterson Park, Wellington, Saint Matthews and other suburban cities within east Louisville.
Interstate 264 Kentucky Guides
Shawnee Expressway
The Shawnee Expressway is the local name for I-264 west of US 31W. It runs north/south through the west side of the city near Shawnee Park, and Shawnee neighborhood. The eight mile long freeway opened in 1970.
The Shawnee Expressway section of I-264 remained as it was originally built for its first 22 years of service, with only minor emergency repairs or patching projects. Complaints were leveled at the state which insinuated that the road was not upgraded because it ran through a poorer part of the city, while almost every other expressway in Louisville was rebuilt. In March 2003, a $66 million renovation began which involved adding lanes, rebuilding all of the concrete, and reconstructing or replacing 37 bridges. The improved section connected with the newly rebuilt portion of the Watterson Expressway east of Dixie Highway, which was completed in 1995. The rebuilt expressway opened in August 2004.
Watterson Expressway
The Henry Watterson Expressway is the local name for I-264 from Dixie Highway on the southwest side of town and around the city to the south and east to I-71 on the northeast side of town. The expressway was named for Henry Watterson, a journalist and later the editor of the local newspaper.
This section of I-264 is the oldest expressway in the city, and began with a 1941 planning document describing the need for a bypass around the southern end of Louisville. World War II delayed the opening, but in 1948 the expressway opened from the Dixie Highway to the Shelbyville Road on the southeast side of the city. It was advanced for its day, and engineers from cities like Dallas and Seattle came to see the road. Industry soon moved out to the expressway, with the GE plant opened in 1953 and Ford Motor moving its local plant out in 1955. Suburbs also expanded out to the Watterson Expressway, and during the mid 50s over 500 new subdivisions opened along the route.
Constructed as a U.S. 60 bypass route, the Henry Watterson Expressway within the vicinity of St. Matthews was constructed in 1949. It opened to U.S. 60 between Beechwood Village and Norwood in the 1950s. The northern stretch of the Watterson Expressway opened in 1968. It was the final leg of the Watterson Expressway to be completed, but not the last section of Interstate 264 overall to open.
In 1974, the Watterson Expressway was extended northward to near the Ohio River and I-71. By that time, the older portion of the expressway was already very outdated. Work began in 1984 for a $100 million rebuild of the expressway. The roadwork realigned almost every interchange and widened the road. Reconstruction was complete in 1995.
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Page Updated Monday February 22, 2021.