Interstate 264 (Kentucky)

{{Infobox road

|state=KY

|route=264

|type=I

|map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=250|frame-lat=38.237|frame-long=-85.724|zoom=10|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Interstate 264 (Kentucky)}}}}

|map_custom=yes

|map_notes=I-264 highlighted in red

|alternate_name=Watterson/Shawnee Expressway

|length_mi=22.93

|length_ref=

|spur_type=I

|spur_of=64

|established=1948

|history=Expanded into a partial loop from 1958 to 1974

|direction_a=West

|terminus_a={{Jct|state=KY|I|64|US|150}} in Louisville

|junction={{plainlist|

{{Jct|state=KY|US|31W|US|60}} in Louisville
{{Jct|state=KY|I|65|KY|61}} in Louisville
{{Jct|state=KY|US|31E|US|150}} in Louisville
{{Jct|state=KY|I|64}} in Louisville
{{Jct|state=KY|US|60}} in Louisville
{{Jct|state=KY|US|42|KY|22}} in Louisville

}}

|direction_b=East

|terminus_b={{Jct|state=KY|I|71}} in Louisville

|counties=Jefferson

|previous_type=KY

|previous_route=263

|next_type=I

|next_route=265

}}

Interstate 264 (I-264) is a partial loop around the city of Louisville, Kentucky, south of the Ohio River. An auxiliary route of I-64, it is signed as the Shawnee Expressway for its first {{Convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} from its western terminus at I-64/US 150 to US 31W/US 60 and as the Watterson Expressway for the remainder of its length from US 31W/US 60 to its eastern terminus at I-71. It is {{Convert|22.93|mi|km}} in length and runs an open circle around central Louisville.{{Cite web |date=December 31, 2021 |title=Table 2 – Auxiliary Routes – FHWA Route Log and Finder List – Interstate Highway System – National Highway System – Planning |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table02.cfm |access-date=March 18, 2022 |website=Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |archive-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213083642/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table02.cfm |url-status=live }} It is the only auxiliary route of I-64 outside of Virginia.

I-264 is Louisville's inner beltway (in conjunction with I-64 and I-71), and the later constructed I-265, the Gene Snyder Freeway, is Louisville's outer beltway. I-264 is currently used as the primary detour route when I-64 is closed through Downtown Louisville. However, in late 2016 with the completion of the Lewis and Clark Bridge, the formerly separate segments of I-265 in Kentucky and Indiana have been connected to provide another detour route.

In discussions about the city, I-264 is often used as a rough line dividing the older areas of Louisville from its suburbs.

Route description

I-264 begins {{Convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} west of Downtown Louisville at I-64 just east of the Sherman Minton Bridge, which links Southern Indiana with Kentucky as it crosses the Ohio River. The Interstate ends approximately {{Convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} northeast of Downtown Louisville, where it connects to I-71.

History

=1920s–1958: pre I-264 designation=

File:I-264 in Louisville, Kentucky.jpg

As early as the mid-1920s, there were proposals made for a road with a similar goal.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/107746623/|title=Aug 24, 1952, page 39 - The Courier-Journal at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 16, 2024|archive-date=May 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516205856/https://www.newspapers.com/image/107746623/|url-status=live}}

In 1941, a planning document described the need for a bypass around the southern end of Louisville. A funding shortage caused by world War II delayed the opening. In 1948 the expressway opened from the Dixie Highway to the Shelbyville Road on the southeast side of the city. The road was a two-lane expressway built to carry traffic between Shelbyville Road and US 31W (Dixie Highway) in Louisville as a relocation of US 60.

In 1952, the road was named the "Watterson Expressway" after local journalist and editor Henry Watterson.{{cite book |editor-first=John E. |editor-last=Kleber |year=2001 |title=The Encyclopedia of Louisville |chapter=Watterson Expressway |page=926 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |location=Lexington, Kentucky |isbn=0-8131-2100-0 |oclc=247857447 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC}}

By 1954, the entire roadway was either built or under construction. It was also determined that the road would be extended from Shelbyville road to Brownsboro Road.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-1954-05-06-accord/5959786/|title=1954-05-06 – Accord reached on highway work Pg. 1|newspaper=The Courier-Journal |date=May 6, 1954|pages=1|via=newspapers.com|access-date=May 16, 2024|archive-date=May 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516205857/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-1954-05-06-accord/5959786/|url-status=live}}

=1958–present: since designation=

Interstate 264 was one of two routes approved by the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) for the Kentucky statewide urban Interstate numerology on November 10, 1958. It was to be a partial beltway loop. Taking advantage of the Watterson Expressway already existing, plans were made to widen the 1948 segment to four lanes and expand the expressway itself from Shelbyville road to Brownsboro Road, as had already been planned. Work on the massive project was complete by 1965.

On July 11, 1968, the 1/2 mile Waterson Expressway extension eastwards to I-71 was completed. The other segments of the expressway were also resurfaced in a $1 million safety project, previously rain caused severe accidents.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/109453510/|title=Jul 12, 1968, page 17 - The Courier-Journal at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 16, 2024|archive-date=May 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517091511/https://www.newspapers.com/image/109453510/|url-status=live}}

In 1970, the first part of a western extension was opened at the Dixie Highway intersection. For the next four years, this expansion would be opened in segments. Work was completed in 1974 when the segment with I-64 northwest of Downtown Louisville was opened. At this point, both the Shawnee and Watterson Expressways were signed as I-264. The original section from Dixie Highway to I-71 still retained the "Watterson Expressway" moniker though this was still cosigned, along with the original US 60 designation, as I-264, while the western segment was originally named the "Shawnee Expressway", even though signage referred to it simply as "I-264", with no mention of the "Shawnee Expressway" name. The original Dixie Highway to I-71 segment signage reads as "I-264 Watterson Expressway", while the western segment signage still only reads as "I-264".

The US 60 concurrency was dropped in 1984 when the original surface roads through Louisville were returned to their original designations.

File:Junction 31E I264.JPG and I-264]]

As early as the 1960s, there were suggestions to rebuild the Watterson Expressway, as its exits were to close together and the more minor ones were extremely congested.{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/108013427/|title=Jul 20, 1969, page 80 - The Courier-Journal at Newspapers.com|website=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 17, 2024|archive-date=May 17, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517091510/https://www.newspapers.com/image/108013427/|url-status=live}} The Watterson Expressway underwent a major reconstruction effort that began in 1985. The freeway had outlived its useful purpose and had numerous characteristics that defined it as a blight on Louisville: deteriorating overpasses, buckling pavement, deficient and too closely spaced interchanges, and rampant congestion. Dozens of bridges were reconstructed and widened, and the majority of the interchanges were redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up from US 31W east to Shelbyville Road. Exit 13 exit was also eliminated, the Westbound side closing in 1986, and the eastbound side closed in 1987.{{cite web |author=Shapero |first=Ken |date=October 18, 1987 |title=Ramps at Watterson and I-65 are a-mazing for motorists |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/110659168/ |access-date=October 25, 2018 |work=www.newspapers.com |publisher=The Courier Journal |pages=B1 |archive-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026104236/https://www.newspapers.com/image/110659168/ |url-status=live }} The entire highway reconstruction project was completed in 1995. A typical deficient interchange along I-264 was the I-65, Kentucky Exposition Center, and Louisville International Airport exit. Before the reconstruction, two cloverleafs with no collector–distributor lanes existed and posed serious weaving issues. The interchange today has been rebuilt and features numerous flyovers and collector–distributor lanes, making it safer though not necessarily easier to navigate.

The Shawnee Expressway, from its opening in 1970, had received no more than emergency or spot patching and was in need of a rebuild. After several years of planning, in early 2003, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) began a reconstruction project on this segment of Interstate Highway stretching from the US 31W interchange northwest to just east of Bank Street. A concrete surface several inches thick was constructed on mainline roadway and access ramps, a new median barrier was formed, new lighting fixtures were installed, 37 bridges were rehabilitated, 380 new roadway signs were posted, and all guardrails were replaced as part of the {{convert|7.6|mi|km|adj=on}} project. In addition, the segment from River Park Drive to I-64, which was only two lanes, was widened to three lanes. No major ramp or interchange modifications were needed. The highway reconstruction project costed approximately $66 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|60000000|2004}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) and required 18 months of labor. About 70,000 vehicles a day use the portion of I-264 near US 31W and about 40,000 daily use the segment near its western terminus with I-64.

On April 1, 2010, the Kentucky General Assembly designated the western portion to be renamed as the Georgia Davis Powers Expressway.{{cite web |url=http://apps.sos.ky.gov/Executive/Journal/execjournalimages/2010-Reg-HJR-0067-1268.pdf |title=House Joint Resolution 67 |access-date=February 1, 2011 |archive-date=November 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110051113/http://apps.sos.ky.gov/Executive/Journal/execjournalimages/2010-Reg-HJR-0067-1268.pdf |url-status=dead }} At this point, small signs at both the western I-64 terminus and the Dixie interchange were installed.

Although the Kentucky General Assembly considered plans for an interchange with Kentucky Route 1447 (KY 1447, Westport Road) as early as 1992, work did not begin until October 2008 and was completed in May 2010.{{cite web |last=Alcock |first=Andy |date=April 29, 2010 |title=New I-264 Interchange Opens At Westport Road – Louisville News Story – WLKY Louisville |url=http://www.wlky.com/r/23305041/detail.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928084850/http://www.wlky.com/r/23305041/detail.html |archive-date=September 28, 2011 |access-date=February 1, 2011 |website=wlky.com |publisher=}}{{cite web |date=March 31, 2010 |title=KY 1447 |url=http://www.kentuckyroads.com/ky_1447/ |access-date=February 1, 2011 |website=KentuckyRoads.com |publisher= |archive-date=November 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124190753/http://kentuckyroads.com/ky_1447/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |author= |date=September 22, 2008 |title=State to spend $47 million on I-264 at Westport Road interchange | Business First |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/09/22/daily1.html |access-date=February 1, 2011 |website=Bizjournals.com |publisher= |archive-date=October 26, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026092103/http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/09/22/daily1.html |url-status=live }} Additionally, the overpass carrying traffic over the roadway was replaced with a wider three-lane one that also had shoulders; the roadway nearby was also reconstructed.

In 2011, plans were made to improve the US 42 interchange. In its previous configuration, the exit was a congested boatneck that frequently saw accidents.{{Cite web |title=I-264/US 42 Interchange Scoping Study Item No. 5-390.00 Jefferson County, Kentucky |url=https://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Planning%20Studies%20and%20Reports/Scoping%20Study%20%205-390.00%20-%20Report.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517091614/https://transportation.ky.gov/Planning/Planning%20Studies%20and%20Reports/Scoping%20Study%20%205-390.00%20-%20Report.pdf |archive-date=May 17, 2024 |access-date=May 16, 2024}} The project was completed in 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://transportation.ky.gov/DistrictFive/Pages/PressReleasePage.aspx?&FilterField1=ID&FilterValue1=218|title=Press Release Page | KYTC|website=transportation.ky.gov|access-date=May 16, 2024|archive-date=May 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516192603/https://transportation.ky.gov/DistrictFive/Pages/PressReleasePage.aspx?&FilterField1=ID&FilterValue1=218|url-status=live}}

Future

There are currently plans to rebuild the I-65 interchange.{{Cite web|url=https://transportation.ky.gov/DistrictFive/Pages/I-65_I-264_Interchange_Planning_Study.aspx|title=I-65/I-264 Interchange Planning Study | KYTC|website=transportation.ky.gov|access-date=May 16, 2024|archive-date=May 11, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240511071526/https://transportation.ky.gov/DistrictFive/Pages/I-65_I-264_Interchange_Planning_Study.aspx|url-status=live}}

Exit list

{{jcttop|exit|state=KY|county=Jefferson|location=Louisville|length_ref= }}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=0.0

|exit=0

|road={{jct|state=KY|I|64|US|150|city1=Louisville|city2=Lexington|location3=New Albany|location4=St. Louis}}

|notes=Western terminus; signed as exits 0B (west) and 0A (east); exit 1 on I-64; tri-stack interchange

}}

{{KYint|exit

|type=incomplete

|mile=0.2

|exit=1

|road=Bank Street / Northwestern Parkway

|notes=Eastbound exit and westbound entrance

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=1.0

|exit=2

|road=Muhammad Ali Boulevard / River Park Drive

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=2.3

|exit=3

|road=Virginia Avenue / Dumesnil Street

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=3.5

|exit=4

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|2054|KY|2056|name1=Algonquin Parkway|name2=Bells Lane}}

|notes=KY 2054 not signed eastbound

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=4.7

|mile2=4.9

|exit=5

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1934|name1=Cane Run Road|road|Ralph Avenue}}

|notes=Signed as exits 5A (north) and 5B (south) eastbound

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=6.9

|exit=8

|road={{jct|state=KY|US|31W|US|60|name2=Dixie Highway|city1=Fort Knox|city2=Shively}}

|notes=Signed as exits 8A (south/west) and 8B (north/east)

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=8.6

|exit=9

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1865|name1=Taylor Boulevard}}

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=9.6

|exit=10

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1020|name1=Southern Parkway|road|3rd Street}}

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=10.5

|mile2=10.8

|exit=11

|road={{jct|state=KY|road|Crittenden Drive|location2=Kentucky Exposition Center|location1=Airport|extra=airport}}

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=10.8

|mile2=10.9

|type=incomplete

|exit=12

|road={{jct|state=KY|I|65|KY|61|location1=Nashville|location2=Indianapolis|location3=Kentucky Exposition Center}}

|notes=Exits 131A-B on I-65; no direct eastbound access to KY 61; no westbound access to Expo Center

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=12.9

|exit=14

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|864|name1=Poplar Level Road}}

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=14.1

|exit=15

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1703|name1=Newburg Road}}

|notes=Signed as exits 15A (north) and 15B (south) westbound

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=15.1

|exit=16

|road={{jct|state=KY|US|31E|US|150|name2=Bardstown Road}}

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=16.4

|exit=17

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|155|name1=Taylorsville Road}}

|notes=Signed as exits 17A (south) and 17B (north)

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=17.2

|exit=18

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1932|name1=Breckenridge Lane}}

|notes=Signed as exits 18A (south) and 18B (north)

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=18.4

|exit=19

|road={{jct|state=KY|I|64|city1=Lexington|city2=Louisville}}

|notes=Signed as exits 19A (east) and 19B (west); exits 12A-B on I-64

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=18.8

|exit=20

|road={{jct|state=KY|US|60|name1=Shelbyville Road|city1=Middletown|city2=St. Matthews}}

|notes=Signed as exits 20A (east) and 20B (west)

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=20.4

|exit=21

|road={{jct|state=KY|KY|1447|name1=Westport Road}}

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=21.6

|exit=22

|road={{jct|state=KY|US|42|KY|22|name2=Brownsboro Road}}

}}

{{KYint|exit

|mile=22.4

|exit=23

|road={{jct|state=KY|I|71|location1=Cincinnati|city2=Louisville}}

|notes=Eastern terminus; signed as exits 23A (north) and 23B (south); exit 5 on I-71; tri-stack interchange

}}

References

External links

[https://www.aaroads.com/interstate-guide/i-264-ky/ Interstate-Guide.com – Interstate 264 (KY) page]

Category:U.S. Route 60

Category:Transportation in Jefferson County, Kentucky

Category:1958 establishments in Kentucky

Category:Transport infrastructure completed in 1974

Interstate 264 (Kentucky)

Route description

History

=1920s–1958: pre I-264 designation=

=1958–present: since designation=

Future

Exit list

See also

References

External links