FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 24, 2023) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that progress is being made on the Interstate Highway 65 Central Corridor rehab project with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet selecting Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. as the construction manager and general contractor.
The project will rehabilitate overpass bridges and pavement in the heavily traveled section of the highway from Interstate Highway 264 (Watterson Expressway) to Interstate Highway 64, near the Ohio River. It directly services some of Kentucky’s largest employers in Louisville and the region: UPS, Muhammad Ali International Airport, Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center, the University of Louisville and the city’s downtown hospitals, among others.
“We are making progress on a project in one of the most heavily traveled sections of interstate highway in all of Kentucky. It’s critical to many of our leading employers,” Gov. Beshear said. “It’s also a 60-year-old system that’s showing its age. It has numerous bridges that need rehabilitation. One of the objectives of this project will be to improve safety and fix deterioration, which in turn will prevent unplanned closures for repairs in years to come.”
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet plans to rehabilitate at least three bridges in the corridor at an expected cost of $100 million, which the Kentucky General Assembly appropriated.
In addition, Kentucky Transportation Secretary Jim Gray said the agency will apply for federal funding – a discretionary Bridge Investment Program grant created as part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. With enough grant funding or future support from the legislature, the scope of the project could increase to include rehabilitation of 18 bridges, plus pavement repair, at an expected cost of $247 million.
“The project team will be looking for ways to shorten the overall construction schedule. It also will be investigating techniques called ‘accelerated bridge construction’ to reduce lane closures. We are committed to minimizing the disruption to downtown businesses, employers and commuters during construction,” said Secretary Gray.
The cabinet wishes to begin construction during the current budget year, which runs through June 2024, Secretary Gray said.
Kiewit carried out a similar rehabilitation of Interstate Highway 40 in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The company’s proposal was evaluated by a technical review committee and was selected as the “apparent best value.”