Potential East End Bridge Designs Narrowed to Six
Three-dimensional imaging used to display options to the public
Louisville, KY (March 3, 2006) – The East End Bridge Design team has developed
six potential bridge design alternatives and will present them to the public for
feedback. Two identical open houses – part of Step Three in the Four-Step Bridge
Type Selection Process – will be held Tues., March 7 and Thurs., March 9. (See the
following fact sheet for more open house details.)
At 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on both nights, members of the East End Bridge design
team will present the alternatives to the public and ask for input on preferences.
The presentations will include nearly a dozen different perspectives of each bridge
type alternative, including three-dimensional drive-thru video simulations. Attendees
also will learn preliminary, comparative information about the alternatives relative
to cost, construction issues and anticipated maintenance needs.
Before and after the presentations, attendees will be able to ask questions of project
team members and view boards in the meeting area. After the open houses, those who
could not attend the meetings, can view the alternatives on the project Web site,
www.kyinbridges.com, and provide comments via the on-line comment form.
“We’re nearing the end of this bridge type selection process and the public should
realize that this is one of the last opportunities to take part in shaping the new
bridges in their community,” said Dan Carrier, an engineer with Parsons Brinckerhoff,
and section design manager for the East End Bridge. “We hope to have a big turnout
at our open houses and to hear a lot of feedback about the six alternatives we have
developed.”
The comments received from the open houses and the Web site will be used along with
detailed information about cost, long-term maintenance and constructability to refine
the alternatives and narrow them down to three. These alternatives will be presented
for public review this spring in Step Four of the process. At the conclusion of
this final step, an executive oversight committee, made up of bi-state representatives,
will select the final bridge type.
The one-year Bridge Type Selection Process consists of four steps, which include
numerous opportunities for community input. Throughout the process, the design teams
have presented their work for comments at public meetings and at meetings with a
Regional Advisory Committee and Area Advisory Teams, which are groups of stakeholders
on both sides of the river.
The general public is encouraged to comment throughout the Bridge Type Selection
Process at the various public meetings, on written comment forms submitted to the
project office or through the on-line comment form on the project’s Web site
(www.kyinbridges.com).
The Ohio River Bridges Project addresses the long-term, cross-river transportation
needs in the Louisville-Southern Indiana region. In 2003, the Federal Highway Administration,
Indiana Department of Transportation and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet agreed
that the only feasible way to meet cross-river transportation needs was to construct
two new bridges and rebuild the Kennedy Interchange. Of a variety of options studied,
the alternative selected would best achieve the transportation needs with the least
amount of impact on environmental resources and the communities.
The Bridges Project is currently in the design phase with construction tentatively
scheduled to be complete by 2020. For more information, visit the project Web site,
at www.kyinbridges.com.