KENTUCKY APPROACH DESIGN SECTIONS REPORT PROGRESS TO RAC
Second combined meeting between Kennedy Interchange - Kentucky East End sections and
Regional Advisory Committee
November 2006 -- Selection of the final two bridge types may be grabbing the headlines these days but members of the Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) learned recently that significant progress has been made in the two Kentucky approach design sections. The RAC is charged with advising the project on matters impacting the Louisville-Southern Indiana region.
Design engineers from the Kennedy Interchange and Kentucky East End Approach sections reported on work in their respective sections and provided a look at planned activity. Mitigation measures, aesthetic design guidelines and traffic impacts were among the highlights of the Oct. 26 meeting.
Kennedy Interchange --
Design engineers from Kentucky Transportation Associates (KTA), the engineering consortium managing the redesign of the Kennedy Interchange Approach design, reported the results of various studies that will impact how design plans for the area move forward.
Mellwood-Story Avenues -- A preliminary study of design impacts and traffic flow at Mellwood and Story Avenues determined that two-way traffic there is not viable unless a single interchange (see Oct. 26 Kennedy Interchange AAT story) is constructed at Mellwood Avenue and Mellwood is improved. The Bi-State Management Team (BSMT) may make a decision in early 2007 on whether additional environmental analyses are to be performed to determine project feasibility.
Waterfront Park -- The Waterfront Park Impact Reduction Study includes an assessment of bridge types for I-64 as it passes over the Great Lawn, and an evaluation of how to reduce the number of piers within the Great Lawn. Other mitigation features include increasing the elevation of I-64 8 to 10 feet higher than the existing structure and reducing the profile of the bridge deck to minimize its visual impact.
Noise Studies – KTA conducted a study of the entire Kennedy Interchange area and submitted two reports to the Bi-State Management Team (BSMT). Currently, one site is being considered for a noise wall. The BSMT will make the final decision as to whether a noise wall is warranted and what type of wall would be built. However, the community will have an opportunity to comment on its aesthetic desirability.
Bikeway – The bikeway study, which was advanced early in the project, is on hold pending decisions on Mellwood-Story Avenue Study and other traffic issues in the area.
Kentucky East End Approach --
Representatives of H.W. Lochner, Inc., which manages design work for the Kentucky East End Approach section, reviewed the status of work in the area and spent some time explaining commitments laid out in the Bridges Project’s Record of Decision. Also covered were design goals written into the Kentucky East End Approach section’s preliminary line and grade, as well as the US 42/KY 841 ramp relocation project.
Design Goals -- Jerry Leslie, Lochner’s design manager for the Kentucky East End Approach, said the design should acknowledge and be responsive to the aesthetic and historic context found within the area’s unique features, such as the Country Estates of River Road Historic District. Leslie said drivers should feel that they are traveling through a “special” place, one that is a source of pride for east-end communities.
Potential Noise Walls – The noise study has been completed and submitted to the BSMT for review. Five locations are under consideration for noise walls:
• Green Springs/Wolf Creek
• Wolfpen Woods
• Bridgepointe
• Shadow Wood
• Harbor at Harrods Creek
Affected communities will be asked to comment on barrier design aesthetics, if they want them. The BSMT will make the final decision on wall designs.
US 42/KY 841 Ramp Relocation – Leslie presented an update on the US 42/KY 841 ramp relocation project. The KY 841 exit ramp from the Gene Snyder Freeway is being moved west, parallel to the on-ramp from US 42. The relocation will make room for the exploratory tunnel under 42. Plans call for the ramp to be relocated by the end of November 2006.