Abraham Lincoln Bridge

Abraham Lincoln Bridge
The Abraham Lincoln Bridge viewed from
the Big Four Bridge
Coordinates 38°15′52″N 85°44′37″W / 38.26444°N 85.74361°W / 38.26444; -85.74361Coordinates: 38°15′52″N 85°44′37″W / 38.26444°N 85.74361°W / 38.26444; -85.74361
Carries 6 lanes of northbound I‑65
Crosses Ohio River
Locale Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana
Characteristics
Design Cable-stayed bridge
Total length 2,100 ft (640 m)
Longest span 700 ft (213 m) × 2 spans
History
Opened December 6, 2015
Statistics
Toll $2 (with EZ-Pass/RiverLink transponder)
$3 (with Pay-By-Plate account)
$4 (Pay-By-Plate with no account)

The Abraham Lincoln Bridge is a six-lane, single-deck cable-stayed bridge carrying northbound Interstate 65 across the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Jeffersonville, Indiana.[1] The main span is 700 feet (213 m) (two spans) and the bridge has a total length of 2,100 feet (640 m). It is named after U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who was born in Kentucky and grew up in Southern Indiana.

History

The Abraham Lincoln Bridge opened on December 6, 2015, and is parallel to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge upstream and carries six lanes of northbound I-65 traffic.[2] Pedestrian and bicycle lanes were in the original plans, but have since been removed. The existing I-65 John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge, completed in 1963, is being renovated for six lanes of southbound traffic. On October 10, 2016, five lanes of the Kennedy Bridge reopened, at which time the Lincoln Bridge began carrying only northbound traffic after several months of carrying three lanes of traffic in both directions.[3] Both spans opened, with six lanes of traffic in each direction, in December 2016. Tolling on both spans began on December 30, 2016.[4][5]

A Structured Public Involvement protocol developed by Drs. K. Bailey and T. Grossardt was used to elicit public preferences for the design of the structure. From spring 2005 to summer 2006 several hundred citizens attended a series of public meetings in Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana and evaluated a range of bridge design options using 3D visualizations. This public involvement process focused in on designs that the public felt were more suitable, as shown by their polling scores. The SPI public involvement process itself was evaluated by anonymous, real-time citizen polling at the open public meetings.

On July 19, 2006, the final design alternatives for the bridge were announced. The three designs included a three-span arch, a cable-stayed design with three towers, and a cable-stayed type with a single A-shaped support tower. It was also announced that the projected cost for the bridge would be $203 million.

The structure is an additional bridge in downtown Louisville joining the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge erected between spring 1961 and late 1963 at a cost of $10 million ($77.5 million in 2015 dollars); the four-lane George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, constructed from June 1928 and to October 31, 1929, and the Big Four Bridge, which operated as a railroad bridge from 1895 to 1969 and reopened as a pedestrian bridge in May 2014.


See also

References

  1. ↑ Shafer, Sheldon S. (November 30, 2015). "It's official! New bridge named for Lincoln". The Courier-Journal. Louisville. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  2. ↑ Coghill, Erica (December 7, 2015). "Abraham Lincoln Bridge officially opens". WLKY. Louisville. Retrieved 2015-12-07.
  3. ↑ Helmer, Katrina (October 10, 2016). "Kennedy Bridge open 5 lanes of southbound traffic". Louisville: WDRB. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ "High demand depletes RiverLink transponders on Ohio River bridges". Jeffersonville, IN: News and Tribune. January 2, 2016. Retrieved 2017-01-03. The Lincoln Bridge carries six lanes of I-65 North traffic, and the Kennedy carries six lanes of I-65 South traffic.
  5. ↑ Sirianni, Maura; Green, Marcus; Mitchell, Kyle (December 30, 2016). "Tolling begins on the Lewis and Clark, Lincoln and Kennedy bridges". WDRB. Retrieved 2017-01-03. During the first 12 hours of tolling, more than 52,000 vehicles crossed the three toll bridges in the RiverLink system, officials said.
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