Louisville's I-64 on list of 10 highways 'without futures,' report shows

A new report names Louisville in its list of 10 cities that have highways “without futures.”

The report by Congress for the New Urbanism, a Washington, D.C.-based urban planning nonprofit, names Interstate 64 downtown among the 10 highways the group believes are candidates for removal or transformation.

Removing highways is an opportunity to revitalize downtowns and waterfronts, the 2019 report says, and can help strengthen local economies and enhance the “civic character” of a city.

It points to the advocacy of the 8664 group, a grassroots movement founded in Louisville in 2005 in opposition of aspects of the Ohio River Bridges project, which included the new I-65 Abraham Lincoln Bridge and a reconfigured Spaghetti Junction. 

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The group 8664 called for a portion of the elevated I-64 along the city's waterfront to be replaced with a pedestrian-friendly boulevard in an effort to connect residents to the waterfront.

The movement was also critical of the plan to build a downtown bridge and instead proposed only an eastern crossing.

Co-founder Tyler Allen said Thursday that 8664 is no longer active but that the conditions are still ripe to remove the highway from the waterfront "because it's the right thing to do."

Allen wouldn't say what the likelihood of such a tear down would be, but he did say the discussion is still very much worth having. 

"It’s always the right time to try and plan for a better future for our city, our neighborhoods and our waterfronts,” Allen said. 

The report makes reference to a decrease in traffic on the Kennedy and Lincoln bridges since tolling started in 2016, arguing it shows "underuse and overexpenditure" on highway infrastructure. A 2018 state report showed traffic on the I-65 bridges decreased nearly 50 percent between 2013 and 2018. 

The Congress for the New Urbanism, which issued the report, is hosting its annual conference in June in Louisville.

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While the report says that local “advocates are pursuing a dialogue about the highway’s removal,” CNU spokeswoman Lisa Schamess said her organization “observed lively, continuing discussion” but no active campaign. 

She noted that I-64 has been included in previous reports put out by the organization and even though 8664 isn’t active, the report authors believed the highway was still worth featuring. 

“We have not identified any new group that is moving forward on it, but thought it was valuable to highlight the merits of 8664's efforts and acknowledge that, as with many, many projects nationwide, the door remains open on what to do with this 2-mile elevated stretch of highway,” she said. 

Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mattg.