New downtown bridge to open by Christmas

Two-way traffic will hit the new downtown Ohio River bridge by Christmas of this year, four months earlier than originally planned, Kentucky and Indiana officials announced Monday.

"It’s exciting to be here and actually stand on a bridge that for decades was just a nebulous vision mired in decades of disagreement," Gov. Steve Beshear said during a news briefing on the deck of the new bridge. Joining him were Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Indiana Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann and Jeffersonville, Ind., Mayor Mike Moore.

An exact date wasn't given for when the bridge will open to Interstate 65 traffic, but before it does, Beshear said people will have a chance to walk across it for a closer look.

Although the bridge is opening earlier than expected, the date both it and the Kennedy Memorial Bridge will start carrying traffic hasn't changed. The adjacent Kennedy Bridge will close for a $22 million renovation when the new bridge opens in December. By December 2016, the new bridge will carry northbound I-65 traffic and the Kennedy will carry southbound traffic.

Mike Hancock, secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, said despite progress on the new bridge, the date for both to open hasn't moved because of repairs planned for the Kennedy Bridge.

"Extra time is needed to make sure that as we do a full-depth replacement of the deck, we do it correctly," he said.

Hancock credited Walsh Construction Company's more than 800 workers and the transportation cabinet for the early traffic start dates.

The second part of the $2.3 billion Ohio River Bridges Project, which will connect Prospect, Ky., to the Ohio River shore near Utica, Ind., is also underway in Louisville's East End. Indiana is overseeing the construction of a new bridge that will extend Interstate 265 in Kentucky to meet State Route 265 in Indiana.

Walsh will not receive any incentives for opening the new bridge early, said spokeswoman Mindy Peterson, although incentives are available if the downtown project is completed ahead of schedule. For each day the new bridge and the Kennedy Bridge are finished before Dec. 9, 2016, Walsh will receive $40,000 a day, capped at $12 million.

Fischer, Ellspermann, Moore and Beshear signed gold-painted bolts to be put in the bridge toward the end of construction. Hancock said there will be more than 76,000 bolts in the bridge when it's finished.

Despite speculation that a name for the new bridge would be announced Monday, Beshear said officials "haven't given it 10 minutes of thought." He said there's no schedule or deadline for naming it, and it could be named by Kentucky's transportation cabinet or the legislature.

Ellspermann, a Southern Indiana native, said she personally knows how important the Ohio River bridges are to both Indiana and Kentucky. Moore and Fischer echoed her excitement for the bridge to open and for the full project to be completed.

"I'm the happiest guy in the world right now," Moore said, noting Jeffersonville residents will likely breathe a sigh of relief when the project is done.

"Once time passes and the orange cones are gone, my goodness, travel to Louisville and just into Kentucky will be so much easier."

Reporter Lexy Gross can be reached at (502) 582-4087, or via email at lgross@courier-journal.com.