John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge

John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge in 2006 as seen from Jeffersonville, Indiana
Coordinates
Carries	6 lanes of I‑65 6 lanes Southbound
Crosses	Ohio River
Locale	Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana
Characteristics
Design	Cantilever bridge
Total length	2,498 ft (761 m)
Longest span	× 2 spans
History
Opened	December 6, 1963

The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge is a six-lane, single-deck cantilever bridge that carries Interstate 65 across the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The main span is (two spans) and the bridge has a total length of 2,498 feet (761 m). The span carries six southbound lanes. It is named after U.S. President John F. Kennedy.

History

Designed by the Louisville engineering firm of Hazelet & Erdal, construction began in the spring of 1961 and completed in late 1963 at a cost of $10 million. The span was unnamed when U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Four days later, Kentucky Governor Bert T. Combs announced that there was wide agreement that the bridge would be named in Kennedy's honor. The bridge was dedicated and opened for northbound traffic on December 6, and southbound traffic began flowing a few weeks later.

Between the late 1990s and 2006, the bridge was covered with rust-like spots and the state of Kentucky had failed in attempts to rectify this, a subject of local controversy. The state twice paid contractors to repaint the bridge who then failed to do so. The attempts cost over $23 million, with little apparent result. The first of the two contracts, awarded in 1999, ended two years later in a bribery scandal that resulted in criminal prosecution.

In October 2006, the state awarded a $14.7 million contract to Intech Contracting of Lexington to paint half the bridge by the summer of 2007. The new contract differed in that the project was split in two, and the original plans for a three color paint scheme were replaced with a simpler all beige colored one. The very southernmost portion of the bridge was completed in three colors (brown, beige, and green), although this will be painted over.

On December 5, 2007, the painting project was completed at a cost of $59 million which included the two previous failed painting projects.

Second span

The bridge during the last repainting project. Note the far right part of the bridge painted in a three color scheme, originally planned for the whole bridge. This scheme was abandoned and the entire bridge was painted in a light grey.

In 2013, Kentucky broke ground on a second span as part of the Ohio River Bridges Project, a project to relieve traffic congestion in the Louisville area. The Abraham Lincoln Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge that opened in December 2015, is planned to carry all Interstate 65 traffic over the Ohio River while the Kennedy Bridge receives a new deck. When redecking work on the Kennedy Bridge is complete, it will be converted to carry the six lanes of southbound I-65 traffic, while the Lincoln Bridge will carry six lanes of northbound I-65 traffic.

See also

• Kennedy Interchange ("Spaghetti Junction")
• List of crossings of the Ohio River

External links

• John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge at Kentuckyroads.com
• Forum to discuss the bridge