Anyone can see that was the original intent to build the bridge and connect both sides of the interstates. It would make a hell of a lot more sense. Probably even more than worrying about the bridges downtown. No doubt that we need those too with the Kennedy being a disaster zone daily.

Some people think that we need a bridge to Indiana on the SW Side. Only thing is that there isn’t much over there except for Horseshoe. That and a connector to I 64 in Indiana would complete the road system. But thats probably decades down the road.

I’ve often wondered why its taken this area 30 years to get a solid interstate system. At least now we’re getting the interstates rebuilt around the city. Now if we could get some more connector roads to fix some of the East and SW traffic snarls, we would be better off.

IMO, the Gene Snyder needs a lot of work all the way around. Its carrying a lot of outer traffic around the city. The entrance and exit ramps in various areas are too short. Not enough lane spacing. Too much dangerous driving on a good deal of it.

The I-65 river bridge is carrying 2.5 times the traffic volumes it was designed to carry, are we waiting for it to fall into the river with hundreds of cars on it before something is done. And the Junction is obsolete due to the increase in population since the early 50′s when it was designed.

Every time a light rail or other public transit study has been done it showed it would need to be “held up” with federal, state and local taxes because ridership would be so low. We already have public transit and have had for many decades. It has low ridership and must be supported with tax dollars to the tune of tens of millions every year.

I realize cloud-in-the-sky thinking is “nice” but get realistic. Most people I talk to think both bridges should have been done 20 years ago and are sick of waiting for it to be done.

But the few squeeky wheels just have to start “stuff” to keep controversy going for some reason. I guess just to get some attention.

Can’t finish the sentence. Too depressing.

We’re waiting.

That pickled hag didn’t get shit for this city. It was always Mitch McConnell or her staff who got anything. And the bridges project? She could have gotten things accomplished but never did.

The long-time problem in marketing the East End Bridge is that Indiana has exponentially more to gain from the project than residents of the East End do, while Kentucky is straddled with the bunk of the cost.

The cities and Jeffersonville and Charlestown have been fighting to annex as much of the Utica area and former ammunition plant property into their tax districts as possible in anticipation of the windfall that will come on that side of the river.

Aside from some new commercial development in Eastwood and Eastpoint, there isn’t anywhere in the East End that will allow the kind of development necessary to take advantage of the traffic access.

Agreed it is not an apples-to-apples comparison. But on the other hand it is unrealistic and ridiculous to basically say this is “just how it is” by saying any comparison to other projects is invalid.

The East End bridge has been talked about and proposed long before the East End was even populated. The Gene Snyder freeway (aka “Jefferson” freeway) ended into what was basically an open field when it was originally built. The ridiculousness of this project began when the road was not extended past 42 when the Jefferson Freeway was first built. Look at a satellite photo and anyone can see that’s what should have happen. Since that time, tens of millions of dollars have been spent simply preparing for lawsuits.

Just because certain elements of what they are doing overseas may be offensive, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn from the efficiencies they do have with that type of construction project.

Grand scheme of things $100M is only 1/40th of the total cost of the project. Of that $100M, a good fifth of it will probably end up going to lawyers and consultants in the ongoing River Fields battle. Or if they decide to switch locations, the same amount dealing with residents in Irish Hills and Germantown.

Regardless…unless one of the existing bridges falls into the river due to neglect, the project just isn’t going to get done. The traffic problems are annoying – but it doesn’t hurt enough yet to get people to be okay with a tax hike to pay for it. Louisville and Kentucky just don’t have a strong enough economy or leadership to make it happen.

Mismanagement, incompetence and more? Heck yes. In terms of almost everything, Steve Beshear has sucked. So badly, in fact, that nearly every Democrat I’ve spoken with – even some of his staff members – want someone else to take his place as Governor.

He’s absent when it comes to the legislature, so the legislature will work against him. He’s absent when it comes to gambling, so I think the horse industry will/should work against him. He’s full-on stupid when it comes to comprehensive tax reform, so just about anybody with a brain will work against him. He’s sold the gays down the river, so they’ll work against him.

And now he and his Abramson-controlled crew have selected none other than Jerry Abramson to be his running mate. So about eleventy billion people will work against him.