John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge |
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The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge in 2006 as seen from Jeffersonville, Indiana
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| Coordinates | 38°15′52″N 85°44′37″W / 38.26444°N 85.74361°W |
| Carries | 6 lanes of southbound  I-65 |
| Crosses | Ohio River |
| Locale | Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cantilever bridge |
| Total length | 2,498 ft (761 m) |
| Longest span | 700 ft (213 m) × 2 spans |
| History | |
| Opened | December 6, 1963 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | $2.10 (with EZ-Pass/RiverLink transponder) $1.05 frequent user (applies to all trips in calendar month with 40+ trips) $3.16 (with Pay-By-Plate account) $4.20 (Pay-By-Plate with no account) |
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge is a large bridge with six lanes. It is a type of cantilever bridge and carries southbound Interstate 65 traffic. The bridge crosses the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana. Its main part is 700 feet long, and the entire bridge stretches for 2,498 feet. This important bridge is named after U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
Contents
Building the Bridge
Early Construction
The idea for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge came from the Louisville engineering company Hazelet & Erdal. Building the bridge started in the spring of 1961. It was finished in late 1963 and cost about $10 million.
Naming the Bridge
The bridge did not have a name when it was completed. Sadly, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Just four days later, Kentucky Governor Bert T. Combs announced that everyone agreed the bridge should be named in Kennedy's honor. The bridge was officially opened on December 6, 1963. At first, only northbound traffic used it, but southbound traffic started flowing a few weeks later.
Painting Challenges
Between the late 1990s and 2006, the bridge started to show rust-like spots. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet tried to fix this problem many times. They paid companies to repaint the bridge, but the painting was not done correctly. These attempts cost over $23 million, but the bridge still looked rusty.
In October 2006, the state gave a new contract worth $14.7 million to Intech Contracting to paint half of the bridge. This time, the plan was simpler: the bridge would be painted all beige instead of three colors. The very southern part of the bridge had already been painted in three colors (brown, beige, and green), but this part was later painted over to match the rest.
On December 5, 2007, the painting project was finally finished. The total cost, including the earlier failed attempts, was $59 million.
Bridge Upgrades
The Ohio River Bridges Project
In 2013, Kentucky began a big project called the Ohio River Bridges Project. This project aimed to help with traffic jams in the Louisville area. As part of this, a second bridge was built next to the Kennedy Bridge. This new bridge is called the Abraham Lincoln Bridge.
New Traffic Flow
The Abraham Lincoln Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge and it opened in December 2015. While the Kennedy Bridge was being repaired and got a new deck, the Lincoln Bridge carried all Interstate 65 traffic over the Ohio River.
Now, the Kennedy Bridge carries six lanes of southbound I-65 traffic. The Lincoln Bridge carries six lanes of northbound I-65 traffic. This helps keep traffic moving smoothly.
Reopening and Tolling
The Kennedy Bridge reopened in three stages during the last months of 2016.
- On September 30, one lane reopened for traffic coming from streets in Jeffersonville to I-65.
- On October 10, the bridge fully reopened for I-65 through traffic, carrying five lanes southbound. At the same time, the Lincoln Bridge began carrying only northbound traffic.
- On November 14, the exit ramp from the bridge to westbound I-64 reopened. This ramp had been closed for almost a year.
Tolling (meaning you have to pay to cross) began in December 2016.
