| Interstate 264 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watterson/Shawnee Expressway | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Kentucky Transportation Cabinet | ||||
| Length: | 22.93 mi (36.90 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1956 (finished 1974) – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | I-64 / US 150 in Louisville | |||
| US 31W / US 60 in Louisville I-65 in Louisville US 31E / US 150 in Louisville I-64 in Louisville US 60 in Louisville US 42 in Louisville |
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| East end: | I-71 in Louisville | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System Highways in Kentucky
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The Henry Watterson Expressway, also known as the Georgia Davis Powers/Shawnee Expressway west of US 31W, is one of two Interstate Highways in the United States designated as Interstate 264 (abbreviated I-264). It is 22.93 miles (36.90 km) in length,[1] and runs an open circle around central Louisville, Kentucky. The highway begins four miles (6 km) west of downtown at I-64 just east of the Sherman Minton Bridge which links Southern Indiana with Kentucky as it crosses the Ohio River. The interstate ends approximately six miles northeast of Louisville, where it connects to I-71.
Louisville is one of few U.S. cities with two Interstate Highways serving as inner and outer beltways. I-264 is Louisville's inner beltway (in conjunction with I-64 and I-71) and the later constructed I-265, the Gene Snyder Freeway, is Louisville's outer beltway. I-264 is used as the primary detour route when Interstate 64 is closed through Downtown Louisville.
In discussions about the city, Interstate 264 is often used as a rough line dividing the older areas of Louisville from its suburbs.
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In 1948, a bypass was built between Shelbyville Road and Dixie Highway in Louisville, as a relocation of US 60. It was incorporated into the Interstate Highway System in 1956. The highway was completed in 1974, and in 1952 the road from Dixie Highway east to I-71 was named after the journalist and editor Henry Watterson. The designation US 60 was dropped in 1984.
The western segment from Dixie Highway to I-64 northwest of downtown Louisville was opened in segments from 1970 to August 1974 and is often referred to as the Shawnee Expressway. On April 1, 2010, the Kentucky Legislature designated this portion the Georgia Davis Powers Expressway[2]
The Watterson Expressway underwent a major reconstruction effort that began in 1985. The vintage freeway had outlived its useful purpose and had numerous characteristics that defined it as a blight on Louisville: deteriorating overpasses, buckling pavement, deficient and too closely spaced interchanges, and rampant congestion. Dozens of bridges were reconstructed and widened, and the majority of the interchanges were redesigned and rebuilt from the ground up from Dixie Highway east to Shelbyville Road. The entire highway reconstruction project was completed in 1995.
A typical deficient interchange along I-264 was the I-65, Kentucky Exposition Center and Louisville International Airport exit. Before the reconstruction, two cloverleafs with no collector and distributor lanes existed and posed serious weaving issues. The interchange today has been rebuilt and features numerous flyovers and collector and distributor lanes, making it safer, though not necessarily easier to navigate.
The segment of I-264 from Dixie Highway to the northwest I-64 interchange opened in segments from 1970 to August 1974 and received no more than emergency or spot patching. After several years of planning, in early 2003, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet began a rehabilitation project on this segment of Interstate Highway stretching from the Dixie Highway interchange northwest to just east of Bank Street.
A concrete surface several inches thick was constructed on the mainline and access ramps, a new median barrier was formed, new lighting fixtures were installed, 37 bridges were rehabilitated, and 380 new roadway signage was posted and all guardrails were replaced as part of the 7.6-mile (12.2 km) project. In addition, the segment from River Park Drive to I-64, which was only two lanes, was widened to three lanes. No major ramp or interchange modifications were needed. The highway reconstruction project cost approximately $66 million and required 18 months of labor.
About 70,000 vehicles a day use the portion of Interstate 264 near Dixie Highway and about 40,000 daily use the segment near its western terminus with I-64.
Although the Kentucky General Assembly considered plans for an interchange with Westport Road (Kentucky Route 1447) as early as 1992, work did not begin until October 2008 and was completed in May 2010.[3][4][5][6][7]
The entire route is in Louisville, Jefferson County.
| Mile | # | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | 0 | I-64 / US 150 – Louisville, Lexington, New Albany, St. Louis | Signed as exits 0A (east) and 0B (west) |
| 0.2 | 1 | Bank Street, Northwestern Parkway | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| 1.0 | 2 | Muhammad Ali Boulevard, River Park Drive | |
| 2.3 | 3 | Virginia Avenue, Dumesnil Street | |
| 3.5 | 4 | Bells Lane ( KY 2056), Algonquin Parkway ( KY 2054) | |
| 4.7/
4.9 |
5 | Ralph Avenue, Cane Run Road ( KY 1934) | Signed as exits 5A (Ralph Avenue, Cane Run Road north) and 5B (Cane Run Road south) eastbound |
| 6.9 | 8 | US 31W / US 60 – Fort Knox, Shively | Signed as exits 8A (south/west) and 8B (north/east) |
| 8.6 | 9 | KY 1865 (Taylor Boulevard) | |
| 9.6 | 10 | KY 1020 (Southern Parkway) / 3rd Street | |
| 10.5 | 11 | Crittenden Drive – Kentucky Exposition Center | |
| 10.8 | 11 | Louisville International Airport | |
| 10.8 | 12 | Kentucky Exposition Center (Freedom Way) | Westbound exit is part of exit 11 |
| 10.9 | 12 | I-65 / KY 61 – Nashville, Indianapolis | |
| 12.9 | 14 | KY 864 (Poplar Level Road) | |
| 14.1 | 15 | KY 1703 (Newburg Road) | Signed as exits 15A (north) and 15B (south) westbound |
| 15.1 | 16 | US 31E (Bardstown Road) / US 150 | |
| 17 | KY 155 (Taylorsville Road) | Signed as exits 17A (south) and 17B (north) | |
| 18 | KY 1932 (Breckenridge Lane) | Signed as exits 18A (south) and 18B (north) | |
| 19 | I-64 – Lexington, Louisville | Signed as exits 19A (east) and 19B (west) | |
| 20 | US 60 (Shelbyville Road) – Middletown, St. Matthews | Signed as exits 20A (east) and 20B (west) | |
| 21 | KY 1447 (Westport Road) | ||
| 22 | US 42 (Brownsboro Road) | ||
| 23 | I-71 – Cincinnati, Louisville | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 23A (north) and 23B (south) |
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