Interstate 64 in the U.S. state of Kentucky travels for, passing by the major towns and cities of Louisville, Frankfort, Lexington and Ashland. It has several major junctions with other Interstates, including I-65, I-71, I-264 and I-265 in Louisville, and I-75 in Lexington. The portion of I-64 in Kentucky is host to two "exceptionally significant" structures indicated by the Federal Highway Administration. One is the Cochran Hill Tunnel, a twin tube at Cherokee Park in Louisville built in 1974, and the other is a 1960s-era modern-styled rest area near Winchester. In Downtown Louisville, I-64 passes under a public plaza called the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, one of the only structures in the state built on top of an Interstate. Between the Indiana state line and Lexington, I-64 is named the Daniel Boone Expressway. The entire length of I-64 in Kentucky has been designated as a portion of the Purple Heart Trail.
History
The Cochran Hill Tunnel in Louisville, also known as the Cherokee Park Tunnel, underwent restoration in 2001, which involved the reconstruction of the concrete pavement, the installation of new tiles and improvements to lighting. Efforts were made to paint the interior tiles of the tunnel with a mural, but were dropped because opponents stated that drivers would become distracted while passing through the tunnel, driving and viewing the art work at the same time. The tunnels, which opened in 1974, are one of three sites in Kentucky deemed "exceptionally significant" by the Federal Highway Administration. The designation meant that it will be very difficult for the stretch of interstate running through Cherokee Park ever to be widened. Construction began on a Kentucky Route 180 interchange improvement project in the summer of 2006. The $34 million project entailed the rebuilding of six bridges, the widening of Kentucky Route 180 to four-lanes in the vicinity of the interchange and the conversion of the ramps into a diamond. The project was finished in the fall of 2008. In March 2007, GovernorErnie Fletcher signed Senate Bill 83 which allowed for an increase in speed limits on rural interstates and parkways. Speed limits on rural sections of Interstate 64 were increased from 65 MPH to, following an engineering study by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. New signage was installed in July On June 7, 2007, Interstate 64 between the junction of Interstate 264 and Interstate 65 and Interstate 71 in downtown Louisville was closed to through traffic. The section of highway featured three-lanes of traffic in each direction on an elevated viaduct paralleling the Ohio River, carrying 90,000 vehicles-per-day. The closure was part of a $50 million refurbishment project that involved replacing 132 expansion joints and repaving more than four-miles of interstate and interchanges. The work was completed in two phases, starting with the entire project area being closed on three weekends in June, followed by a section of highway closed from 3rd to 22nd Streets in early July to early August. However, the Interstate was not finished because of the section between Frankfort and Lexington. The state could not attain the right of way here because of very famous horse parks northwest of Lexington. After a couple of tries to get the right of way, the state was able to get the right of way and began construction on this segment. It was the last segment of Interstate 64 to be completed in Kentucky.
"8664"
Controversially, I-64 runs through Louisville Waterfront Park, a key part of the revitalization of Downtown Louisville, and portions of the park exist under it. 8664.org, a grassroots campaign with popular support but little apparent political momentum, aimed to re-route and remove I-64 to enhance Louisville's waterfront. I-64 through Louisville would be re-signed as I-364. I-64 was to be widened over the park as a part of the Ohio River Bridges Project. But plans to widen the freeway over the park were abandoned to reduce costs of the Ohio River Bridges Project.
