Interstate 75 (I-75) runs from near Williamsburg to Covington by way of Lexington in the US state of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. I-75 enters the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms "Alle ...

region from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, then descends into the

Bluegrass region The Bluegrass region is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It makes up the central and northern part of the state, roughly bounded by the cities of Frankfort, Paris, Richmond and Stanford. The Bluegrass region is characteriz ...

through the

Pottsville Escarpment The Pottsville Escarpment is a resistant sandstone belt of cliffs and steep sided, narrow crested valleys in eastern Kentucky, USA. It features rock shelters, waterfalls, and natural bridges. It is also called the Cumberland Escarpment and forms ...

before crossing the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

into

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. I-75 follows along the U.S. Route 25 (US 25) corridor for the entire length of Kentucky.

Route description

I-75 runs roughly parallel to US 25 for its entire length in Kentucky. The freeway enters Kentucky south of Williamsburg in the

, bypassing

Corbin Corbin may refer to: People * Corbin (given name) * Corbin (surname) * Corbin (musician), American singer Buildings * Corbin Building, a historic building located at 192 Broadway in New York, US * Corbin Cabin, a log structure in Shenandoah ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

before descending into the

near Berea through the

. The highway continues north through

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

en route to Lexington. It meets and then becomes briefly concurrent with

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

along the north and east sides of Lexington, before leaving the Lexington area northerly and bypassing Georgetown en route to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Just south of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, the route enters the Cincinnati metropolitan area and becomes concurrent with

I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-64 and I-65 (the Kennedy Interchange) in Louisville, ...

. The two routes remain concurrent through to

Downtown Cincinnati Downtown Cincinnati is the central business district of Cincinnati, Ohio, as well the economic and symbiotic center of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. It also contains a number of urban neighborhoods in the low land area between the Ohio ...

. On the north side of Florence, I-75 intersects with the only auxiliary route it has in the state,

I-275 Interstate 275 (I-275) may refer to: *Interstate 275 (Florida), a loop through Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Bradenton in Florida *Interstate 275 (Michigan), a western bypass of Detroit, Michigan * Interstate 275 (Ohio–Indiana–Kentucky), a full bel ...

, a beltway bypass of the greater Cincinnati area. It then passes through Covington and crosses the

via the lower level of the

Brent Spence Bridge The Brent Spence Bridge is a double decker, cantilevered truss bridge that carries Interstates 71 and 75 across the Ohio River between Covington, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. The top deck carries Kentucky-bound traffic while the bottom de ...

into Ohio.

History

The stretch through Covington originally included hills and curves steeper than those recommended for

Interstate Highway standards Standards for Interstate Highways in the United States are defined by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the publication ''A Policy on Design Standards: Interstate System''. For a certain highway to ...

. As a result, the northbound descent into Cincinnati, known as Cut-in-the-Hill, was nicknamed " Death Hill". It is a steep descent into the valley of the

between Kyles Lane and the

leading into Downtown Cincinnati. The hill is known for its high number of automobile accidents. In 2006, the Cut-in-the-Hill averaged over seven times more accidents when compared to similar roadways in Kentucky. At the Cut-in-the-Hill, the northbound road takes a sharp left turn into a steep grade down to the Ohio River—about in . Accidents are usually attributed to a combination of speeding, curvy lanes, poor weather, longer stopping times for trucks traveling downhill, and traffic congestion. The area earned the sobriquet "Death Hill" shortly after I-75 opened in 1962. By 1968, a total of 23 people died in crashes on the hill, so a concrete wall was installed to separate northbound and southbound traffic. The wall helped reduce fatal crashes, but accidents continued, and, in 1977, the hill averaged 583 automobile accidents per year. In 1986, a tractor-trailer lost control, leading to an accident that caused a

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern K ...

student to burn to death in his car. As a result, Governor

Martha Layne Collins Martha Layne Collins (née Hall; born December 7, 1936) is an American former businesswoman and politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky; she was elected as the state's 56th governor from 1983 to 1987, the first woman to hold the office and ...

banned most northbound tractor-trailer traffic from the hill. From 1989 until 1994, $50 million (equivalent to $ in ) in reconstruction was spent to straighten the hill's S-curve and add a fourth lane for southbound traffic, and, in 1995, the truck ban was lifted. Also as part of the reconstruction, ramps were added at Pike Street to give complete access, while an interchange with Jefferson and Euclid avenues was obliterated. In 2006, the hill and the Brent Spence Bridge saw 151 crashes in the northbound direction and 121 crashes in the southbound direction, totaling 272 in all. To help reduce the number of accidents, a flashing "Steep Grade" sign was installed and a Kentucky State Police trooper was assigned to patrol just the Cut-in-the-Hill. Additionally, eight

radar speed sign A radar speed sign is an interactive sign, generally constructed of a series of LEDs, that displays vehicle speed as motorists approach. The purpose of radar speed signs is to slow cars down by making drivers aware when they are driving at speed ...

s were installed in 2007 to remind motorists to drive a safer speed. The Cut-in-the-Hill was originally designed to carry up to 80,000 vehicles per day, but, in 2006, it carried 155,000 daily. Kentucky officials are reportedly working to raise more than $2 billion to replace the section of highway, but, , no construction is planned.

Exit list

Notes

References

External links

* {{3di, 75 Kentucky 75 0075 Transportation in Whitley County, Kentucky Transportation in Laurel County, Kentucky Transportation in Rockcastle County, Kentucky Transportation in Madison County, Kentucky Transportation in Scott County, Kentucky Transportation in Grant County, Kentucky Transportation in Kenton County, Kentucky Transportation in Boone County, Kentucky