The Lewis and Clark Bridge is a bridge that crosses 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 ...

northeast of downtown

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and is part of a ring road around the

Louisville metropolitan area The Louisville metropolitan area is the 43rd largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States. It had a population of 1,395,855 in 2020 according to the latest official census, and its principal city is Louisville, Kentucky. Th ...

, connecting two previously disjointed segments of

Interstate 265 Interstate 265 (I-265) is a Interstate Highway partially encircling the Louisville metropolitan area. Starting from I-65 in the southern part of Louisville, it runs through Jefferson County, Kentucky, crosses the Ohio River on the Lewis ...

. It was known as the East End Bridge for 30 years since its conception and while under construction, and renamed by Indiana officials on the day of its opening, December 18, 2016. The bridge provides for walking and bicycling. For motor vehicles, tolling began on December 30, 2016.

History

The design for what was then known as the East End Bridge is the result of the $22.1 million, four-year Ohio River Bridges Study, which found that solving the region's traffic congestion would require the construction of two new bridges across the Ohio River and reconstruction of the

Kennedy Interchange The Kennedy Interchange, unofficially, though universally, referred to as Spaghetti Junction, is the intersection of Interstate 64 (I-64), I-65 and I-71 at the northeastern edge of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is named f ...

in downtown Louisville. Limited land acquisition began in 2004. Construction costs totaled $242 million at the end of January 2017. On June 4, 2019, the two disjointed sections of I-265 were finally connected under AASHTO approval, with the Indiana State Road 265 designation decommissioned and replaced by I-265. However, the Kentucky Route 841 designation mostly concurrent with I-265 in Kentucky has remained.https://s3.amazonaws.com/v3-app_crowdc/assets/3/31/31119030d9a75754/Final_Report_to_CHS_USRN_Application_Results_Spring_2019.original.1558475352.pdf?1558475353

Comparison with Clark Memorial Bridge

The Clark Memorial Bridge crosses the Ohio River in downtown Louisville, and like the upstream Lewis and Clark Bridge, connects

Jefferson County, Kentucky Jefferson County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 782,969. It is the most populous county in the commonwealth (with more than twice the population of second ranked ...

Clark County, Indiana Clark County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana, located directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. At the 2020 census, the population was 121,093. The county seat is Jeffersonville. Clark County is part of the Louisville/ ...

. The Clark Memorial Bridge is named for

George Rogers Clark George Rogers Clark (November 19, 1752 – February 13, 1818) was an American surveyor, soldier, and militia officer from Virginia who became the highest-ranking American patriot military officer on the northwestern frontier during the Ame ...

, while the Clark of the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...

is George's brother

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Misso ...

. Both bridges include dedicated pedestrian facilities.

References

External links

East End Crossing
{{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place =

, bridge = Lewis and Clark Bridge , bridge signs = I-265

, upstream =

Milton–Madison Bridge The Milton–Madison Bridge (also known as the Harrison Street Bridge) is a continuous truss bridge that connects Milton, Kentucky and Madison, Indiana. It carries approximately 10,000 cars a day. The old structure was replaced with a complete ...

, upstream signs = US 421

, , downstream = Big Four Bridge , downstream signs = ''pedestrian and bicycle'' Transportation in Louisville, Kentucky Toll bridges in Indiana Toll bridges in Kentucky Bridges over the Ohio River 2016 establishments in Indiana 2016 establishments in Kentucky Bridges completed in 2016 Cable-stayed bridges in the United States Road bridges in Indiana Road bridges in Kentucky Bridges in Clark County, Indiana Buildings and structures in Louisville, Kentucky

History

Comparison with Clark Memorial Bridge

See also

References

External links