Interstate 369 (Kentucky)
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The Audubon Parkway is a four-lane controlled-access freeway (formerly a toll road) connecting the cities of
Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...
and
Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...
. Named for
John James Audubon John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin; April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was an American self-trained artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. His combined interests in art and ornithology turned into a plan to make a complete pictoria ...
, an early American naturalist, the Audubon's western terminus is at US 41; the eastern terminus is US 60. The road opened on December 18, 1970, at a cost of $23.5 million (equivalent to $ in ) and, at , is the shortest of the seven roads in the state's
parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...
system. It is also the only road in the parkway system that has not had the name of a Kentucky politician attached to it. The road carries the unsigned designation of Kentucky Route 9005 (KY 9005). A white and gold shield was used along the Audubon Parkway until 2006, when a new, standardized blue-on-white marker was introduced for all of Kentucky's parkways.


Route description


History


As a toll road

The Audubon Parkway, as with all eight of the other parkways, was originally a toll road from its 1970 opening until 2006. The only toll plaza on the Audubon was located at the exit 10 interchange at KY 416 near Hebbardsville, in eastern Henderson County.


Toll removal

The Audubon and the nearby
William H. Natcher Parkway The William H. Natcher Green River Parkway was the designation for a freeway that ran from Bowling Green to Owensboro in the US commonwealth of Kentucky. The Natcher Parkway was one of nine highways that were a part of Kentucky's parkway syste ...
, which opened in 1972, were the last two remaining tolled parkways in Kentucky’s parkway system. They both had their tolls removed on Tuesday, November 21, 2006. Ernie Fletcher, who was governor at the time, announced the removal of the tolls at the Natcher Parkway's Hartford toll plaza in Ohio County on September 27, 2006. Fletcher himself manned the end loader which demolished one of the Audubon's Hebbardsville toll booths during a press conference and ceremony which heralded the end of toll collections. With the end of toll collection, the Hebbardsville interchange was modified slightly, although its past as the parkway's only toll plaza remains in the modified-cloverleaf layout of the ramps, a trait shared by most such interchanges on Kentucky's other parkways. The islands where the toll booths were mounted were removed, and the pavement at the interchange was smoothed over, although the rumble strips approaching the interchange from both directions remain . During 2008, the former toll plaza office on the south side of the interchange was demolished.


Future


Interstate 69 Spur

Daviess County officials first proposed in 2005 that the Audubon be upgraded to an
Interstate highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
, specifically suggesting the number I-369. This would, according to the proposal, take place if and when the
Interstate 69 Ohio River Bridge The Interstate 69 Ohio River Crossing (I-69 ORX) is a proposed bridge to carry the planned Interstate 69 (I-69) extension over the Ohio River between Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky. The bridge and its approach roadways make ...
and its approaches are completed. The I-69 "spur" would connect
Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...
, to I-69 with I-369 as the likely designation. The Audubon would have to be significantly upgraded in order for it to be approved as an Interstate Highway; the shoulders would need to be widened and the median would have to be widened or have a rigid safety barrier constructed along its entire length. The Audubon Parkway became a High Priority Interstate Corridor, referred to as the "Future Interstate Route 69 Spur" in the
SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users or SAFETEA-LU was a funding and authorization bill that governed United States federal surface transportation spending. It was signed into law by President Georg ...
, which became Public Law 110-244 on June 6, 2008. New "Future I-69 Spur" signs were placed on the parkway in September 2008.


Exit list


References


External links


State Primary Road System in Daviess CountyState Primary Road System in Henderson CountyKentuckyRoads.com — Audubon Parkway
{{Named Roads in Kentucky 9005 Kentucky parkway system Transportation in Daviess County, Kentucky Transportation in Henderson County, Kentucky Owensboro, Kentucky