Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Boondoggles

Louisville’s New $1.1 Billion Bridge: Empty at Rush Hour

Traffic on Louisville’s brand new downtown bridge was light at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Photo: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet via City Observatory

Kentucky and Indiana just cut the ribbon on the new $1.3 billion "Downtown Crossing" bridge, part of the even bigger $2.6 billion "Ohio River Bridges" project, which encompasses two new bridges over the Ohio River and one enormous tangle of an interchange. The project was widely ridiculed for its outrageous expense and for degrading the connection between downtown Louisville and the riverfront.

To top it all off, the drivers the downtown bridge was built for -- suburban commuters whose travel time was deemed to be so important -- don't seem to appreciate it that much. Joe Cortright at City Observatory has been using live traffic cameras maintained by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to investigate traffic conditions on the brand new bridge. What he found on Tuesday at 5 p.m., which should be the height of rush hour, was an empty highway, shown above.

The new Downtown Crossing bridge costs between $1 and $3 to drive across. Cortright suggests this early evidence indicates that Kentucky and Indiana made a grave miscalculation:

This very anecdotal, if visual, information suggests a couple of hypotheses. First, it does appear that a fairly large segment of traffic crossing the Ohio River in Louisville on this particular afternoon chose the older, slower and non-tolled route over the newer, faster and more expensive tolled freeway bridges. Second, it seems like there is plenty of capacity crossing the Ohio River at this particular point to accommodate all these vehicles. Not only is the freeway nearly deserted, but traffic appears to be well below capacity on the Second Street Bridge as well.

Of course, this is a small sample and a highly unscientific set of observations. But taken at face value, these pictures call into question the decision to spend several billion dollars to increase highway capacity over the Ohio River. If so few cars are actually crossing the river at peak hour on a typical business day, and if such a relatively large proportion of them apparently prefer to use the older, slower route rather than pay to use the fancy new crossing, did the states of Kentucky and Indiana have any reason to spend so much to build a giant new bridge? And will the two states, who are counting on toll revenues to pay back a major share of the cost of the project, be able to cover their debts?

For comparison, here's a photo Cortright grabbed at the same time at the nearby Second Street Bridge, built in the 1920s, which has no toll:

Photo: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet via City Observatory
Photo: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet via City Observatory
Photo: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet via City Observatory

As Cortright says, it's too early to reach conclusions. But this project will be an interesting one to watch.

Kentucky, especially, borrowed enormous sums to build these highway bridges, based on projected revenue from tolls. If the state's projections were off the mark, it could cost the public dearly. There are plenty of examples of new toll roads failing to make ends meet. In this case, residents of Kentucky and Indiana would be on the hook, as would people all over the country, since the feds helped guarantee the loans.

Correction: This post originally mislabled the bridge in the above photo as the "East End Bridge." It is the "Downtown Crossing Bridge." 

More recommended reading today: BikeWalkLee carries a column explaining why Fort Myers, Florida, topped Smart Growth America's recent list of most dangerous cities for walking: It's a design failure. And the Political Environment wonders why no one in Wisconsin is mentioning higher speed limits as a factor in the rise in traffic deaths.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

A Few Lowlights from Secretary Duffy’s First Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Hearing

Featuring: shouting matches, word-salad answers, blatant misinformation, and more.

July 17, 2025

Trump Grant Program Pours Money Into Roads, Mostly Ignores Transit Projects

The BUILD program, started under Obama, is chugging along on highways under the new administration.

July 17, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Gouge Away

A House budget bill reverses the Biden administration's spending hikes for transit and passenger rail — cutting them below even what President Trump proposed.

July 17, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Stick With What Works

Forget robotaxis. Just make the bus come frequently and on time.

July 16, 2025

Can Colleges Do A Better Job of Fighting Car Dependency?

"How great would it be if kids graduated without the assumption that they must be completely dependent on a personal automobile?"

July 16, 2025

Commentary: The French City of Lyon Shows How to Connect Communities Without Cars

An amazing 24/7 bike-ped-transit connection can be made for pennies on the dollar.

July 15, 2025
See all posts