Lewis and Clark Bridge, East End Crossing Open to Traffic

The East End Crossing recently opened to traffic, marking the completion of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges project.

Indiana Lt. Governor and Governor-elect Eric Holcomb announced the newly named Lewis and Clark Bridge by executive order of Vice President-elect Governor Mike Pence at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the Indiana approach of the new bridge.

Following the ribbon cutting, Holcomb and other speakers were loaded into two Ford vehicles built at the nearby Kentucky Truck Plant in East Louisville to ceremonially cross the bridge for the first time. Project officials followed state leaders in Transit Authority of River City buses.

The long-anticipated 8½ miles of new roadway connects the eastern edge of suburban Louisville, Kentucky and an area just east of Jeffersonville, Indiana, with its centerpiece 2,500-foot cable-stay bridge reaching across the Ohio River.

Holcomb said Indiana’s public-private partnership helped take the East End Crossing from wish to reality.

Matt Walsh, co-chairman of the Walsh Group, credited the strength of cooperation between the state of Indiana and the construction group. More than 3.3 million man-hours on this project were elapsed by Walsh Vinci Construction over the project’s three-year construction.

Substantial completion of the East End Crossing will provide several significant benefits to the Louisville and Southern Indiana area – including convenient access for residents commuting between eastern Jefferson County and Southern Indiana. And for travelers passing through the Louisville area from the north or the south, the East End Crossing will be an alternate – and very accessible – route that bypasses the urban traffic of downtown Louisville.

The Kentucky approach to the new bridge extends Kentucky 841 (the Gene Snyder Freeway) from its previous termination at U.S. 42, adding a new four-lane (two northbound, two southbound) 1.4-mile section. This section includes a pair of 1,700-foot tunnels that carry Kentucky 841 traffic beneath U.S. 42 and the historic Drumanard estate. The Indiana approach, also four lanes, extends Indiana 265 (the Lee Hamilton Highway) four miles to the Ohio River from its previous termination at Indiana 62.

The bridge features two diamond towers rising 300 feet above the river, with 104 stay cables. It also includes a shared-use path over the Ohio River for pedestrians and bicyclists accessed from Old Salem Road in Indiana.

Construction of the East End Crossing commenced in June 2013. The crossing is part of the $2.3-billion Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project, which also includes the construction of the Lincoln Bridge.

To view opening ceremony, visit: https://youtu.be/MH2ym0QWO9Q.