Spaghetti Junction ranks No. 11 on worst bottlenecks list.

LOUISVILLE, KY - A new report ranks Spaghetti Junction as one of the nation's worst bottlenecks and a Greater Louisville organization representing 120 employers in manufacturing and logistics says it is choking off commerce and
threatening one of the region's largest economic sectors.

Spaghetti Junction – where I-64, I-65, and I-71 converge in Louisville – ranks No. 11 on a new list of the nation's 100 worst bottlenecks released by the American Transportation Research Institute and the Federal Highway Administration.

http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=12644765

[Robin Garr]

I don't know if this provides significant or merely trivial context, but it might be noted that the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is a lobby/publicity group for the national trucking industry, which is probably rarely opposed to highway expansion.

Welcome
ATRI's primary mission is to conduct research in the field of transportation, with an emphasis on the trucking industry's essential role in a safe, ...
www.atri-online.org/

I don't know if that info is significant or trivial either, but something needs to be done. Right after they fix the junction, they can start on the I-71 N ramp off 264-E.

I have mixed feelings toward the need to improve the Junction.

When people ask me about traffic in Louisville, I just say, "There is none if you can avoid Spaghetti Junction during rush hour." That's the double-edgeness of Spaghetti Junction. It stinks if you have to make use of that area, but it sure does make it nice for every spot that is not SJ. And I'm rarely, if ever, in the junction during rush hour.

Take Cincy as a comparison. Cincy is a city with a number of highways converging there. Each meets another at random points, creating traffic issues throughout the city. Go five minutes. Stop. Go five minutes. Stop. Get to the hill. Wonder, "Why can people not drive up a hill?" Slow down. Get to the loop. Stop. You get the idea. Same issues in opposite direction.

What really humors me is the lack of an East End bridge. Honestly, I couldn't care less if that bridge gets built, because, from a selfish perspective, it impacts my life in no way. I just kind of chuckle at all the people who live in the East End and then drive into the city to get across the river. I guess they moved out to the East End with a "they will build it if we all move out there" mentality. Still waiting on that to happen, it seems!

I don't think both the junction and the new bridge need to be built/reimagined. Build the bridge first and see what kind of traffic alleviation happens in the Junction. In terms of site-specific congestion, bringing three interstates together in one spot is a major no-no. As a result, I'm not sure there is a way to straighten out the mess!

Most of the problem with the junction seems to be the traffic coming 64-W and 71-S trying to get on 65-N. The east end bridge would cut down on the east-enders traveling through the junction as well as people living in eastern Clark Co. working in the east end.

I don't know if this provides significant or merely trivial context, but it might be noted that the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is a lobby/publicity group for the national trucking industry, which is probably rarely opposed to highway expansion.

Welcome
ATRI's primary mission is to conduct research in the field of transportation, with an emphasis on the trucking industry's essential role in a safe, ...
http://www.atri-online.org/

Oh, come on, Robin - they said they do "research!" It must be pure!

[Robin Garr]

Oh, come on, Robin - they said they do "research!" It must be pure!

Looking at ATRI's list, Chicago has 3 junctions in the top 10, and I'm painfully familiar with all of them.

When people ask me about traffic in Louisville, I just say, "There is none if you can avoid Spaghetti Junction during rush hour."

Agreed, it seems like I can get anywhere in the Louisville Metro area in 10 - 15 minutes, as long as it's not rush hour. The good thing about rush hour here, it is just that, a hour in the morning, and a hour in the evening. Nothing worse than a rush hour that goes from sunrise to sunset.

I think the east end bridge will certainly help relieve downtown traffic, though I'm not holding my breath I'll ever see it.

The East End Bridge, coupled with minor in-footprint enhancements to the junction to cut out traffic weaving, would solve the problem in my estimation. The entire, bloated, way-too-expensive ORBP is unnecessary.

Check out this Facebook page and join if you agree: Build the East End Bridge Already! -- After that, Re-evaluate the Rest!