KTC plans to make changes to Warnock Avenue and the I-65 exit and entrance ramps to improve traffic flow, repair the Eastern Parkway bridge over Floyd and South Brook streets — one of the state’s most structurally deficient bridges — and make changes to the area of Eastern Parkway near Third Street that will improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow, according to KTC plans.
Phase I: Warnock Avenue and I-65 ramps
There will be a more direct route to Belknap Campus off I-65 north by early September.
Starting on a Friday in late August and for 16 days after, the highway department will close Warnock Avenue between Arthur Street and Crittenden Drive while contractors modify and widen the exit and entrance ramps at I-65. They also will add a turn lane on Warnock and a traffic signal, said Andrea Clifford, public information officer for the Louisville District of the Highway Department (see PDF map Area A).
When the work is completed, drivers will be able to make legal left turns onto Warnock Avenue after exiting I-65 north at Exit 133B and also onto I-65 North from Warnock Avenue.
Besides the Warnock Avenue closure, Hahn Street will be closed to through traffic between Eastern Parkway and Floyd Street during this 16-day phase (see PDF map Area E). Hahn Street private entrance access will be allowed.
Phase II: Eastern Parkway bridge repair and lower Eastern Parkway improvements
The most extensive work will take place on Eastern Parkway. Preliminary work will start at the same time as the Warnock Avenue project. The main work will begin after Warnock Avenue is complete and it is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31.
Contractors will install a median from Third Street and extending across the Eastern Parkway bridge to improve pedestrian safety. They also will install a height notification device to alert large trucks too tall to pass under the railroad overpass at the corner of Third Street and Eastern Parkway, and will close the pedestrian tunnel that runs under Eastern Parkway connecting the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.
When the Warnock Avenue work is completed, the highway department will close Eastern Parkway to vehicles and pedestrians between Hahn Street and the traffic signal at the Speed School entrance. That portion will remain closed until the entire project is completed as contractors jack the bridge deck from its foundation and repair the understructure.
Contractors may close Old Eastern Parkway while work on Warnock Avenue takes place. The road runs under the Eastern Parkway bridge providing access from Floyd Street to South Brook Street on Belknap Campus. If it is not closed already, contractors will close Old Eastern Parkway when they close the bridge. It will reopen when the project is completed.
Arthur Street also will be closed between Warnock Avenue and Eastern Parkway while the bridge is closed.
Access to the parking lot near the Natural Science Building and Grawemeyer Hall will be closed permanently when work begins.
During the bridge closure, there will be no through traffic access in the Eastern Parkway work zone. At least one lane in each direction will be open between Third Street and the traffic signal at Speed School to provide access to the parking lot behind Speed School. Pedestrian access to Speed School also will be allowed.
Contractors are required to keep at least one lane open on Floyd and South Brook streets during peak traffic times, and there will be no lane closures during UofL home football games and the St. X – Trinity football game at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.
The Highway Department will post signs in and near the affected areas before work begins. Detour signs will mark alternate routes during construction.
Updated construction information from the Highway Department will be available online and through the media.
Other campus impact
In addition to detours and road and lane closures near campus, some campus parking also will be affected.
Red and blue spaces next to Eastern Parkway will be unavailable. The Parking Office has begun to notify and relocate red permit holders who will be affected, according to Doreen Wood, assistant director of parking. Some will be moved to the current red/blue lot south of Eastern Parkway by the track and field “throws” field (see PDF map Area F).
The Parking Office will add a temporary gravel lot with 96 blue and green spaces behind the SGA intramurals field that will have access from South Brook Street and via the parking lot behind Speed School (see PDF map Area G). Commuters can access that lot from Speed School entrance on Eastern Parkway.
