The Drumanard Tunnel carries Interstate 265 under the historic Drumanard Estate in Harrods Creek near Louisville, Kentucky.
History
The Ohio River Bridges Project, a multi-state project to relieve traffic congestion in the Louisville region, involved the construction of the Abraham Lincoln Bridge for six lanes of northbound Interstate 65 traffic, the renovation of the adjoining Kennedy Memorial Bridge for six lanes of southbound Interstate 65 traffic, the construction of the East End Bridge (Lewis and Clark Bridge) and Drumanard Tunnel for Interstate 265, and the rebuilding of the Interstate 64, 65, and 71 (Kennedy) interchange in Louisville.
The Drumanard Tunnel, a component of the East End Bridge project, was proposed to pass underneath the historic Dumanard Estate via two six-lane tubes. 3 The Say No to Bridge Tolls group requested to the Kentucky Heritage Council that the historic Drumanard estate, for which the tunnel would pass under, be de-listed from the National Register of Historic Places to reduce costs. 4 The anti-toll group noted that the estate was “not architecturally or historically significant.” The property was listed on the Register in 1983 and expanded to include the grounds as they had been designed by the landscaping firm owned by Frederick Law Olmsted. Ultimately, the de-listing proposal did not move forward.
The Indiana Finance Authority and the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) took the lead on the $763 million East End Bridge project, which included the construction of a 2,500-foot cable-stayed bridge, 19 related bridge structures, a 1,700-foot tunnel, and 8½ miles of new interstate roadway. 1 INDOT awarded the public-private partnership project as a design, build, operate, maintain and finance to WVB East End Partners, which comprised of Walsh Investors of Chicago, VINCI Concessions of Paris, and Bilfinger Project Investments of Germany. 1 It was decided early on to toll the crossing to create a defined funding source.
WVB began construction of the Drumanard Tunnel in June 2013, which was excavated using a drill-and-blast method. 1 The tunnel opened to traffic on December 18, 2016. 2
Gallery
Information
- State: Kentucky
- Route: Interstate 265
- Type: Tunnel
- Status: Active - Automobile
- Total Length: 1,700 feet
- Spans:
- Navigational Clearance:
Sources
- Wood, Debra. “Ohio River Bridges Improve Cross-River Mobility and Safety.” Construction Digest, 15 May 2016.
- Beilman, Elizabeth. “At last: East-end bridge, dubbed Lewis and Clark, opens to traffic.” News and Tribune [Jeffersonville], 18 Dec. 2016.
- Green, Marcus. “Relief on way for U.S. 42-Snyder intersection.” Courier-Journal [Louisville], 26 Apr. 2006.
- Marcus, Green. “Ohio River Bridges Project shouldn’t protect historic Drumanard home, group says.” Courier-Journal [Louisville], 17 Jun. 2010.