Kennedy Interchange
| Kennedy Interchange | |
|---|---|
| Spaghetti Junction | |
An image of the Kennedy Interchange pre-dating its reconstruction and the building of the Abraham Lincoln Bridge.
|
|
| Location | |
| Louisville, Kentucky | |
| Coordinates: | 38°15′40″N 85°44′04″W / 38.261216°N 85.734322°WCoordinates: 38°15′40″N 85°44′04″W / 38.261216°N 85.734322°W |
| Roads at junction: |
 I-71
|
| Construction | |
| Opened: | 1964 |
| Maintained by: | Kentucky Transportation Cabinet |
The Kennedy Interchange, unofficially, though universally, referred to as Spaghetti Junction, is the intersection of Interstates 64, 65 and 71 at the northeastern edge of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is named for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge located immediately to the north of the interchange (which carries I-65).
The Kennedy Interchange was designed by Barstow, Mulligan and Vollmer, a New York firm. Construction began in the spring of 1962 and when it was complete, the design was adequate to handle the traffic needs of the time. Henry Ward, a member of the Louisville Chamber of Commerce in 1958, lobbied in Frankfort to Highway Commissioner Ward Oates to have I-65 (and other interstates) routed through downtown Louisville. At that time, Henry Ward, who would later become the state Highway Commissioner from 1960 to 1967, stated that "downtown Louisville felt it would be disastrous for it to be bypassed by the interstate." There was tremendous pressure from both sides to push the interstate highway system through downtown. Later on in 1996, he reflected back and stated that, "... it was a mistake. I think downtown Louisville would have been better off if Interstate 65 had not been located where it is."
...
Wikipedia