Spaghetti Junction might get revamped to make it safer

Pigs running amok on the highway and other recent incidents involving semi trucks in Louisville's so-called Spaghetti Junction have prompted the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to take a closer look at the ramps and roadways.

The agency will review Louisville Metro Police Department crash reports, install new arrow markings on the pavement on one particular ramp and conduct a mechanical analysis on all of the curves in the new footprint downtown, said spokeswoman Andrea Clifford.

Earlier this month, a truck carrying pigs overturned and then caught fire. Some pigs ran loose on the highway ramp before being corralled, while others died in the crash.

In July, a ramp was closed for hours after a semi truck filled with glue overturned and spilled the sticky substance on the roadway.

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The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet hopes to ascertain the cause of crashes in its review of crash reports, whether it's speed, driver inattention or other factors.

The new pavement markings on the ramp from westbound Interstate 64 to southbound Interstate 65 are expected to be completed in the next few weeks, Clifford said. Other initiatives, like a mechanical analysis, don't have a set completion date or timeline.

Still, the analysis will determine "safe operating speeds" in the area where the interchanges were rebuilt during the Downtown Crossing Project and determine whether or not curve advisory signs need to be installed.

The speed limit is 55 MPH on the section of roadway where I-64 West and I-71 South merge and continue to I-65, Clifford said.

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The downtown portion of the Ohio River Bridges Project constituted $1.3 billion of the total $2.3 billion cost. The downtown facilities included the new Lincoln Bridge, major renovation of the Kennedy and a realignment of Spaghetti Junction. 

In particular, Spaghetti Junction improvements aimed to organize traffic, eliminate difficult weaves and give drivers more time to merge. With the rebuild, merge movements are separated further back, Clifford said.

"That gives them more time to merge when they need to, so it's not like a last minute decision," Clifford said. "We were just trying to provide a more efficient flow of traffic through the downtown area." 

Reach Darcy Costello at 502-582-4834 or dcostello@courier-journal.com.