LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Is it the future of Louisville transit, or just a pipe dream?
It's the big question generating a lot of discussion citywide, as Kentucky commerce officials are proposing an underground tunnel concept to more easily connect drivers to the city's biggest attractions -- including linking the Kentucky Exposition Center to the Kentucky International Convention Center downtown.
The ambitious concept was buried in an 84-page proposal to revamp the Expo Center, a multi-year project with $200 million already allocated by the state.
The Kentucky State Fair Board is exploring the potential to build two different tunnels from the south end to downtown. The belief is it would better solve traffic congestion, allowing tourism to thrive.
"[It] would allow access to hotels, restaurants, attractions, the airport, the Yum Center, Churchill Downs, UofL," Kentucky Venues President and CEO David Beck said.
Beck believes the benefits are endless, but many locals aren't sold and have been pushing back on social media.
"What a big idea... and how tone-deaf our leaders are for folks in Louisville and across the state about what the actual needs are," community organizer and consultant Cassia Herron said.
She says the city instead needs larger investments in the TARC bus system or light rail, which has seen success in bigger cities across the country including St. Louis.
"So young people can get around the city and work, so they can go to high school games at night and not be on the streets. So people who work two and three jobs can do [so] easily," Herron said. "Those are the things people in Louisville need."
University of Louisville student Caden Holbrook is another person who is skeptical of the concept.
"I don't think it's a realistic or feasible goal or dream," he told WHAS 11. "Cities get really excited about these opportunities, and they buy into it, and then they're basically abandoned and these plans never come to fruition."
But Beck says these tunnels would actually be more cost and time-effective, compared to light rail.
"We're told -- not my numbers -- but we're told that we can do this in less than 24 months, for less than $250 million," Beck said. "This may not be the answer. There may be others out there, [and] we're willing to look at those, but today this seems to be the most logical one."
State commerce officials are still taking input and more feedback on this preliminary concept, including who the bidders would be.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Kentucky State Fair Board sent lawmakers a nearly $711 million plan for massive renovations at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
It includes plans to develop 12 full-size soccer fields, a new hotel and renovations for existing venues.
The proposal, and cost analysis, was conducted by Conventions, Sports and Leisure International (CSL). Interestingly, the 84-page document also included the concept for the underground tunnels.
Kentucky Agricultural Commissioner Ryan Quarles said the tunnel would "transform our Commonwealth's largest city into the modern age."
Quarles said the tunnel would connect the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, Kentucky Exposition Center, University of Louisville and Churchill Downs directly to the heart of the city.
According to CSL's proposal, the tunnel's transportation could be provided by "autonomous vehicles or with human drivers."
It's still only just a concept, however, and doesn't have an estimated cost yet.
The entire renovation project for the Expo Center is split up into three phases. Officials say the tunnel system proposal would be part of phase two, which would put the timeline somewhere between fiscal years 2024 and 2025.
"We believe additional evaluation of the option will prove to be beneficial to several important entities of the community in addition to growing the convention, exposition, sporting and tourism business," a letter, sent with the proposal, to the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue said.
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