LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Clark Memorial Bridge, otherwise known as the Second Street Bridge, has experienced almost an equal amount of crashes as the other three interstate bridges combined.
Matt Bullock, the engineer for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's District 5, said between March 13, 2023 and March 26, 2024, there were 86 accidents on the bridge. Five involved semi trucks, which is 6% of the state's data, and 8% of the LMPD accident reports the WHAS11 FOCUS team reviewed.
According to KYTC and MetroSafe, there were 36 accidents on both directions of I-65, the Kennedy and Lincoln Bridges, and 67 accidents on the Sherman Minton bridge.
Following up on our investigation, we caught up with the mayor and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. Both were in Louisville for events.
We asked Beshear if he thinks semis should still be allowed to drive on the narrow 95-year-old bridge.
"It's a little more than just a semi or not it can be the weight limit, it can be the types of trucks and the hours of the day," Beshear said.
So what will the state do to reduce the danger to drivers?
The governor said the state is working to make the right decision after what happened on March 1.
"I know we're also looking at the number of lanes right now and we are ensuring that the bridge continues to be structurally sound," Beshear said.
The lanes on the Second Street Bridge are 10.5 feet wide and the bridge has no shoulders or extra space for emergencies. The Federal Highway Administration requires that interstates like I-64 and I-65 have 12-foot lanes, however the 2nd Street Bridge is classified as a "principal arterial," which is another term for a main road within a city.
Bullock said KYTC has considered making the bridge one-way north or south during peak commuter times, and has also considered cutting it down to one lane each direction permanently. Neither are being considered right now because the bridge has too much traffic to consider cutting down its lanes.
"Right now based on the volume of vehicles we have on there on a daily basis, lane reductions at this time are not feasible," Bullock said. "It's confined. We can't really do anything better with the way it is right now."
Mayor Craig Greenberg said for him, he will wait and see what the state finds.
"The bridge is safe, we are waiting for the state's analysis so that we can make decisions on how things proceed," he said.
But all agreed; respecting the 35 mile per hour speed limit on the old bridge is a must.
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