Interstate 64 in Kentucky

This article is about the section of Interstate 64 in Kentucky. For the entire route, see Interstate 64.

Interstate 64
I-64 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by KYTC
Length	191 mi (307 km)
Existed	1956–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-64 / US 150 at the Indiana state line
Major intersections	I-264 in Louisville I-65 / I-71 in Louisville I-264 in Louisville I-265 / KY 841 in Middletown I-75 in Lexington
East end	I-64 at the West Virginia state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Counties	Jefferson, Shelby, Franklin, Woodford, Scott, Fayette, Clark, Montgomery, Bath, Rowan, Carter, Boyd
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future State Primary Road System Interstate US State Parkways
← KY 63 → I-65

Interstate 64 (I-64) in the US state of Kentucky travels for 191 miles (307 km), passing by the major towns and cities of Louisville, Frankfort, Lexington, and Ashland. It has several major junctions with other Interstates, including I-65, I-71, I-264, and I-265 in Louisville and I-75 in Lexington.

The portion of I-64 in Kentucky is host to two "exceptionally significant" structures indicated by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). One is the Cochran Hill Tunnel, a twin tube at Cherokee Park in Louisville built in 1974, and the other is a 1960s-era modern-styled rest area near Winchester.

In Downtown Louisville, I-64 passes under a public plaza called the Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, one of the only structures in the state built on top of an Interstate.

Between the Indiana state line and Lexington, I-64 is named the Daniel Boone Expressway.

The entire length of I-64 in Kentucky has been designated as a portion of the Purple Heart Trail.

Route description

Streaking lights on I-64 as seen from the horse/bike bridge at Seneca Park in Louisville

I-64 enters Kentucky at Louisville, paralleling the Ohio River along the Riverfront Expressway. It intersects with several downtown interchanges before coming to the Kennedy Interchange, where it intersects I-65 and I-71 in a tangle of ramps often referred to as the "Spaghetti Junction". Moving eastward, I-64 passes through Shelbyville, Frankfort, Midway, Lexington, Winchester, Mount Sterling, Owingsville, and Morehead, before leaving the state near Ashland at Catlettsburg. It overlaps I-75 as it makes an arc around the northeast of Lexington's urban core, with the exit numbers for I-75 used for the concurrent portion. The two Interstates separate a few miles east of downtown Lexington.

History

The Cochran Hill Tunnel in Louisville, also known as the Cherokee Park Tunnel, underwent restoration in 2001, which involved the reconstruction of the concrete pavement, the installation of new tiles, and the improvement of lighting. Later, the lights in the tunnel were replaced after multiple lights were found to be faulty. The tunnels, which opened in 1974, are one of three sites in Kentucky deemed "exceptionally significant" by the FHWA. The designation meant that it will be very difficult for the stretch of Interstate running through Cherokee Park ever to be widened.

Streaking Lights on I-64 as seen from the horse/bike bridge at Seneca Park in Louisville

Construction began on a Kentucky Route 180 (KY 180) interchange improvement project in the summer of 2006. The $34-million (equivalent to $47.3 million in 2023) project entailed the rebuilding of six bridges, the widening of KY 180 to four lanes in the vicinity of the interchange, and the conversion of the ramps into a diamond interchange. The project was finished in the autumn of 2008.

In March 2007, Governor Ernie Fletcher signed Senate Bill 83, which allowed for an increase in speed limits on rural Interstates and parkways. Speed limits on rural sections of I-64 were increased from 65 to 70 mph (105 to 113 km/h), following an engineering study by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. New signage was installed in July

On June 7, 2007, I-64 between the junction of I-264 and I-65 and I-71 in Downtown Louisville was closed to through traffic. The section of highway featured three lanes of traffic in each direction on an elevated viaduct paralleling the Ohio River, carrying 90,000 vehicles per day. The closure was part of a $50-million (equivalent to $70.8 million in 2023) refurbishment project that involved replacing 132 expansion joints and repaving more than four miles (6.4 km) of Interstate and interchanges. The work was completed in two phases, starting with the entire project area being closed on three weekends in June, followed by a section of highway closed from 3rd to 22nd streets in early July to early August. However, the Interstate was not finished because of the section between Frankfort and Lexington. The state could not attain the right-of-way here because of very famous horse parks northwest of Lexington. After a couple of tries to get the right-of-way, the state was able to get the right-of-way and began construction on this segment. It was the last segment of I-64 to be completed in Kentucky.

8664

Controversially, I-64 runs through Louisville Waterfront Park, a key part of the revitalization of Downtown Louisville, and portions of the park exist under it. 8664, a grassroots campaign with popular support but little apparent political momentum, aimed to reroute and remove I-64 to enhance Louisville's waterfront. I-64 through Louisville would be resigned as I-364. I-64 was to be widened over the park as a part of the Ohio River Bridges Project. But plans to widen the freeway over the park were abandoned to reduce costs of the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Ohio River		0.0	0.0	Sherman Minton Bridge I-64 west / US 150 west; continuation into Indiana
Jefferson	Louisville	0.9	1.4	1	I-264 east – Shively	Western terminus of I-264, exits 0A-B westbound; tri-stack interchange
		2.7	4.3	3	US 150 east (22nd Street)	Eastern terminus of concurrency with US 150
		3.9	6.3	4	9th Street/ Roy Wilkins Avenue – Downtown
		4.5	7.2	5B	3rd Street / River Road – Downtown	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		5.2	8.4	5A	I-65 (Toll Bridge) – Nashville, Indianapolis	Signed as exit 5A (south) and 5B (north) eastbound
		5.9	9.5	6	I-71 north – Cincinnati	Eastbound access only; I-71 exit 1B northbound to I-64 eastbound, 1A southbound to 64 westbound; southern terminus of I-71
		6.4	10.3	7	US 42 / US 60 (Mellwood Avenue / Story Avenue)
		7.8	12.6	8	Grinstead Drive	Access to Lexington Road (US 60 Alt) to Southern and Louisville Seminaries
		8.1	13.0	Cochran Hill Tunnel
		10.3	16.6	10	Cannons Lane
		12.3	19.8	12	I-264 (Watterson Expressway) – Louisville International Airport	Signed as exits 12A (west) and 12B (east) eastbound; I-264 exits 19A-B
		14.9	24.0	15	KY 1747 (Hurstbourne Parkway) – Jeffersontown, Middletown, Industrial Park	signed as exits 15A (south), 15B (south-local access), and 15C (north) eastbound
	Jeffersontown	17.1	27.5	17	Blankenbaker Parkway (KY 913)	No signage for KY 913
		18.9	30.4	19	I-265 (Gene Snyder Freeway) / KY 841	Signed as exits 19A (south) and 19B (north); I-265 exits 25A-B
Shelby	Simpsonville	27.5	44.3	28	KY 1848 (Buck Creek Road) – Simpsonville
	Shelbyville	31.8	51.2	32	KY 55 (Taylorsville Road) – Taylorsville, Shelbyville
		35.1	56.5	35	KY 53 (Mt Eden Road) – Shelbyville
	​	43.3	69.7	43	KY 395 (Waddy Road) – Waddy, Peytona
Franklin	Frankfort	47.7	76.8	48	KY 151 to US 127 south – Lawrenceburg, Graefenburg
		48.8	78.5	49	US 460 east – Frankfort
		53.0	85.3	53	US 127 – Lawrenceburg, Frankfort	Signed as exit 53A (south) and 53B (north)
		57.8	93.0	58	US 60 – Versailles, Frankfort
Woodford	Midway	65.2	104.9	65	KY 341 to US 62 west – Versailles, Midway
Scott	​	68.8	110.7	69	US 62 east (Paynes Depot Road) – Georgetown	Ramps provide access to both eastbound and westbound US 62
Fayette	Lexington	74.7	120.2	75	I-75 north – Georgetown, Cincinnati	Western terminus of concurrency with I-75, exit 118 southbound, uses I-75 exit numbers and mile markers.
		76.9	123.8	115	KY 922 (Newtown Pike) to Bluegrass Parkway – Lexington, Blue Grass Airport
		79.2	127.5	113	US 27 / US 68 (Broadway) – Lexington, Paris
		81.3	130.8	81	I-75 south – Richmond, Knoxville	Eastern terminus of concurrency with I-75, exit 111 northbound.
		87.3	140.5	87	KY 859 - Bluegrass Station
Clark	Winchester	94.0	151.3	94	KY 1958 to KY 627 / Van Meter Road – Winchester
		96.1	154.7	96	KY 627 – Winchester, Paris	Signed as exits 96A (south) and 96B (north) westbound
	​	97.5	156.9	98	Mountain Parkway east – Prestonsburg, Campton	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; westbound exit is via a U-turn at exit 96
	​	101.6	163.5	101	US 60 – Winchester, Mount Sterling
Montgomery	Mount Sterling	109.6	176.4	110	US 460 / KY 11 – Flemingsburg, Mount Sterling, Paris
		112.3	180.7	113	US 60 – Mount Sterling, Owingsville
Bath	Owingsville	121.1	194.9	121	KY 36 – Owingsville, Frenchburg
		122.9	197.8	123	US 60 – Owingsville, Salt Lick
Rowan	​	132.8	213.7	133	KY 801 – Sharkey, Farmers
	Morehead	137.1	220.6	137	KY 32 east / Flemingsburg Road – Flemingsburg, Morehead
Carter	​	156.0	251.1	156	KY 2 to KY 59 – Olive Hill, Vanceburg
	Olive Hill	161.3	259.6	161	US 60 – Olive Hill, Grayson
	Grayson	171.4	275.8	172	KY 1 / KY 7 to KY 9 (AA Hwy.) – Maysville, Grayson
	​	178.3	286.9	179	KY 67 north (Industrial Parkway) – Greenup, Wurtland
Boyd	Coalton	181.2	291.6	181	US 60 – Grayson, Ashland
	Ashland	185.2	298.1	185	KY 180 to US 60 – Cannonsburg, Ashland
	​	190.5	306.6	191	US 23 – Ashland, Louisa
	​	191.0	307.4		I-64 east – Huntington	Continuation into West Virginia
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Unopened

Related route

Main article: Interstate 264 (Kentucky)

Interstate 264
Location	Louisville–Glenview Manor
NHS	Entire route

I-264 is an inner loop route in the Louisville metropolitan area. It is signed as the Georgia Davis Powers Shawnee Expressway between its western terminus at I-64 in Shawnee and U.S. Route 31W (US 31W)/US 60 (Dixie Highway) in Shively and as the Watterson Expressway from US 31W/US 60 to its northeastern terminus at I-71 in Glenview Manor. Along the way, it provides access to Louisville International Airport at its junction with I-65.

See also

• Roads in Louisville, Kentucky