Wendell H. Ford Expressway

This article is about beltway in the Owensboro, Kentucky area. For parkway that runs from Eddyville to Elizabethtown, Kentucky named for Wendell H. Ford, see Western Kentucky Parkway.
Wendell H. Ford Expressway
Route information
Maintained by KYTC
Length: 13.057 mi[1] (21.013 km)
Existed: c.1967 – present
Component
highways:
Major junctions
West end: US 60 / KY 331
 
East end: KY 2830
Highway system

The Wendell H. Ford Expressway, also known as the Owensboro By-Pass, is a major partial beltway that runs around the outer parts of the city of Owensboro, Kentucky. With a length of 13.057 miles (21.013 km), the expressway includes parts of U.S. Route 60 (US 60) and US 231.

Road description

The expressway begins on the west side of Owensboro at a junction with the original alignment of US 60. Immediately after its start, it has a junction with the Audubon Parkway. After the exit for the Audubon, interchanges with Kentucky Route 81 (KY 81), US 431 and US 231. US 231 joins the road at the exit for New Hartford Road, and it then intersects the William H. Natcher Parkway at that parkway’s northern terminus. After the interchange with KY 54 (Leitchfield Road), the road then has additional interchanges with KY 604 and KY 144. The expressway ends at an at-grade intersection with KY 2830, which is part of the original US 60 alignment on the east side of town. US 60/US 231 continues after this point as a regular four-lane highway before the two routes split again before US 231 and US 60 enters Spencer County, Indiana, and Hancock County, Kentucky, respectively.[2][3]

History

Construction and opening (1966–73)

Construction of the Wendell H. Ford Expressway began in the 1967/68 fiscal year. It began as a two-lane road that went from US 60 to KY 54 on the east side of Owensboro. That segment opened in 1967. By the time the 1968 Official Kentucky Highway Map was released, the expressway expanded to four lanes, and went from the US 60 corridor to the US 431 corridor.[4] The remainder of the expressway from US 431 to another junction with US 60 on the west side of Owensboro was opened to traffic by 1969–70. Interchanges for the Audubon Parkway and the then-new Green River Parkway (now William H. Natcher Parkway) were opened upon the opening of the two parkways in 1970 and 1972, respectively.

The later years (1974–2012)

The expressway eventually received the designation of U.S. Route 60 Bypass (US 60 Byp.). In 2004, US 231 was rerouted onto the expressway and onto US 60 east of town so that it would be rerouted to the completed William H. Natcher Bridge once it was completed during that year.[5] US 231 was previously carried over the Ohio River on the Glover Cary Bridge.[6]

Expressway extension and the future (2013-present)

In 2013, the Owensboro–Daviess County Government voted to reroute the regular US 60 to the expressway. In the middle of 2014, a new alignment of the expressway was completed and rerouted to bypass the eastern side of town, and KY 604 was routed onto the existing section of the expressway. This was done to connect to the campus of Owensboro Medical Health System (which was completed in 2013). It was also built to prepare for the building of the proposed Interstate 67 (I-67) when and if it is being built. I-67 was planned to go from some point along I-69 in southwest Indiana, and it would follow the eastern part of the expressway and the Natcher Parkway to create a spur from Owensboro to join the I-65 corridor in Bowling Green.[7]

Major intersections

Note: Mileage listings are of US 60 since the Wendell H. Ford Expressway is now classified as US 60 since 2014.

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
DaviessOwensboro10.17916.382 US 60 west (Henderson Road) / KY 331 north HendersonWestern terminus; intersection also serves Ben Hawes State Park
10.8417.45 Audubon Parkway Henderson, Evansville, INStart of freeway section
11.60818.681 KY 81 (Parrish Avenue) Owensboro, Calhoun
12.58820.258 KY 2698 (Carter Road)
14.39823.171 US 431 (Frederica Street) / KY 2831 Owensboro, LivermoreNorthern terminus of US 431
16.46226.493 US 231 (New Hartford Road) / KY 2155 Owensboro, Beaver Dam, HartfordWestern end of US 231 overlap
17.49828.160 Natcher Parkway south Hartford, Beaver Dam, Bowling GreenNorthern terminus of the Natcher Parkway
18.68830.075 KY 54 (Leitchfield Road) Fordsville, Whitesville, Leitchfield
19.64631.617 KY 603 (Pleasant Valley Road) Owensboro
21.96235.344 KY 144 Owensboro
23.23637.395 KY 2830 Owensboro, MaceoEastern terminus; US 60/US 231 continue as a divided four-lane highway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. "Official DMI Route Log". Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  2. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (2015). Official Kentucky Highway Map (Map). Scale not given. Franfort: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Owensboro inset.
  3. Rand McNally (2016). "Kentucky" (Map). The 2016 Road Atlas. Scale not given. Chicago: Rand McNally. p. 42. Owensboro inset.
  4. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (1968). Official Kentucky Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Frankfort: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.
  5. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (2003). Official Kentucky State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Frankfort: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Front cover. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
  6. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (1992). Official Kentucky State Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Frankfort: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  7. GO-EDC (January 13, 2012). "Facts about Interstate 67 as Owensboro’s Interstate". Owensboro Economic Development Blog. Retrieved December 19, 2015.

External links

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