Abraham Lincoln Bridge

Louisville, Kentucky

The Abraham Lincoln Bridge is the centerpiece of the Downtown Crossing, part of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges project. Completed in 2015, the 2,100-foot cable-stayed Abraham Lincoln Bridge carries six lanes of northbound I-65 traffic over the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana.

The Ohio River Bridges Project was a Louisville metropolitan area transportation project involving the reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange, the completion of two new Ohio River bridges, and approaches to these bridges. The project was a high-priority national transportation project that addressed long-term, cross-river transportation needs in Louisville and southern Indiana.

Michael Baker provided engineering services for the construction of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Downtown Crossing project. Michael Baker's services included a bridge-type study, public involvement, preliminary design, design-build procurement and design review services.

The bridge-type selection process included a 12-month comprehensive public involvement program. Maintaining the requirements of function, cost and compliance, Michael Baker developed three final bridge recommendations that achieved informed consent and prepared a final bridge type selection report that detailed all aspects of the selection process and incorporated comprehensive data concerning each of the three recommended alternatives, including single- and three-tower cable stays and a three-span through-arch bridge. Based on these recommendations and public input, a three-tower cable-stayed option was selected.

Michael Baker was also a part of the Kentucky technical review team thus reviewing the design-build team's design, analysis, plans, calculations, temporary works, project requests, correspondence, value engineering proposals, and shop drawings. In addition to the Abraham Lincoln Bridge, the design included the reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange in downtown Louisville and approach roadway and interchanges in southern Indiana.