A Louisville Subway? City Leaders Eye Underground Light Rail

The city of Louisville is preparing for a traffic nightmare this summer when I-65 will shut down between the Watterson Expressway and Jefferson Street. This 5-mile stretch is the primary artery between the suburbs and Downtown Louisville. The road closure begins June 1 and will surely create plenty of headaches.

This major construction project will rebuild and replace multiple overpasses. In short, it’s maintenance work. Some city leaders are looking past maintenance work and eyeing innovation to transport people along a similar path.

David Beck is the CEO of Kentucky Venues, the entity that manages the Kentucky Expo Center near the airport and the Kentucky International Convention Center on 4th and Market. The latter recently underwent a massive renovation, and the former is currently in the middle of a $460 million construction project.

The two venues are huge for Kentucky’s tourism industry. The problem is that sometimes they need to use both facilities to host major events. Beck wants to make it easier for patrons to move between the facilities by constructing a tunnel that connects Downtown Louisville to the airport area with light rail.

“I’ve been looking at it for over three years now, and I think it is doable,” he recently said on KET’s Inside Louisville. “I’ve been in this town for many years, and we’ve talked about light rail. Light rail has value, has benefit.”

You may have traveled to a large metro area like Chicago or Washington D.C. and enjoyed the convenience of light rail. Sure, it’d be great to have in Louisville, but that sounds ludicrous. Besides, the idea’s been kicked around before. Why would it work now?

“I’m told if we were to start tomorrow, it would take eight to ten years. It might cost three to four billion dollars to do it. Three different companies are interested in this process could probably do it in 24 months, something around $275 million, so it’s worth exploring,” Beck said.

Technological innovations have made the process of digging tunnels more inexpensive and efficient. The Boring Company is currently digging a tunnel from the Nashville airport to downtown that is two to three times as large as the scale proposed in Louisville. The growth of the Music City called for this transportation enhancement. Beck believes that adding this tunnel in Louisville would connect the city’s top attractions and draw more visitors to Kentucky.

“I see it being beneficial for the airport,” Beck said. “I see it being beneficial for the University of Louisville, Churchill Downs, which has two locations, kind of across the street from both of our facilities. I think it would help a lot in our community.”

Hotel space has limited the scale of conventions in Louisville. Two downtown high-rises are currently being renovated to add hundreds of rooms. This tunnel would make it more convenient for visitors to the Kentucky Derby and the enormous September music festivals at the Expo Center.

This proposal is still in its infancy. Studies will be conducted to determine its feasibility, both from a construction and financial standpoint. We’re years away from knowing if there’s a strong enough appetite for a massive infrastructure addition, but Beck and other city leaders are thinking big to modernize Louisville.

“What I want to do is make sure it’s not just a dream,” said Beck. “That we have a plan, that we know factually if it’s something we need to be doing, and where should we put it?”

Got thoughts? Continue the conversation on KSBoard, the KSR Message Board.