The Louisville Metro area is divided into two halves by the Ohio River. To the south is Louisville, Kentucky, and to the north are several cities in southern Indiana, including Jeffersonville, Clarksville, and New Albany. These areas were plagued by limited cross-river traffic options, connectivity issues, unsafe conditions, and heavy congestion.
With only three crews in the area, Kapur was tasked with performing control, topo, staking and layout, and verification survey for 64 bridges as part of this project.
The ORB Project increased cross-river options, eliminating safety issues, alleviating congestion, and connecting highways. Kapur provided survey services for the entire project. This included control, staking, modeling, surface creation, data distribution, and quality control for the construction of 64 bridges surrounding the project.
Our staff created a complete 3D model and surface of all aspects of the project, from subsurface to superstructure. Our crews set control, did bathymetric surveys in the Ohio River and the laydown yard at the docks, and scanned the east end northbound and southbound tunnels because of recent site changes due to blasting efforts.
With the addition of the East End Crossing, improvements to the I-64 bridge, and doubling the capacity of I-65 with the new cable-stayed bridge, the congestion and safety issues on I-65 have been nearly eliminated. Impressive for a system of bridges that carries 220,000 vehicles per day.
Even more remarkable is the economic impact the improvements have had on the Louisville Metro area. A 2014 study showed that the improvements supported an additional 15,556 jobs per year, an additional $29.5 million in personal income, and an additional $86.7 billion in economic output for the region.