ORBP PLAN TO BE REVISITED THANKS TO 8664

I have to say it is about time. Seriously this whole bridges boondoggle being perpetuated by the elite River Fields folks to basically stop anything meaningful in the push for a bridge is finally slowing in its tracks. Anyone who doesn't think that yes we the public can make a difference I say hogwash.

This site is laced with stories of victories and this one is no different. The following release was sent out by JC Stites, co founder of 8664. Read below and let me know your thoughts:

Bridges Authority to look at 8664 Alternative at October 7th meeting

Louisville, KY – At last Thursday’s Bridges Authority meeting, Authority Secretary Sandra Frazier of Tandem Public Relations announced that the Bridges Authority would be discussing the 8664 alternative and a bridge project in St. Louis that was scaled down to avoid tolls at their next meeting. Clearly there are new reasons for reconsidering the $4.1 Billion Ohio River Bridges Project.

"With last week's poll showing only 15% of Louisvillians support building two bridges, coupled with the overwhelmingly negative reaction to tolling Spaghetti Junction, it's clearly time to look for better options" said JC Stites, 8664 Co-Founder. According to Insight Communications' recent poll, while only 14.5% supports building both bridges, a combined total of 64.6% support building the East End Bridge.

Building the East End Bridge has been the primary focus of 8664 for the past five years because it is the first vital phase of a three phase project that would reconnect downtown Louisville to the Ohio River.

8664 is making arrangements for Mr. Walter Kulash P. E., the engineer that conducted the 8664 Feasibility Study in 2007 to attend the next Bridges Authority meeting. Mr. Kulash described the 8664 alternative as "a simple, common-sense plan that meets the purpose of the Bridges project, at a fraction of the Bridges cost, while delivering vastly more civic quality of life benefits."

Correcting False Statements

"In addition to reviewing the engineering side of our alternative, we want to correct the misinformation being promoted by the Build the Bridges Coalition," said Mr. Stites. The Build the Bridges Coalition is a political and business coalition promoting the Ohio River Bridges Project regardless of its cost or impact. Mr. Stites continued "Their messaging is a clear attempt to mislead the public and they need to stop."

8664 will correct the following false statements:

"Spaghetti Junction is the 11th worst bottlenecks in the country"

- Spaghetti Junction isn't even in the Top 100 Worst Bottlenecks.

- The 11th worst bottleneck in the country is in Los Angeles and averages 15 MPH while congested, compared to congested Spaghetti Junction which averages 37 MPH.

"The ORBP will create 54,000 jobs"

- The project would actually create less than one tenth of that amount.

“45 acres will be added to Waterfront Park when Spaghetti Junction is moved south”

- Only 15 acres will be accessible to the public, the other parcel will be restricted due to the CSX railroad.

"Spaghetti Junction is a very dangerous and deadly interchange"

- Statistics show that Spaghetti Junction has a very low fatality rate.


"Adding more lanes to the I-65 Bridge will address downtown's traffic problem."

- Adding 50,000 more cars and trucks between Hospital Curve and the Cochran Tunnel will create more traffic congestion, not less.

"8664 is using outdated and inaccurate renderings of the ORBP"

- There are no accurate renderings. An ORBP project manager has acknowledged that their current rendering does not accurately reflect the scale of the project.

About 8664.org

8664 is a grassroots organization with over 11,500 supporters advocating for the revitalization of Louisville through the adoption of a transportation plan that will provide long-term benefits to the region's citizens, neighborhoods, environment and economy. Specifically, the organization supports altering the Ohio River Bridges Project by only building the East End Bridge and then rejoining the city to the Ohio River by replacing the elevated waterfront expressway with an at grade parkway. A three-minute overview presentation is available at www.8664.org.