It often backs up in the mornings near the Zorn Avenue exit. I-64 comes from the east, through Louisville s intrastate rival, Lexington. From downtown it goes west along the river to the Sherman Minton Bridge, where it crosses into Indiana and heads for St. Louis. Its usual congestion points are Grinstead Drive, Cannons Lane, its intersection with the Watterson Expressway in east Jefferson County and Hurstbourne Parkwy a little farther east. All three interstates come together at the aptly named Spaghetti Junction, a tangle of roads and ramps between Butchertown and the Kennedy Bridge.
Most maps don t portray it very well, either.
It became a jumble of two-lane ramps, rather than a single megahighway, because when it was built the ramps had to go between the columns that supported the approach to the Big Four Railroad Bridge, which is now a rusting relic with its approaches torn down. Spaghetti Junction was what Louisville had for thrill rides before Kentucky Kingdom was built. Finding and staying in the proper lane is crucial, and drivers don t tolerate fools gladly. Little wonder, then, that the Kennedy s congestion is a leading impetus behind the idea of building another bridge across the Ohio. Any interstate route that passes through Louisville must pass through Spaghetti Junction.