Truck crashes are increasing on the Clark Memorial Bridge. Should big rigs be banned?

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Crashes on the Clark Memorial Bridge hit a six-year high in 2023, with more involving tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks than at any point in at least a decade, a WDRB News analysis shows.

There were 80 wrecks last year on the four-lane Ohio River bridge connecting downtown Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana, up from 37 in 2022, according to a review of data from Kentucky State Police’s collision database.

Six involved semis and trucks hauling gasoline and diesel fuel. A review dating back to 2010 found no other year with that many crashes; the next highest was four in 2020.

The harrowing rescue of a semi driver on the 95-year-old bridge after a March wreck rekindled a longstanding debate: Should big trucks be allowed on a span with narrow lanes that is the only downtown river crossing without tolls?

For now, the answer is yes.

“The number of trucks crossing, and the number of trucks involved in crashes, is low in our opinion,” said Matt Bullock, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s chief district engineer for the Louisville area.

Cabinet officials believe truck traffic on the bridge remains “relatively low,” although a different picture could emerge when a traffic count is done later this year for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, Bullock said.

He said the data also doesn’t support other changes, such as configuring lanes to prioritize traffic in one direction during certain times of day – an idea floated since the Sherman Minton Bridge was closed for months during emergency repairs in 2011.

About 24,000 vehicles were using the bridge each day, according to figures from the last KYTC traffic count done in February 2020. Trucks accounted for roughly 11% of the traffic. 

Meanwhile, Bullock said the state’s recent analysis of crash data from March 2023 to March 2024 found 86 crashes on the bridge over that time, with five involving trucks.

The overall crashes are “a big number,” he said. “But five of those involved a truck. So that’s 6%. And so that also was a very small number. We’re happy to see that.”

A Jeffersonville man, Trevor W. Branham, was charged in connection with the March 1 crash. Witnesses told police that Branham was speeding and weaving on the bridge when he hit a stopped vehicle, ultimately striking the semi that then plowed through a bridge railing.

Louisville-area chamber of commerce groups led the charge to keep large trucks off the bridge a decade ago as work on the long-awaited Ohio River Bridges Project marched forward. A chief concern was the expected shift in traffic patterns once the I-65 Kennedy and Lincoln bridges became tolled crossings.

Kerry Stemler, former chair of the Greater Louisville Inc. board, endorsed a ban on commercial trucks on the Clark Memorial in 2014 as estimates predicted an increase in traffic on the bridge from drivers looking to avoid tolls. He called it a wise move “from a safety perspective.”

That stance was echoed by the One Southern Indiana chamber, which urged Indiana officials to consider keeping some trucks off the bridge. It formally asked for passenger vehicles only to be allowed.

In the end, those suggestions failed to advance and become public policy.

Following the March crash on the Clark Memorial, Greater Louisville Inc. plans to have its public policy committees revisit the issue but isn’t taking a position right now, spokeswoman Olivia Sievert Olson said.

The southern Indiana chamber isn’t advocating for “any particular issues related to our existing bridges,” said its president and CEO, Lance Allison. But he said in a statement that “it is always good to assess and evaluate the best use of our existing infrastructure and impact on our businesses, workforce and commerce to ensure the most efficient, cost effective use while never neglecting safety and well-being.”  

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he’s not aware of any conversations within his administration about pushing for traffic changes on the bridge. “I am aware that they are looking at the future of the Second Street Bridge, but I don’t have any more information than that,” he told WDRB this week.

Across the river, Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore said he hasn’t discussed safety concerns involving trucks since the March 1 crash. He questioned how a potential ban on trucks would be enforced: “Is somebody going to be sitting on the Louisville side of the bridge, waiting to write tickets?”

Moore said he will defer to engineering experts on any possible traffic changes to the bridge. 

“I do know if I’m crossing it, and there’s a big truck next to me, it’s hard to maneuver that lane because it’s kind of tight there,” he said.

UPS doesn’t have any policies regarding the Clark Memorial, spokeswoman Laura Holmberg said in a statement. “Our drivers use whichever routes are going to be most efficient when traveling to their next destination,” she said.

Sysco, whose driver was involved in the March crash, did not respond to a request about its policies. A driver who spoke with WDRB said there is no such policy related to using the bridge.

Traffic counts far apart 

It’s difficult to paint a true picture of traffic on the Clark Memorial — known colloquially as the “Second Street Bridge” — because no one is counting vehicles consistently.

KYTC has conducted just two counts on the span since 2009. Bullock said the goal for the state’s “major roads” is every three years.  

The counts are done “across the state as staff and scheduling allow” and often are prioritized for areas with design changes to roads, KYTC spokeswoman Morgan Woodrum said in an emailed statement.

A new count is planned for later this year once work on the Sherman Minton Bridge project is complete. 

A consultant’s count done for Kentucky and Indiana state governments after tolling began on the RiverLink bridges concluded that an estimated 44,800 vehicles were crossing the Clark Memorial in 2018, up from 25,600 in 2013. Tolls began on the nearby I-65 bridges and the upriver Lewis and Clark Bridge in late 2016.

Asked about the differences in the 2018 and 2020 counts, Woodrum said officials “need to look into this further” and were not able to meet the deadline for this story.

The 2018 traffic count by Frankfort-based HMB Professional Engineers found that truck traffic increased on the bridge once tolling began, accounting for 2% of the crossings in 2013 and 4% of the crossings in 2018.

The state-led 2020 count showed that trucks made up 11% of the daily traffic on the bridge.

The Clark Memorial is considered “functionally obsolete” because its Depression-era design is outdated, meaning the bridge would be built differently if started anew today. It has 10.5-foot-wide lanes, according to state figures, and no emergency lanes or shoulders.

It was rated in satisfactory condition during its last inspection in June 2022.

Vehicles waiting to cross the bridge at 2nd and Main streets frequently back up several blocks into downtown Louisville, especially during rush hour said Rebecca Fleischaker, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership.

She attributes the congestion in part to drivers looking to avoid tolls on I-65, including some truck drivers.

“They don’t want to take the interstate to get to where they’re going on the interstate,” she said. “They’re forced onto local streets in downtown which, you know, should be more pedestrian friendly, which is actually part of our downtown strategy. One of our objectives is to make downtown feel more pedestrian friendly.”

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.