Louisville I-65 LED underpass lights added on Main Street

New LED lights installed underneath several Interstate 65 overpasses in downtown Louisville could make the area safer to walk and drive at night, while its color-changing feature may attract commuters.

The overpass on Main Street, between Hancock and Jackson streets, is the first to be outfitted with the LED lights, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced Thursday. Future installations are planned for the overpasses at Market, Jefferson and Jackson streets, according to a news release from the Louisville Downtown Partnership, which programs the lighting patterns.

By replacing white light fixtures, the LED lights are meant to increase visibility inside the 300-foot-long underpass and make it a more attractive space for those traveling between NuLu and downtown, Louisville Downtown Partnership spokesperson Bryn Alston said Thursday.

More than 130 patterns are included in the Main Street LED project, which includes 71 light fixtures. The designs can feature the colors of local high schools, universities and businesses by request. The downtown partnership also will rotate between general color schemes, sometimes matching the colors displayed on the Big Four Bridge.

"We would likely work with Waterfront Park (which controls the lights at the Big Four Bridge) to see if we could match up the light patterns for holidays and special occasions," Alston said.

Louisville Metro Government paid $1.6 million for the lighting equipment and installation at Main and Market streets, while the downtown partnership chipped in $61,000 for the planning and design portions.

“The new lighting we’ve installed on Main Street will create a new attractive and inviting space that will better connect NuLu and Butchertown with the heart of downtown,” Greenberg said in a statement. "This lighting project will strengthen neighborhood connections, enhance public safety and make it even easier for people to have a great experience downtown.”

For the Main Street project, the city sought help from engineering firm Strand Associates, lighting designer Lumenation and installation contractor Meiners Electric.

LED installations at Jackson and Jefferson streets will be covered by federal funding. Alston said both projects could be done by "mid-to-late" 2025. The Market Street underpass could have new lights installed by the end of 2024.

“I’m proud to have secured the federal funding needed to expand this project to two more underpasses," U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey said in a statement. "This is a great example of what we can accomplish when local and federal governments partner together, and I can’t wait to see the impact this will have throughout Louisville.”

Rebecca Fleischaker, executive director of the Louisville Downtown Partnership, said the lights are "an instrument for good placemaking."

“When we create these sorts of creative, beautiful, and unique spaces, we’re also creating a new landmark and a destination where people want to be," Fleischaker said.

Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at [email protected] or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter