LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The middle lanes of Broadway St. east of Downtown Louisville have been closed since October.
Driving into Downtown there are spots you can’t turn left, and driving towards the Highlands there are intersections you can’t turn right.
The project to repair a mile-long sewer pipe that was built in 1866 under Broadway will be completed by the end of June.
It runs from Campbell to 2nd St. It’s a project that has been years in the making.
“The pipe has had failures starting in 2009. It had another one in 2014, another one in 2015 and another in 2018,” Louisville MSD Communications Program Manager Sheryl Lauder said.
At those times, holes in the pavement showed up. It turns out, a hole in the pipe was sucking everything under the pavement down into it. Short terms fixes were made at the time, but now – MSD is working on the whole pipe, adding a coating to the interior and removing debris.
So far, they’ve completed a half mile of the pipe, with another half mile to go.
The project has had an impact on businesses that reside on Broadway.
“The barriers and stuff are happening directly in front of us now,” Broadway Nutrition business partner Jane Jaeger said.
It’s difficult to access the smoothie and tea shop from Broadway, especially if you’re traveling west.
“People are just not pulling up in front, just because it's a little harder,” Jaeger said.
Foot traffic is down, but online orders are steady, and the business has been adjusting since the project began months ago.
The project provides some short-term frustration for drivers and business owners, but will have long lasting benefits for the city. Jaeger understands, and so do her customers.
“Everybody's really cool about it because they know it just needs to be done,” Jaeger said.
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