Cochran Hill Tunnels (Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky)

USA / Kentucky / Seneca Gardens / Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky
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The Cochran Hill Tunnel, on the east and west sides of I-64, is of exceptional significance to the development of environmentally sensitive design in the area of transportation engineering. These underground tunnels were constructed in 1974 to preserve the National Register site directly above the highway. The site is Cherokee Park, a verdant landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, which is part of the larger Olmstead Park system in Louisville. Kentucky Highway engineers and Vollmer Associates, Inc., in consultation with the general public, developed these environmentally sensitive tunnels to avoid destroying the important Olmstead landscape. These unique, groundbreaking tunnels were the first attempts to ameliorate the effects of highway construction on a Kentucky roadway though some of the roadway does go through the park.
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Coordinates:   38°14'35"N   85°41'44"W

Comments

  • To get atop the tunnels, park near the service building (it's easy to see) and walk straight across the field. There is a fence in the woods that, since time immemorial, has had a huge whole cut in it for easy access to the scenic view atop the tunnels.
  • Soon to be a dog park area.
This article was last modified 4 months ago