The Big Four Bridge and Why Spaghetti Junction Is the Way It Is

Most folks in Louisville are familiar with the Big Four Bridge. Right now, it's being converted into a pedestrian walkway, but from 1895 - 1969, it served as an important rail crossing. I-64 was constructed when the Big Four was still in use. The bridge utilized a rail approach/ramp (Indiana side too) that had to be worked around when I-64's route was designed. Instead of one, wide I-64, the interstate was sliced into several, parallel, two-lane strands - "spaghetti" - so it could go under the bridge ramp and between the support columns that held it up. By 1969, the Big Four had fallen into disuse and its approaches were dismantled, but "Spaghetti Junction" remained and is still with us today :)

Take a look at the photos below. The first one is the Big Four currently; the second is the bridge - including approach - in it's prime; the last is a Google Maps aerial image of the area today. The bridge is top center. Draw an imaginary arc coming off the bridge, heading slightly east, curving back toward bottom center. Do you see the little white squares between the "strands" of I-64? Those are the concrete bases of the old ramp supports. Interesting, right?