Clark County officials lay out plans, road closures for Thunder Over Louisville

Libby Cunningham, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
Updated ·5 min read

Apr. 18—JEFFERSONVILLE — Clark County officials hope people have fun at Thunder Over Louisville this weekend while keeping safety in mind.

Representatives from Jeffersonville Police, Clarksville Police, The Clark County Sheriff's Office, Clark County Emergency Management and the Jeffersonville Police Department laid out plans Tuesday morning for Thunder.

"It's that time of year again, Thunder Over Louisville (is in) less than a week and (we want) to thank everyone who's taken part in the planning of this event," said JPD Major Joshua Lynch. "This is a monumental task. Our mission is to provide safety for all of those in attendance at Thunder Over Louisville and we will try to accommodate local businesses, residents and their guests without compromising safety and security."

JPD, along with other local police departments, is encouraging residents to sign up for text messages to alert them to information about the event.

"We have a text alert system that I want to get out to the public," Lynch said. "This allows us to disseminate live, real-time information. And our plan is to provide the information about any traffic issues throughout the day or anything that can help inform the public."

People can sign up for the messages by texting ThunderIN23 to 226-787.

Lynch said last week's mass shooting in downtown Louisville hasn't changed safety plans in Clark County, because the departments plan for all kinds of scenarios each year.

"Our mission is to provide public safety to all those in attendance and it has been for 30 years," he said. "Every public safety official that can be called (to be here) is. We've been planning since last year."

Lynch went over a timeline for road, bridge and highway closures over Thunder weekend.

Interstate 65 south will be closed at Interstate 265 at 7 p.m. on Saturday. All I-65 south traffic will be diverted onto I-265 and once the fireworks are over and the interstate is cleared the highway will reopen.

Other road information:

* Thursday: The Second Street Bridge will close at 9:45 a.m. and re-open on Sunday around 2 p.m.

* Friday: There will be a 5 p.m. soft closure of Riverside Drive in Jeffersonville

* Saturday: The Big Four Bridge closes at 8 a.m. and will re-open around 10 p.m.

* All residents should have parking passes on their vehicles and guest vehicles by 8 a.m. People can pick up parking passes for themselves and their guests through Friday evening at the Jeffersonville Police Department.

Jeffersonville Police also announced the following road closures and no parking zones that will be in effect from 8 a.m. to around midnight on Saturday.

On Saturday at 5 p.m. road blocks in the downtown Jeffersonville area will shut down vehicular access to everyone but residents and emergency vehicles at:

* Riverside Drive from Jeff Boat, west to Clarksville

* Market Street from Spring Street, west to Clarksville

* Missouri Avenue from Market Street, north to South Clark Boulevard

* Southern Indiana Avenue

* River Pointe Plaza, North Shore Drive, Clark Street and Fort Street

* Parking under the Kennedy Bridge

* The 100 blocks of Spring, Wall, Walnut and Locust streets

* Mulberry Street from West Maple Street to Riverside Drive

* West Court Avenue at Broadway Street west to Missouri Avenue

* All alleyways along the floodwall from Jeffboat, west to the city limits

* West Maple Street west of Mulberry Street

Lynch said he recommends people wait a while after the fireworks end to leave to drive home. For those who have to leave immediately, he said he suggests using Utica Pike.

"We recommend you utilize eastbound traffic onto Utica Pike, eastbound to Court Avenue and access I-265 from there," he said. "The downtown ramps in Jeffersonville, to I-65 north and south, will be open shortly after the fireworks. We want to make sure everyone is aware and clear that you should expect a high volume of traffic and longer wait times if you choose to take those ramps in downtown."

Clarksville Police Public Information Officer Corporal John Miller said there will be closures in the south end of the town along the riverfront as well.

He said there will be no vehicular entry into the south end of Clarksville beginning at 9 p.m. Saturday.

"Those heading to their homes or to view Thunder, we ask they do it before 9 p.m.," he said.

Clarksville residents who need parking passes can go to the town's police department this week to pick them up.

The Kentucky Derby Festival released its most recent line-up for the air show on Tuesday.

The lineup is:

* 123rd Special Tactics Squadron Parachute Team (Louisville ANG Base)

* A-10 Warthog (122nd Fighter Wing, Fort Wayne, Indiana)

* C-130J Super Hercules (Kentucky Air National Guard, Louisville ANG Base)

* C-17 Globemaster III (167th Airlift Wing, ANG Base, Martinsburg, WV)

* CT-155, (4 Wing Cold Lake, Royal Canadian Air Force, Alberta, Canada)

* CT-142, (1 Wing, Royal Canadian Air Force, Winnipeg, Canada)

* E-2C Hawkeye, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia

* EA-18 Growler Demo Team, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington

* F-16 Viper (180th FW, Toledo ANG, Ohio)

* F-8F Bearcat

* F-35A USAF Demo Team (Hill AFB, Utah)

* F-35C Navy Demo Team (Naval Air Station Lemoore, CA)

* F-86 Saber, (Warbird Heritage Foundation, Waukegan, Illinois)

* HC-144 Ocean Sentry, (U.S. Coast Guard, Mobile, Alabama)

* KC-46 Pegasus, (Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst AFB, Pennsylvania)

* KC-135 Stratotanker (70th ARS, Grissom ARB, Indiana)

* Navy Legacy Flight

* P-8 Orion, (U.S. Navy Air Test and Eval Squadron 1, Pax River)

* P-51D "Swamp Fox"

* T-38A Talon (Beale AFB, CA)

* Twin Beech Aerobatics Demo — Younkin Airshows

* UH-60 Blackhawk, (8th Battalion, 229th Aviation Regiment, Ft. Knox, Kentucky)

* UPS Airlines Airbus 300 (Louisville IAP, KY)

* USAF Heritage Flight

* U.S. Army Golden Knights, Fort Bragg, N.C.

* Waco Taperwing (Nick Coleman, Louisville)

* Yak 52 (Bowman Field, Louisville)