Just Askin': How many traffic lights are in Louisville and how many miles of highways?

Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal

Could you count all the traffic signals and highway signs you pass during your daily trips? The task is nearly impossible.

Here are some Louisville traffic facts you probably did not know. And while we can't promise this will make you feel better about your morning commute, you'll have something to say if you ever need to make small talk.

Question: How many miles of interstate are there in Louisville?

Short answer: It's a lot.

Long answer: From a birds-eye view, the Louisville metro area has a sprawling road infrastructure, shaped by five interstate highways and other thoroughfares extending into neighboring counties.

We estimated the total using Google Maps. With all the curves and zig-zags, it's a little tricky to determine the length of a highway in Jefferson County.

For interstates 64, 65 and 71, I measured their lengths using straight-line distance. Here's what I gathered:

  • Interstate 64 is around 23 miles long.

  • Interstate 65 is about 13 miles long.

  • Interstate 71 is about 11 miles long.

We reached out to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet in an attempt to get an official total, but the department could only provide the distances for all of Kentucky, not just Jefferson County. In case you were wondering, I-64 spans 185.2 miles in the Bluegrass State, longer than I-65 (137.32 miles) and I-71 (97.42 miles), according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Luckily, the Federal Highway Administration also recorded measurements for the Kentucky sections of interstates 264 and 265. Here are those totals, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a mile (note that in Kentucky, both highways are exclusively in Jefferson County):

  • Interstate 264 is 22.93 miles long

  • Interstate 265 is 24.48 miles long

Question: How many stoplights are there in Louisville?

Answer: There are 1,005 traffic signals in the city, according to Metro Public Works. If you are also wondering about those flashing yellow lights often seen in school zones, there are 260 of those in Louisville.

Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@courierjournal.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville traffic facts; what to know about highways, stop lights

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