The Ohio River has receded, and city officials said about 1,200 homes and businesses across Louisville were damaged during the severe weather earlier this month.
City cleanup crews and hundreds of volunteers are working around downtown Louisville, clearing tons of debris left behind from historic flooding. According to Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, the cleanup efforts from last weekend will allow city officials to focus more on reopening city roads, parks and other public places.
As of Tuesday, several streets in Louisville were reopened to vehicular traffic:
- Zorn Avenue
- River Road
- Witherspoon Street
- Dixie Beach Road
- Katherine Station Road
- Watson Lane
“Most of that debris has now been removed, and we're focused on removing the mud and the muck that remains from these historic flooding conditions,” Greenberg said.
While many roadways have reopened, some — like the Third Street ramp along Interstate 64 — are still closed because they’re not fully cleaned.
On Saturday, when Thunder Over Louisville would have taken place if not for the flooding, more than 300 volunteers cleared debris from Waterfront Park’s TurfMutt Great Lawn. The north part of the Great Lawn is still wet and muddy, and Greenberg said it’s not usable for now.
“We need to give Mother Nature some more time,” he said.
Two homes in Prospect in the Harrods Creek neighborhood were deemed unsafe to live in after flooding and mudslides, according to a spokesperson with Louisville Metro Emergency Services. The American Red Cross is expected to assist the two families that lived in the homes.
Louisville will work with the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to coordinate a plan to fix the homes, which could take up to two or three weeks to prepare, Jones said.
“This is a process that is a little bit unique to us that we haven't seen here in Jefferson County yet,” said Louisville Metro Emergency Service Director Kelly Jones.
Residents in Shawnee and other parts of west Louisville were impacted by intense flooding, and Jeffersontown residents were left with damages after a tornado. Greenberg said cleanup crews are diverting their attention to those areas and public parks like Eva Bandman, Cox and Shawnee.
Greenberg said private property owners are responsible for their own cleanup. Residents are encouraged to leave large debris on the curb for city cleanup crews to remove.
The city tasked the Florida-based company AshBritt to help clean up Louisville. The company was tapped to clean up eastern Kentucky in 2022. The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found that AshBritt is facing several lawsuits after residents accused contractors of wrongdoing.
Greenberg said the city’s cleanup efforts are “ahead of schedule.”
“On Friday, I committed to the city that we are going to make sure Louisville is as clean and beautiful as ever in time for the Kentucky Derby, and I am proud to report that we are making progress towards that goal,” he said.
All Kentucky Derby Festival events will go on as scheduled, Greenberg said.
