Tuesday, August 4, 2026
My father’s name has become part of Evansville’s story
By Russell G. Lloyd Jr.
When people ask me about the Lloyd Expressway, they usually expect me to talk about my father. And I do not mind; it bears his name.
But for me, the Lloyd Expressway has never been just a road or white letters on the green overhead signs. It’s been part of my life for 40+ years.
Growing up, I remember driving my ’67 Oldsmobile on Division Street before the Lloyd Expressway existed. It was a completely different experience. There were Louisville & Nashville train tracks running through the middle of the road, businesses lining both sides, and stoplight after stoplight.
If you wanted to get from one side of Evansville to the other, you could go no faster than an average speed of 20 mph. A trip across town could easily take 35 minutes or more.
My father, then-Mayor Russell G. Lloyd, believed Evansville needed something better.
He spent years working with local and state leaders to build support for a true east-west corridor. In fact, whenever then-Indiana Gov. Otis Bowen came to Evansville, every itinerary included a trip through Division’s congestion. Dad’s point got made.
When he was tragically killed in March 1980, the expressway project was still three years from starting. Its eventual completion was emotional for our family. I was about 30 years old when the first major section opened in 1986, and I remember attending the dedication ceremony in July 1988. Someone handed me a ceremonial shovel, and former Mayor Frank McDonald joked, “Don’t let him take that shovel or you’ll never get it back.”
It’s a funny memory, but the shovel reminded me that behind every major public project are people who devote their lives to making it happen.
As the oldest child in our family, I gradually became the person people asked about my father and the expressway named in his honor. My sister Mary and I often spoke on behalf of our family because we wanted to preserve his legacy without asking our mother to relive the memories of his passing over and over again.
Years later, when I became mayor, I saw the Lloyd Expressway from a completely different perspective.
One thing I learned in reading Future Shock years ago was an idea that has always stayed with me: major public works projects never really end. You solve one problem, then another opportunity appears. That’s exactly what I’ve watched happen with the Lloyd Expressway.
Communities grow and traffic grows with it. Vehicles get faster. Safety standards improve and engineering advances. Every generation discovers something that can be made better.
Every administration has inherited a different version of the Lloyd Expressway. During my administration, we continued working with the Indiana Department of Transportation on improvements while also pushing for other transportation priorities like Interstate 69. My successors as mayor — Jonathan Weinzapfel, Lloyd Winnecke and now Stephanie Terry — have each faced their own challenges as the city has continued to grow.
As it pertained to the evolving issue of the Lloyd Expressway, all of us represented the community’s concerns.
That’s the nature of public service. You don’t inherit perfect infrastructure. You inherit responsibility.
For years, people joked about the differences between the east side and the west side of Evansville. The expressway helped bridge that divide. It made it easier for people to work, shop, attend school and build relationships across the city. Combined with the growth of the University of Southern Indiana and other investments, it helped Evansville become a more connected community. A true boon for economic development.
These days, even two decades removed from Lloyd Expressway, I’m still connected to the road and my family still drives it, for me in a late-model Toyota RAV4. Like many of you, I’ve also attended public meetings about the current Lloyd4U improvements. I’ve walked through demonstrations of displaced left turns and enjoyed looking over plans for the newer intersection designs. Like any change, they take some getting used to. But transportation continues to evolve, just as it always has.
Some people ask whether there will ever come a day when all the work on the Lloyd is finally finished. I don’t think there will. And honestly, I don’t think there should be.
As Evansville changes, the Lloyd Expressway should continue changing with it. Every generation has a responsibility to leave it a little safer, a little more efficient and a little better than it found it.
Today, when I hear someone say, “Take the Lloyd,” I still smile. My family surname is a landmark and a direction.
Most people probably don’t think twice about where the name came from. I do! I’m exceptionally proud that my father’s name has become part of the city’s story. But in its 40th year anniversary, I’m even prouder of what the road represents — a community willing to think beyond today’s traffic and invest in tomorrow’s possibilities.
Lloyd Jr. is Vanderburgh County Recorder, former Evansville mayor (2000–2003) and son of former Evansville Mayor Russell G. Lloyd Sr.
