Before the expressway, Division Street served as a primary east-west artery, but it struggled to keep pace with growing traffic demands. Congestion, safety concerns, and limited capacity made it increasingly clear that a new solution was needed. The Lloyd Expressway emerged from that need. It was a bold response to a city on the rise. With rapid growth on the east side in the 80s, the Lloyd would improve mobility while supporting economic growth.
(Add 1950s milestone updates here.)
(Add 1960s milestone updates here.)
(Add 1970s milestone updates here.)
(Add 1980s milestone updates here.)
(Add 1990s to 2000s milestone updates here.)
(Add 2010s milestone updates here.)
(Add 2020s milestone updates here.)
Greg Weaver, features and courts reporter for The Evansville Press from 1985 to 1986 and The Evansville Courier from 1986 to 1992.
“When I moved to Evansville in 1985, I was surprised by the divide between the westside and eastside, both physically and culturally. Construction on the Lloyd Expressway was already underway, making it even more difficult to cross town and perhaps even more perilous than the old east-to-west route of Division Street that had a railroad track running right down the center of it.
When the Lloyd opened in 1988, it began to change the face of the city, making it more modern and encouraging development that was further spurred on by the opening of Interstate 164 in 1990.
My hope is that the ease in travel hasn’t changed the quirky cultural differences. The westside’s deep German roots, massive annual street festival and penchant for hog brain sandwiches are part of what give the city its charm.”
When my family moved to Evansville in late January 1967 from Monroe, Louisiana, it felt like we had landed in a different world.
For my parents, it was something of a homecoming. My father, Rolla M. Dyer Jr., had been born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and much of his family remained there. My mother, Jean, was from Ohio. They met at Ohio State after World War II, married in 1947, and built a life centered around education, hard work, and family. By the time we arrived in Evansville, my father had earned his doctorate in chemistry and accepted a position at what was then Indiana State University in Evansville, now the University of Southern Indiana. My mother, an English teacher, would soon begin teaching at Henderson County (Ky.) High School across the river.
For my brother, sister, and me, though, Evansville was not a return. It was a shock.
We spent our first several months on the west side in a rental house. I finished fifth grade at Perry Heights. In those days, the west side could feel very separate from the rest of Evansville. If you needed to do much shopping, you were heading east or downtown, and those railroad tracks could make every trip feel longer than it probably was. To a kid, it could seem like the city was divided in ways that were physical, cultural, and social all at once.
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.
When I think about the Lloyd Expressway, I don’t just think about it as a road project. I think about it as part of the story of growing up in Evansville and part of the story of how this community has worked, over decades, to become more connected.
“If you’ve spent any time on the Lloyd Expressway, you have experienced this — the traffic backup,” I said, this time in my role as Evansville mayor. “It’s frustrating. It’s frustrating to me and to thousands of motorists who travel the Lloyd Expressway every day through the city.”
When I talk about the progress we are making in Evansville, I often come back to one word: partnership. The work of building a stronger city does not belong to one person, administration, or one organization. It takes all of us; residents, businesses, neighborhood leaders, nonprofits, and our partners at the state and federal levels.
We are seeing that spirit in the work happening across our city. From removing blighted properties and creating new housing opportunities to investing in our parks, improving public safety and finding better ways to connect residents with their local government. Each partnership may look different, but they have something important in common: a willingness to work together today to create a stronger Evansville tomorrow.
Sign up for Lloyd4U text and email updates to get the latest project information.