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Interstate 65 (I-65) in the US state of Indiana traverses from the south-southeastern Falls City area bordering Louisville, Kentucky, through the centrally located capital city of Indianapolis, to the northwestern Calumet Region of the Hoosier State which is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The Indiana portion of I-65 begins in Jeffersonville after crossing the Ohio River and travels mainly north, passing just west of Columbus prior to reaching the Indianapolis metro area. Upon reaching Indianapolis, the route alignment of I-65 begins to run more to the northwest and subsequently passes Lafayette on that city's east and north sides. Northwest of there, in west-central Jasper County, the route again curves more northward as it approaches the Calumet Region. Shortly after passing a major junction with I-80 and I-94, I-65 reaches its northern national terminus in Gary at I-90 which is carried on the Indiana East–West Toll Road. I-65 covers 261.27 miles (420.47 km) in the state of Indiana. This is one of the principal Interstate Highways that cross the state, and, more specifically, intersect at the city of Indianapolis, that has given the state the nickname of "Crossroads of America".

Route description

I-65 enters the state northbound at Jeffersonville (across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky) on the Abraham Lincoln Bridge; traffic exiting the state travels on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge. I-65 travels past Clark State Forest before reaching Seymour to the north. I-65 intersects with U.S. Highway 50 (US 50), providing access to Seymour to the west. US 31 runs parallel to the Interstate until it reaches Indianapolis. North of Seymour, I-65 passes through Columbus. Just north of Columbus, I-65 runs near Camp Atterbury, an Indiana National Guard training base. The Interstate continues north into Indianapolis.

I-65 just outside Indianapolis

I-65 crosses the I-465 loop before reaching Indianapolis. The section of I-65 in Downtown Indianapolis overlaps I-70. The junctions are often referred to as the "North Split" and the "South Split", forming a section of Interstate locally known as the "Inner Loop" or "Spaghetti Bowl" due to the visual complexity of the overlapping freeways. The "North Split" was closed for reconstruction in early 2021 and reopened to traffic in May 2023.[2] As part of that reconstruction, the old ramps were replaced with ones that eliminate the lane switching that drivers originally had to perform to stay on I-70 eastbound and I-65 northbound.[3]

In 1999, the 25-mile (40 km) segment of I-65 between the two I-465 interchanges was renamed the Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway. At milemarker 116, I-65 passes Crown Hill Cemetery, burial site and memorial of former-President Benjamin Harrison. I-65 leaves the I-465 loop on the northwest side of Indianapolis. The highway travels past Eagle Creek Park and it then passes the terminus of I-865 and picks up US 52.

The segment of I-65 north of Indianapolis heads in the direction of Chicago, Illinois. US 52 runs concurrently until the north side of Lebanon; US 52 runs parallel to I-65 from this point to Lafayette, located at about the halfway point between Indianapolis and Chicago. I-65 crosses the Wabash River in Lafayette and passes next to Prophetstown State Park.

North of Lafayette, I-65 parallels US 231 and passes through the open flatlands of northwest Indiana. Protruding from the fields are some of the hundreds of wind turbines of the Benton County Wind Farm and Fowler Ridge Wind Farm. At approximately mile 199.4 is the timezone boundary between Central Time (Jasper County) and Eastern Time (White County). The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) marked change in timezone with a two-sided blue sign in the center median.

Upon crossing into Lake County, over the Kankakee River, the highway is known as the Casimir Pulaski Memorial Highway.[4] It is known as this from that point to its northern terminus. The northern terminus of I-65 is only 0.125 miles (0.201 km) north of I-90 (Indiana Toll Road) in Gary.

History

Initial construction

Like all Interstate Highways in Indiana, I-65 was constructed in segments. There were six segments in the southern portion of the state between the Kentucky border and the south leg of I-465 in Indianapolis, nine within the I-465 loop and 11 more that made up the northern portion connecting the northwest side of Indianapolis to the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) in Gary.[5]

The first section of I-65 to be completed in Indiana was the 16 miles (26 km) section between Jefferson and SR 160 in Henryville, which was dedicated and opened by then-Governor Harold W. Handley on September 14, 1960.[6][7] The 13.39-mile (21.55 km) stretch between a temporary connection with US 52 near Royalton in Boone County (just south of the present-day interchange with I-865) and the US 52 junction northwest of Lebanon opened in December 1960. The initial southern Indiana portion, running 45.71 miles (73.56 km) between then-US 31E (now US 31) in Clarksville and US 50 east of Seymour, saw its first traffic in November 1961. The final of the 17 segments of I-65 outside of I-465, 23.09 miles (37.16 km) from State Road 252 (SR 252) near Edinburgh to Southport Road on Indianapolis's far south side, opened on June 30, 1972.[5][page needed]

Unlike for most of portions of I-70 within the I-465 beltway, several inner sections of I-65 were built throughout the overall project lifespan.[5] However, the final three segments from the south side through the heart of the city, including the common portion of I-65 and I-70 (east leg of the "Inner Belt"), were not finished and opened to traffic until October 1976.[8]

Subsequent improvements

Prior to 2004, the interchange from the Indiana Toll Road to southbound I-65 required making a physical left turn onto I-65 via a traffic signal; traffic from northbound I-65 to I-90 bypassed the traffic signal via an isolated right-turn lane. This deficiency has since been corrected by a grade-separation.[citation needed]

As part of the Operation Indy Commute project, INDOT began work in 2013 to widen I-65 on both northbound and southbound mainlines from exit 103 at Southport Road northward to the southern junction with I-465 (exit 106), adding auxiliary lanes in this section to improve merging of traffic entering southbound I-65 from I-465 and entering northbound I-65 from westbound Southport Road. To reduce congestion on I-65 South from I-465 west, the loop ramp from westbound I-465 was replaced by a flyover ramp to southbound I-65. The eastbound I-465 exit to southbound I-65 south was also expanded for improved merging with traffic from the new west-to-south flyover. Most of this work was completed in late 2014.[9]

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[10]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Ohio River0.000.00

I-65 Toll south (John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge) – Louisville
Continuation into Kentucky
Abraham Lincoln Bridge (northbound toll in Kentucky)
John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (southbound toll in Kentucky)
ClarkJeffersonville0.320.510Court Avenue / 6th StreetNo southbound exit
JeffersonvilleClarksville line0.62–
1.73
1.00–
2.78
110th Street / Stansifer Avenue – New Albany

US 31 south – Jeffersonville, Clarksville
Northbound signage; US 31 serves as service drives for I-65 through exit 4
Southbound signage; last free exit southbound before toll bridge
2.073.332Eastern Boulevard
3.826.154
US 31 north / Lewis & Clark Parkway
Formerly SR 131
Clarksville5.038.105Veterans Parkway
5.709.176

I-265 west / SR 62 / SR 265 east – New Albany
I-265 east exit 7, west exits 7A-B; signed as exits 6A (east) & 6B (west)
Sellersburg7.3611.847 SR 60 – Salem
9.1014.659Charlestown Road – Speed, Sellersburg, New AlbanyFormerly SR 311
Memphis15.7825.4016Blue Lick Road
Henryville19.2530.9819 SR 160 – Charlestown, Henryville
ScottScottsburg29.3247.1929 SR 56 (McClane Avenue) – Scottsburg, SalemSigned as exits 29A (east) and 29B (west) southbound
Austin33.5053.9134 SR 256 (Main Street) – AustinSigned as exits 34A (east) and 34B (west) southbound
JacksonVernon Township36.5258.7736 US 31 (Armstrong Street) – Crothersville, Austin
41.0866.1141 SR 250 – Uniontown, Crothersville
Seymour49.5579.7450 US 50 (Tipton Street) – North Vernon, Seymour, BrownstownSigned as exits 50A (east) and 50B (west)
Redding Township55.3289.0355 SR 11 – Jonesville, Seymour
BartholomewColumbus63.72102.5564
SR 58 west (450 South) – Walesboro, Ogilville
68.29109.9068 SR 46 (Jonathan Moore Pike) – Nashville, Columbus, Bloomington
Taylorsville75.74121.8976 US 31 – Taylorsville, Columbus, EdinburghSigned as exits 76A (south) and 76B (north)
ShelbyJackson Township80.06128.8480 SR 252 (Shelbyville Road) – Edinburgh, Flat Rock
JohnsonFranklin89.54144.1090 SR 44 (King Street) – Shelbyville, Franklin
Pleasant Township94.41151.9495Whiteland Road – Whiteland
97.22156.4697Worthsville RoadDiverging diamond interchange opened November 23, 2015
Greenwood99.13159.5399Main Street
JohnsonMarion
county line
GreenwoodIndianapolis line100.65161.98101County Line Road
MarionIndianapolis103.03165.81103Southport Road
105.90170.43106 I-465 / I-74 / US 31 / US 36 / US 40 / SR 37 / SR 67 – Peoria, CincinnatiI-465 exits 53A-B; future I-69
107.05172.28107Keystone Avenue
108.90175.26109Raymond Street
109.97176.98110AMorris Street, Prospect StreetNorthbound exit; Southbound entrance
110.10177.19110B
I-70 west – St. Louis
Southern end of I-70 concurrency; I-70 east exit 80; northbound left exit to westbound I-70, left entrance by eastbound I-70; access to Indianapolis International Airport
110.39177.66110AEast StreetSouthbound exit only
110.52177.86111Fletcher AvenueSouthbound exit (from C/D lanes) and northbound left entrance (via Calvary Street)
111.02178.67111Washington StreetNorthbound exit and southbound entrance (to C/D lanes); formerly US 40/US 52/US 421
111.20178.96111Ohio StreetSouthbound exit (from C/D lanes) and northbound entrance via Pine Street (at Michigan Street)
111.49179.43111New York Street, Michigan StreetSouthbound exit (from C/D lanes) via Davidson Street (at North Street) and northbound entrance via Pine Street (at Michigan Street)
111.60179.60112
I-70 east – Columbus, Dayton
Northern end of I-70 concurrency; I-70 west exit 83B; split entrance from Pine Street (at Michigan Street) onto eastbound I-70 and left entry onto northbound I-65
112.96181.79113Pennsylvania Street, Meridian Street, Illinois StreetSplit diamond interchange: Northbound exit to 12th Street (at Pennsylvania) and entrance (from 12th at Illinois); southbound exit to 11th Street (at Illinois) and entry (from 11th at Delaware Street); formerly US 31/SR 37
113.51182.68114Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street to West StreetFormerly US 36/US 52/US 421/SR 67
114.26183.8811521st Street
115.32185.5911629th Street, 30th Street29th and 30th streets form a one-way pairing; no southbound exit or access from 29th Street to north I-65
115.79186.35117Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. StreetNo northbound exit; formerly US 36/US 421/SR 67
118.89191.3311938th StreetDirectional access only; 38th Street serves as collector/distributor lanes for interchange with Kessler Boulevard and right-in/right-out access to/from Guion Road (no access to northbound I-65 from Guion)
120.69194.23121Lafayette RoadFormerly US 52
122.69–
123.28
197.45–
198.40
123 I-465Directional access only; airport signed southbound only; I-465 exit 20; access to Indianapolis International Airport
124.17199.8312471st Street
Hendricks
No major junctions
BooneEagle Township129.09207.75129


I-865 east / US 52 east to I-465 east
Southern end of US 52 concurrency; western terminus of I-865; southbound exit and northbound entrance
129.85208.97130CR 650 South/Oak Street – Zionsville, WhitestownFormerly SR 334
131.4211.5131CR 550 South – WhitestownDiverging diamond interchange opened on June 26, 2023
Perry Township133.08214.17133
SR 267 south – Brownsburg, Whitestown
Diamond interchange rebuilt into a Diverging diamond interchange
Lebanon137.44221.19138LebanonNorthbound exit connects to Indianapolis Avenue, southbound exit connects to Hall Baker Road; no access from northbound Hall Baker Road to southbound I-65
138.61223.07139 SR 39 (Lebanon Street) – Lizton, Lebanon
139.88225.12140 SR 32 (South Street) – Lebanon, Crawfordsville
141.29227.38141Lafayette AvenueSouthbound left-hand exit permanently closed; northbound entrance only
Center Township141.61227.90141
US 52 west
North end of US 52 concurrency; northbound exit and southbound entrance
Washington Township145.61234.34146 SR 47 – Thorntown, Sheridan
ClintonWashington Township157.56253.57158 SR 28 – Frankfort, Attica
TippecanoeDayton168.16270.63168 SR 38 (Walnut Street) – Dayton, Lafayette
Lafayette171.73276.37172
SR 26 east / South Street – Lafayette, Rossville
Western end of eastern segment of SR 26
174.77281.27175
SR 25 east / Schuyler Avenue – Lafayette, Delphi
Southern end of the northern segment of SR 25
West Lafayette177.90286.30178
SR 43 north / River Road – Brookston, West Lafayette
Southern end of SR 43
WhitePrairie Township187.54301.82188 SR 18 – Brookston, Fowler
West Point Township192.96310.54193 US 231 – Chalmers, Wolcott
JasperCarpenter Township200.94323.38201 US 24 / US 231 – Wolcott, Remington
204.51329.13205 US 231 – Remington, Rensselaer
Newton Township214.24344.79215 SR 114 – Morocco, Rensselaer
NewtonUnion
township line
219.94353.96220 SR 14 – Winamac
Keener Township229.00368.54230 SR 10 – Roselawn, DeMotte
Newton
No major junctions
LakeEagle Creek Township239.31385.13240 SR 2 (181st Avenue) – Lowell, HebronHebron signed northbound only
Crown Point246.68396.99247 US 231 – Crown Point, HebronHebron signed southbound only
249.48401.50249109th Avenue – Crown Point, WinfieldInterchange opened September 30, 2010
Merrillville252.06405.65253 US 30 (Lincoln Highway) – Merrillville, Valparaiso, Schererville
254.57409.6925561st Avenue
HobartLake Station line257.67414.68258
US 6 Bus. (Ridge Road)
Gary259.06416.92259 I-80 / I-94 / US 6 (Borman Expressway) – Chicago, Toledo, DetroitI-80/I-94 east exit 11, west exit 12; signed as exits 259A (west) & 259B (east)
260.59419.3826115th Avenue
261.22420.39262 I-90 / Indiana Toll Road – Illinois, OhioI-90 exit 17; northbound exit and southbound entrance
261.27420.47262 US 12 / US 20 / LMCT (Dunes Highway) – Portage, GaryAt-grade intersection; northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Related routes

Auxiliary routes

I-65 has three auxiliary routes in Indiana:

  • I-265: The Indiana segment of the incomplete beltway around the Louisville metropolitan area, running from I-65 in Clarksville to I-64 in New Albany and signed the Lee H. Hamilton Freeway. The Indiana segment, plus the Lewis and Clark Bridge across the Ohio River to connect the Indiana segment of I-265 with the Kentucky segment, was completed in December 2016 but is currently not signed as I-265 between I-65 and the new bridge.
  • I-465: A beltway around Indianapolis, signed as the USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway.
  • I-865: A connector from I-65 to the northwest corner of I-465 in Indianapolis.

Former business route

Business Loop 65 (BL 65) is a former business route of I-65 located in Lebanon and was the only business route for the entire route of I-65. The route took over the former alignment of US 52 and traveled up SR 39 (South Lebanon Street) from I-65 and then SR 32 (West South Street) back to I-65.

References

  1. ^ Adderly, Kevin (February 21, 2017). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of December 31, 2016". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  2. ^ "Schedule". North Split Upgrade. Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Project Overview". North Split Upgrade. Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation. "Memorial Highways and Bridges". Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 16, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Ripple, David Alan (1975). History of the Interstate System in Indiana. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University.[page needed]
  6. ^ "Three Sections Of Interstate 65 To Open Today". The Indianapolis Star. September 14, 1960. p. 31. Retrieved December 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Governor Handley Opens I-65 From Jeff To H'ville". The Charlestown Courier. Charlestown, Indiana. September 15, 1960. sec. 2, p. 1. Retrieved December 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "'Under the Highway': How interstates divided Indianapolis neighborhoods and displaced 17,000 people". October 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation (July 12, 2021). "Operation Indy Commute: I-65 & I-465 South". Indiana Department of Transportation.
  10. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation. "INDOT Roadway Referencing System" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2011.

External links

KML is from Wikidata


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