Interstate 865 (I-865) is an east–west

auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which conn ...

northwest of

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

. It is a short connector between

I-65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...

and I-465, running for and completely

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with U.S. Route 52 (US 52). The highway was originally numbered as a branch of I-465 but was renumbered in 2002 to prevent I-465 from intersecting with itself. This section was previously known as the Dog Leg, and the milemarkers ran from 900 to 905.

Route description

I-865 begins at an interchange with

in the northwest outskirts of Indianapolis, near Zionsville. The interchange allows for traffic from southbound I-65 to continue east onto I-865 and connects traffic from westbound I-865 to northbound I-65 but prohibits other movements. US 52 joins the four-lane freeway as it travels east across several farms and suburban neighborhoods on the south side of Zionsville. After , I-865 terminates at a three-way interchange with I-465, which continues around Indianapolis as a

beltway A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

. I-865 has interchanges only at its eastern terminus at I-465 and its western terminus at I-65. It is one of the few Interstates that have interchanges only at their terminuses and none in between. Other examples include I-587 in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...

; I-381 in Bristol, Virginia; the future I-222; and I-189 in

Chittenden County, Vermont Chittenden County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, its population was 168,323. The county seat is Vermont's most populous municipality, the city of Burlington. The county has over a quarte ...

. The highway is maintained by the

Indiana Department of Transportation The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, state highways a ...

(INDOT). In 2022, they measured

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...

on I-865 at 34,304 vehicles.

History

I-865 was originally part of I-465. Original plans were for I-465 to run east from exit 129 of

around the city to exit 123 of I-65. The north–south section of the current I-465 between I-65 and the current I-865 was originally not part of I-465. Instead, it was built to Interstate standards as State Road 100 (SR 100). In January 1970, seven months before it was completed, the federal government approved the request to make it part of I-465. This resulted in an unusual Y interchange of all three branches of I-465 at the current junction of I-865 and I-465. The stretch of I-465 that is now I-865 was given milemarkers starting with 900 to distinguish it from the main portion of the highway. The unusual configuration caused confusion among motorists, being described as "the 465 connector", "the 465 extension", "the 465 dogleg", "465 second section", and "the 465 ramp to 65 north". The May 2002 renaming of this branch of I-465 to I-865 fixed that problem. The renumbering was approved by the Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering of the

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United ...

(AASHTO) in October 2002. At the time of the renaming, officials chose "I-865" rather than the also available "I-665" because they concluded that 9-1-1 operators would more easily understand the combination of "8" and "65".

Exit list

References

External links

{{3di, 65 65-8 65-8 Transportation in Indianapolis 8 Transportation in Boone County, Indiana