Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

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 The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. Its southern terminus is located at an interchange with

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...

, and its northern terminus is at an interchange with

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, an ...

, U.S. Route 12 (US 12), and US 20 (the Dunes Highway) in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...

, just southeast of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. I-65 connects several major metropolitan areas in the Midwest and

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

US. It connects the four largest cities in Alabama: Mobile, Montgomery,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, and

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

. It also serves as one of the main north–south routes through

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

;

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

; and

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 Mar ...

, each a major metropolitan area in its respective state.

Route description

, - , AL , 366.22 , 590.63 , - , TN , 121.71 , 195.87 , - , KY , 137.32 , 221.00 , - , IN , 261.27 , 420.47 , - , Total , 887.30 , 1427.97

Alabama

In the state of Alabama, I-65 passes through or near four of the state's major metropolitan areas: Mobile, Montgomery,

, and

. I-65 begins its path northward in Mobile at its junction with

. From I-10, I-65 runs west of downtown Mobile and through the northern suburbs of the city before turning northeasterly towards Montgomery. In Montgomery, I-65 connects with the southern terminus of

I-85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, n ...

. In the Birmingham suburbs, I-65 has an interchange with I-459 and another interchange in the city at I-20/

I-59 Interstate 59 (I-59) is an Interstate Highway located in the southeastern United States. It is a north–south route that spans from a junction with I-10 and I-12 at Slidell, Louisiana, to a junction with I-24 near Wildwood, Georgia. The ...

. North of downtown,

I-22 I22 or I 22 may refer to: * Interstate 22, a highway in the United States * Värmland Regiment The Värmland Regiment ( sv, Värmlands regemente), designations I 22, I 2 and I 2/Fo 52, was a Swedish Army infantry regiment that traces its origins ...

branches off I-65 toward Memphis. From Birmingham, I-65 continues north, crossing the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

near Decatur. A few miles north of the river, it intersects

I-565 Interstate 565 (I-565) is a Interstate spur that connects I-65 in Decatur with U.S. Route 72 (US 72) in Huntsville in the US state of Alabama. I-565 serves the cities of Decatur, Madison, and downtown Huntsville. It also prov ...

, a short spur route which provides access to Huntsville. It then continues northward out of the Tennessee Valley to the state of

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

toward Nashville.

Tennessee

I-65 enters Tennessee from the south near the town of Ardmore and passes through mostly rural territory for . It then passes Lewisburg. Then it passes close to

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

and crosses Saturn Parkway, which brings travelers to the town of Spring Hill. I-65 then continues on to reach I-840 and progresses until it intersects State Route 96 (SR 96) at Franklin. Then the highway goes through Brentwood, Nashville,

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Goodlettsville Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson and Sumner counties, Tennessee. Goodlettsville was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; at the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 15,921 and in 2020 the p ...

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

, and then, close to Portland, it crosses into the state of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

at milepost 120.5.

Kentucky

I-65 enters the state south of Franklin. Throughout its length, it passes near Mammoth Cave National Park,

Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest is a 16,137 acre (57 km2) arboretum, forest, and nature preserve located in Clermont, Kentucky (25 miles south of Louisville, Kentucky, United States). Bernheim was founded in 1929 by Isaac Wolfe Bern ...

, the National Corvette Museum, and Fort Knox. The first major intersection in the state is with I-165 (former Natcher Parkway) at Bowling Green. I-65 has intersections with three of the

parkways A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...

in the state. The first major junction is with the Cumberland Parkway near Rocky Hill. At Elizabethtown, it has two more parkway interchanges with the

Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway The Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway is a controlled-access highway running from Elizabethtown, Kentucky to near Nortonville, Kentucky. It intersects with Interstate 65 (I-65) at its eastern terminus, and I-69 at its western terminus. I ...

and the Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway. I-65 also has interchanges with I-265, I-264, I-64, and I-71. The widest stretch of I-65 in its entirety is in Louisville at Kentucky Route 1065 (KY 1065, Outer Loop), where the main line is 14 lanes wide. The highway crosses the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of ...

into Indiana on a toll bridge. The southbound side is called the

John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge is a six-lane, single-deck cantilever bridge that carries southbound Interstate 65 across the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The main span is (two spans) and the ...

(southbound) and the northbound side is called the Abraham Lincoln Bridge. The latter bridge opened in October 2016 as part of the

Ohio River Bridges Project The Ohio River Bridges Project was a transportation project in the Louisville metropolitan area involving the reconstruction of the Kennedy Interchange (locally known as "Spaghetti Junction"), the completion of two new Ohio River bridges, and t ...

. Prior to the project, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (completed in 1963) carried traffic in both directions. The project also included reconstruction of the I-65/I-64/I-71 convergence interchange just south of the Kennedy Bridge, as well as renovating the older span to carry six lanes of southbound traffic. Additionally, a second six-lane cable-stayed bridge upstream on the Ohio River, the Lewis and Clark Bridge, was built as part of the project, opening in December 2016 to complete the I-265 loop around Louisville. At one time, the stretch of I-65 from Louisville to Elizabethtown was a toll road, called the

Kentucky Turnpike Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia t ...

. The bonds that financed the road have been paid off, and tolls are no longer collected. All signs of the former turnpike have been removed. On November 15, 2006, the stretch of I-65 from Bowling Green to Louisville was renamed the

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

Memorial Expressway. On February 12, 2007, a bill passed the Kentucky Senate to rename I-65 in Jefferson County the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway. Signs were posted July 25, 2007. On July 15, 2007, Kentucky highway officials raised the speed limits on most Interstate and state parkway highways to . Prior to that, Kentucky was the only state along I-65 that had a maximum speed limit of .

Indiana

I-65 enters Indiana at Jeffersonville and Clarksville. Miles 0–9 were rebuilt, widened, and realigned from north of Sellersburg to the Ohio River during 2008–2010, giving great traffic relief to the fast-growing Indiana suburbs of Louisville. Over 300,000 of the 1.5 million people in Louisville's CMSA live in its Indiana counties. A section of I-65 in Downtown Indianapolis runs concurrently with 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 "The Spaghetti Bowl" due to the visual complexity of the intersecting ramps and overpasses. In mid-March 2007, a section of I-70 from the North Split to

I-465 Interstate 465 (I-465), also known as the USS ''Indianapolis'' Memorial Highway, is the beltway circling Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is roughly rectangular in shape and has a perimeter of approximately . It lies almost compl ...

east of downtown was restricted to automobiles only for the "Super 70" project, a massive rebuild and expansion of that freeway. Trucks over were forced to divert through I-65 if coming from the north and use the circular I-465 to the south to reconnect to I-70 eastbound. Westbound traffic from I-70 was required to loop north or south along I-465 to get to I-65 or I-70. The Super 70 project was completed in November 2007. In mid-2003, the portion of I-65 that runs concurrently with I-70 was closed to all traffic due to the "HyperFix" project. During that time, a new concrete surface was installed and the overpasses were upgraded. In 1999, the segment of I-65 between the two I-465 interchanges was renamed the Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway. North of Lafayette near Brookston, the road passes through the

Meadow Lake Wind Farm Meadow Lake Wind Farm is an 801.25 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Brookston and Chalmers, Indiana, spreading over portions of White, Jasper, and Benton Counties. It is owned and operated by EDP Renewables North America. The facilit ...

for several miles, with the turbines and standards spaced out in order to avoid a collapse onto the highway. The Fowler Ridge Wind Farm is also visible on both sides of the highway. From its crossing into Lake County over the Kankakee River to its northern terminus, the highway is known as the Casimir Pulaski Memorial Highway. Prior to 2004, the northern terminus of I-65 was only north of

(Indiana Toll Road). Traffic going from I-90 to I-65 had to stop at a traffic signal to make a left turn. Traffic from I-65 to I-90 bypassed the traffic signal via an isolated right-turn lane. In 2004, the interchange was fully grade-separated, so it is now one interchange involving I-65, I-90, US 12, and US 20, thereby eliminating a connection gap in the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

History

Junction list

;Alabama : in Mobile : in Mobile : in Mobile : in Prichard : in Prichard : north-northeast of Satsuma : west-southwest of

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

: on the Hope Hull– Montgomery line : in Montgomery. The highways travel concurrently through Montgomery. : in Montgomery. I-65/US 82 travels concurrently to Prattville. : in Montgomery : north of Prattville : in Clanton : in Calera : in Alabaster : in

Hoover Hoover may refer to: Music * Hoover (band), an American post-hardcore band * Hooverphonic, a Belgian band originally named Hoover * Hoover (singer), Willis Hoover, a country and western performer active in 1960s and '70s * "Hoover" (song), a 2016 ...

: on the Hoover– Vestavia Hills city line : in

: in Birmingham : in Birmingham : in Fultondale : in Smoke Rise. The highways travel concurrently through Smoke Rise. : in Cullman : south-southeast of Lacon : on the Decatur–

city line : in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

: in Athens. The highways travel concurrently to

Ardmore, Tennessee Ardmore is a city in Giles and Lincoln counties, Tennessee. The population was 1,213 at the 2010 census. Ardmore is the site of a Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Welcome Center. It borders its sister city, Ardmore, Alabama. History ...

. ;Tennessee : west of Frankewing : in

: in Nashville : in Nashville. The highways travel concurrently through Nashville. : in Nashville : in Nashville : in Nashville. The highways travel concurrently through Nashville. : in Nashville : in Nashville : in

;Kentucky : south-southeast of Franklin : in Bowling Green : in Bowling Green : in Oakland : in Munfordville : in Elizabethtown : in Elizabethtown : in Louisville : in Louisville : in Louisville : / in Louisville ;Indiana : in Jeffersonville. The highways travel concurrently to west of Jeffersonville. : in Clarksville : south-southeast of Crothersville : in

Seymour Seymour may refer to: Places Australia * Seymour, Victoria, a township * Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria * Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria * Seymour, Tasmania, a localit ...

: in Taylorsville : in

Indianapolis 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 Marion ...

: in Indianapolis. The highways travel concurrently through Indianapolis. : in Indianapolis : north-northwest of Royalton. I-65/US 52 travels concurrently to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

. : south of Wolcott : east of Remington : north of Remington : in Crown Point : in

Merrillville Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became th ...

: in Gary : in Gary : in Gary Reference:

Auxiliary routes

*, serving the Alabama communities of Prichard and Mobile. *, a spur in Alabama that begins in Decatur and ends in

. *, a spur in Kentucky that begins in Bowling Green and ends in Owensboro. *, the beltway around the Louisville area in Kentucky and Indiana. In Kentucky, the highway is called the Gene Snyder freeway in Kentucky, and the Lee H. Hamilton Highway in Indiana between I-65 and the Lewis and Clark Bridge connecting Indiana and Kentucky on the eastern side of Louisville.. *, a full beltway around

. *, a connection between I-65 and I-465 on the northwest side of Indianapolis, formerly numbered I-465.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 65 U.S. Route 31