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, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

in the

central United States The Central United States is sometimes conceived as between the Eastern United States, Eastern and Western United States, Western as part of a three-region model, roughly coincident with the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau's d ...

. 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 spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

. Its southern terminus is located at an interchange with I-10 in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, and its northern terminus is at an interchange with

US 12 U.S. Route 12 or U.S. Highway 12 (US 12) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Aberdeen, Washington, to Detroit, Michigan, for almost . The highway has mostly been superseded by Interstate 90 (I-90) ...

(US 12) and US 20 (the Dunes Highway) in

Gary, Indiana Gary ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 69,093 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Indiana's List of municipalities in Indiana, eleventh-most populous city. The city has been historical ...

, just southeast of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. I-65 connects several major metropolitan areas in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

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

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

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

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

;

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

; and

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, 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 Alabama, I-65 passes through or near four major metropolitan areas: Mobile, Montgomery,

, and Huntsville. I-65 begins its path northward in Mobile at its junction with I-10. From I-10, I-65 runs west of downtown Mobile and through the northern suburbs of the city before turning northeast towards Montgomery. In Montgomery, I-65 connects with the southern end of I-85. In the Birmingham suburbs, I-65 has an interchange with I-459 and another interchange in the city at

I-20 I20, I 20 or I-20 may refer to: * Interstate 20, a highway in the southeastern United States * I-20 (form), a United States government document that provides supporting information for the issuance of a student visa or change of status * I-20 (rap ...

/ I-59. North of downtown, I-22 branches off I-65 toward Memphis. From Birmingham, I-65 continues north, crossing the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

near Decatur. A few miles north of the river, it intersects I-565, a short

spur route A spur route is a short road forming a branch from a longer, more important road such as a freeway, Interstate Highway, or motorway. A Bypass route, bypass or beltway is not considered a spur route as it typically reconnects with another or the ...

which provides access to Huntsville. It then continues north out of the

Tennessee Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North C ...

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. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

toward

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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 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, and enters

, where it first interchanges with I-440. It then has brief concurrences with I-40 and I-24 near downtown Nashville. The freeway then meets State Route 155 (SR 155, Briley Parkway), and after passing through Madison, meets SR 386 (Vietnam Veterans Boulevard) in

Goodlettsville Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson and Sumner Counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; in 2020, its population was 17,789. It is part of the Nashville metropo ...

. The freeway then passes through Millersville and

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

, and then, close to Portland, crosses into

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Kentucky

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

Mammoth Cave National Park Mammoth Cave National Park is a national park of the United States in south-central Kentucky. It encompasses portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest known cave system in the world. The park's are located primarily in Edmonson County, with sma ...

, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, the

National Corvette Museum The National Corvette Museum showcases the Chevrolet Corvette, an United States, American sports car that has been in production since 1953. It is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, off Interstate 65's Exit 28 and near General Motors' Bowling G ...

, and

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

. The first major intersection in the state is with I-165 (former Natcher Parkway) at

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

. I-65 has intersections with three of the parkways in the state. The first major junction is with the

Cumberland Parkway The Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Expressway is a freeway in the U.S. state of Kentucky, extending from Barren County in the west to Somerset in the east. It is one of seven named highways designated in Kentucky's parkway system. Route description ...

near Rocky Hill. At Elizabethtown, it has two more parkway interchanges with the Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway and the Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway. I-65 also has interchanges with I-265, I-264, I-64, and

I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the midwestern and Southeastern United States, southeastern regions of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64, I-64 and Interstate 65, ...

. 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 river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

into Indiana on a toll bridge. The southbound side is called the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (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. 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. 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 the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

Memorial Expressway. On February 12, 2007, a bill passed the

Kentucky Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout Kentucky, the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky senators. T ...

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 Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area in and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65 in Indiana, Interstate 65, Interstate 70 in Indiana, Interstate 70, and the White ...

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 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 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 Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski (; March 4 or 6, 1745 October 11, 1779), anglicised as Casimir Pulaski ( ), was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called "The Father of American cavalry" or "The So ...

Memorial Highway. Prior to 2004, the northern terminus of I-65 was only north of the

Indiana Toll Road The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a controlled-access toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line. It has been advertised as the "Main ...

(

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 states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

). 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, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

History

The first section of Interstate 65 reused the Kentucky Turnpike, a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

that opened on August 1, 1956. The first section of interstate highway in Tennessee constructed under the authorization of the

Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, also known as the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, was enacted on June 29, 1956, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill into law. With an original authorization of $25 billion (eq ...

was a short section of I-65 which opened on November 15, 1958. The first section of interstate highway to be completed in Alabama was also a section of I-65, which opened on December 10, 1959. The first section of I-65 in Indiana was opened on September 14, 1960. Kentucky was the first state to complete its portion of I-65, with the last stretch opening on June 22, 1970. The final section in Tennessee opened on October 26, 1973. The last section in Indiana, part of the concurrent section with I-70 in Indianapolis, opened on October 15, 1976. I-65 was not officially completed until December 19, 1985, when a section north of Birmingham opened, replacing a four-lane stretch of US 31 that had been designated as part of I-65 but did not meet interstate highway standards.

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 Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

: on the Hope Hull– Montgomery line : in Montgomery : 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 Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

: in Hoover : 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 Morris : in Cullman : south-southeast of Lacon : on the Decatur– Huntsville city line : in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

: in Athens. The highways travel concurrently to

Ardmore, Tennessee Ardmore is a city in Giles County, Tennessee, Giles and Lincoln County, Tennessee, Lincoln counties, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,217 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Ardmore is the site of a Tennessee Department ...

. ;Tennessee : west of Frankewing : in Columbia : near Franklin : in

: 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

: in Bowling Green : in

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

: in Munfordville : in Elizabethtown : in Elizabethtown : in

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

: 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 : in Taylorsville : in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

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

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. : south of Wolcott : east of Remington : north of Remington : in Crown Point : in Merrillville : in Gary : in Gary : in Gary Reference:

Auxiliary routes

*, a spur in Alabama that begins in Prichard and ends in Mobile. *, a spur in Alabama that begins in Decatur and ends in Huntsville. *, a spur in Kentucky that begins in

and ends in Owensboro. *, the beltway around the Louisville area in Kentucky and Indiana. 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