Interstate 865

Interstate 865 marker

Interstate 865
Route information
Maintained by INDOT
Length: 4.72 mi[1] (7.60 km)
Existed: 2002[2] – present
Major junctions
West end: I-65 / US 52 near Zionsville
East end: I-465 / US 52 near Zionsville
Highway system
SR 827SR 912

Interstate 865 (I-865) is an east–west connector northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana. It was renamed to I-865 in 2002 to prevent I-465 from intersecting with itself. This section was previously known as the Dog Leg, and the mile markers ran from 900 to 905.[2] It is concurrent with U.S. Route 52 for its entire route.

Route description

I-865 carries traffic from southbound I-65 to both directions of I-465, and traffic from both directions of I-465 to northbound I-65. No access is permitted from northbound I-65 to eastbound I-865, or westbound I-865 to southbound I-65. It has two lanes in each direction for its entire length.

History

I-865 was originally part of I-465. Original plans were for I-465 to run east from exit 129 of I-65 around the city to exit 123 of I-65. The north-south section between I-65 and the current I-865 was originally not part of I-465. Instead, it was built to interstate standards as Indiana State Road 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 T intersection 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 mile markers starting with 900 to distinguish it from the main portion of the highway.[2]

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.[2]

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".[2]

Exit list

I-865 only has interchanges at its eastern terminus at I-465 and its western terminus at I-65.[3] It is one of the few Interstates in the country that has only interchanges at each of its termini and none in between. Other examples include I-587, I-381, the future I-222, I-189, and the Portland, Maine, iteration of I-495.

The entire route is in Boone County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Eagle Township0.000.00 I-65 north / US 52 west Gary, ChicagoWestern terminus of I-865; Western end of US 52 concurrency; westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-65 exit 129
Zionsville4.727.60 I-465 / US 52 east Indianapolis, SpeedwayEastern terminus of I-865; eastern end of US 52 concurrency; I-465 exit 25
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. 1 2 Indiana Department of Transportation (July 23, 2004). "Greenfield District Area Reference Posts" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Indiana Department of Transportation (April 24, 2002). "Indiana's 'New' Interstate: I-865" (Press release). Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 31, 2009.
  3. Indiana Department of Transportation. "I-865". INDOT Interchange Book. Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 5, 2014.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.