Interstate 65 in Kentucky

This article is about the section of Interstate 65 in Kentucky. For the entire route, see Interstate 65.

Interstate 65 marker

Interstate 65
Route information
Maintained by KYTC
Length: 137.32 mi[1] (221.00 km)
Existed: 1956 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-65 at Tennessee state line
  US 231 in Bowling Green
US 68 in Oakland
US 62 in Elizabethtown
I-265 in Louisville
I-264 in Louisville
US 60 in Louisville
US 150 in Louisville
I-64 / I-71 in Louisville
North end: I-65 at Indiana state line
Highway system
I-64KY 66

Interstate 65 (I-65) enters the US state of Kentucky 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Franklin. It passes by the major cities of Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, and Louisville before exiting the state.

Route description

Along its 137.32-mile (221.00 km) length in the Bluegrass State,[1] I-65 passes Mammoth Cave National Park, Bernheim Forest, the National Corvette Museum and the Fort Knox Military Reservation before entering the state's largest metropolitan area, Louisville.

It has interchanges with four of the state's parkways. The first of these is with the William H. Natcher Parkway at Bowling Green, followed by the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway north of that city between Smiths Grove and Park City. 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, and a complex junction with I-64 and I-71 along the south bank of the Ohio River in central Louisville. From there, northbound motorists on I-65 cross into Indiana on the Abraham Lincoln Bridge, while southbound I-65 traffic enters Kentucky from Jeffersonville, Indiana via the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge.

The widest stretch of I-65 in its entirety is in Louisville, at the Kentucky Route 1065 (Outer Loop) where the mainline is 14 lanes wide.

Interstate 65 northbound at the William H. Natcher Parkway in Bowling Green, Kentucky, with Clearview font signage

The highway crosses between the Central and Eastern time zones at the border of Hart and LaRue counties, respectively.

In 2016, the Ohio River Bridges Project is routing all I-65 traffic onto the Abraham Lincoln Bridge (a six-lane cable-stayed bridge, eventually to carry all-northbound traffic) while rebuilding the deck of the 1963 John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge to accommodate six lanes of all-southbound traffic. The project is also completing the rebuild of the Kennedy Interchange just south of both bridges in downtown Louisville.[2] Once this work is completed, both I-65 bridges will use electronic toll collection (ETC) to charge motorists for their use of this previously toll-free Interstate crossing.

History

Kentucky Turnpike shield

From July 25, 1954 until June 30, 1975, the portion from the outskirts of Louisville to Elizabethtown was a toll road bearing the Kentucky Turnpike name. It was signed with a distinctive sign featuring a cardinal, the state bird of Kentucky. Unlike most states, Kentucky law requires that tolls be removed when the original construction bonds are paid off. The road was thus the first of the state's extensive system of toll roads to be made free.[3] Unlike the other roads, which maintain their separate names when becoming toll-free, the Kentucky Turnpike signs were removed. It is today almost impossible to find any traces of its former toll status; even the old trumpet interchanges characteristic of toll roads have been removed and replaced with diamond interchanges characteristic of a free Limited access highway.

On November 15, 2006, the stretch of I-65 from Bowling Green to Louisville was renamed the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Highway.[4]

On February 12, 2007, a bill passed the Kentucky Senate to rename I-65 in Jefferson County the "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway".[5] Signage was posted July 25, 2007.[6]

On July 15, 2007, Kentucky officially raised its speed limits on Interstate and State Parkway Highways to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). Until that date, Kentucky was the only state along I-65's path that had a speed limit of 65 mph (105 km/h).[7]

In 2008, Governor Steve Beshear ordered the entire route to be widened to a minimum of six lanes through the entire state. As of 2016, the majority of this project is complete.

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[8]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Simpson 0.000.00 I-65 southContinuation into Tennessee
 1.9803.1872 US 31W (Main Street) Franklin
 5.9799.6226 KY 100 (Scottsville Road) Scottsville, Franklin
Warren 20.56833.10120 Natcher Parkway Owensboro, Bowling GreenSigned 20A (south) and 20B (north)
Bowling Green22.38836.03022 US 231 (Scottsville Road) Scottsville, Bowling Green
 25.73241.41226 KY 234 (Cemetery Road) Bowling Green
Bowling Green28.06645.16828 KY 446 to US 31W Bowling Green
Oakland35.63157.34336 US 68 (Glasgow Road) / KY 80 OaklandNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
Smiths Grove37.57860.47638 KY 101 (Main Street) to US 68 Smiths Grove, Scottsville
Barren 43.13569.41943 Cumberland Parkway to Hal Rogers Parkway Somerset, Glasgow, London, HazardCumberland Parkway exit 0
Park City47.37176.23648 KY 255 (Mammoth Cave Parkway) to US 31W Park City, BrownsvilleServes Mammoth Cave National Park
Cave City52.42384.36753 KY 70 (Mammoth Cave Road) / KY 90 Cave City, GlasgowServes Mammoth Cave National Park
Hart 57.62792.74258 KY 218 (Flint Ridge Road) to KY 335 Horse Cave
Munfordville64.200103.32065 US 31W (Main Street) Munfordville
 70.407113.30971 KY 728 (Bacon Creek Road) Bonnieville
LaRueUpton75.896122.14376 KY 224 (Upton Talley Road) Upton
HardinSonora80.457129.48381 KY 84 (Western Avenue) to US 31W Sonora
 85.686137.89886 KY 222 (Glendale Hodgenville Road) to US 31W Glendale
Elizabethtown91.086146.58991 US 31W / KY 61 / Western Kentucky Parkway Hodgenville, Paducah, ElizabethtownSouthbound exit to Dixie Avenue,Serves Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park; WKP exit 137
93.345150.22493 Bluegrass Parkway Lexington, Bardstown
94.154151.52694 US 62 (Mulberry Street) / KY 61 Elizabethtown
 102.533165.011102 KY 313 (Joe Prather Highway) Radcliff, Vine Grove
BullittLebanon Junction104.698168.495105 KY 61 (Preston Highway) Boston, Lebanon Junction
 111.773179.881112 KY 245 (Clermont Road) Bardstown, Clermont
Shepherdsville115.574185.998116 KY 480 (Cedar Grove Road) to KY 61
116.639187.712117 KY 44 (4th street) Mt. Washington, Shepherdsville
 121.722195.893121 KY 1526 (John Harper Highway)
Jefferson 125.143201.398125 I-265 east (Gene Snyder Freeway) / KY 841I-265 exit 10; signed as exits 125A (east) & 125B (west) northbound.
 126.746203.978127 KY 1065 (Outer Loop) Okolona, FairdaleSouthbound split exit (east) and (west)
Louisville128.328206.524128 KY 1747 (Fern Valley Road)
129.802208.896130 KY 61 (Preston Highway) / Grade Lane
130.710210.357131A I-264 (Watterson Expressway) Louisville International AirportI-264 exit 12; signed as exits 131A (east) and 131B (west) southbound.
130.792210.489131BKentucky Exposition Center
132.601213.401132 KY 1631 (Crittenden Drive) Kentucky Exposition CenterNo access back to I-65 Northbound (must use exit 133 from Warnock Street)
132.955213.970133
US 60 Alt. (Eastern Parkway)
No access from I-65 Southbound to (Eastern Parkway,must use Arthur Street)or back to I-65 northbound (must use Warnock Street for I-65 North)
133.767215.277134 KY 61 south (Arthur Street)South end of KY 61 overlap; no northbound exit to Preston Street
133.978215.617134A KY 61 north (Preston Street)North end of KY 61 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
134.145215.885134BWoodbine StreetNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
134.675216.738135St. Catherine Street west
135.195–
135.384
217.575–
217.879
136AChestnut Street, Broadway (US 150)Northbound exit and southbound entrance
135.649218.306136BBrook StreetNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
135.649–
135.919
218.306–
218.740
136CMuhammad Ali Boulevard, Jefferson Street Downtown LouisvilleSigned northbound as exit 136C
136.421219.548137 I-64 / I-71 north Lexington, St. Louis, CincinnatiI-64 exit 5; I-71 exit 1
Ohio River137.318220.992John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (southbound)
Abraham Lincoln Bridge (northbound)
I-65 continues north into Indiana
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Auxiliary routes

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Adderly, Kevin (January 27, 2016). "Table 1: Main Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways as of December 31, 2015". Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  2. "The Ohio River Bridges". Ohio River Bridges Project. March 31, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  3. Kleber, John E.; Clark, Thomas D.; Harrison, Lowell H.; Klotter, James C., eds. (1992). "Rivers". The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1772-0.
  4. "Interstate 65". Travel Mammoth Cave National Park: Guide and Map. MobileReference. 2010. ISBN 1-6050-1034-0.
  5. Gerth, Joseph (February 13, 2007). "Senate OKs renaming I-65 for King". The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY).
  6. Shafer, Sheldon S. (July 25, 2007). "Mayor, Democrats back I-65 King plan". The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY). Retrieved July 30, 2007.
  7. "Governor Fletcher Signs Speed Limit Bill" (Press release). Commonwealth of Kentucky. March 21, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
  8. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (December 22, 2007). "HIS Expanded Milepoint Route Log Extract". Archived from the original on November 9, 2007.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

Interstate 65
Previous state:
Tennessee
Kentucky Next state:
Indiana
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