Interstate 65 In Indiana

The Indiana portion of I-65 begins in Jeffersonville after crossing the Ohio River and travels mainly north, passing just west of Columbus prior to reaching the Indianapolis metro area. Upon reaching Indianapolis, the route alignment of I-65 begins to run more to the northwest and subsequently passes Lafayette on that city's east and north sides. Northwest of there, in west-central Jasper County, the route again curves more northward as it approaches the Calumet Region. Shortly after passing a major junction with I-80 and I-94, I-65 reaches its northern national terminus in Gary at I-90 which is carried on the Indiana East–West Toll Road. I-65 covers 261.27 miles (420.47 km) in the state of Indiana. This is one of the principal Interstate Highways that cross the state, and, more specifically, intersect at the city of Indianapolis, that has given the state the nickname of "Crossroads of America".

Interstate 65
I-65 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by INDOT
Length	261.27 mi (420.47 km)
Existed	1956–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
South end	I-65 at Kentucky state line
Major intersections	I-265 / SR 62 / SR 265 in Jeffersonville I-74 / I-465 in Indianapolis I-70 in Indianapolis I-465 in Indianapolis I-865 / US 52 in Indianapolis I-80 / I-94 / US 6 in Gary
North end	I-90 / Indiana Toll Road / US 12 / US 20 in Gary
Location
Country	United States
State	Indiana
Counties	Clark, Scott, Jackson, Bartholomew, Shelby, Johnson, Marion, Hendricks, Boone, Clinton, Tippecanoe, White, Jasper, Newton, Lake
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Indiana State Highway System Interstate US State Scenic
← SR 64 → SR 65

I-65 enters the state northbound at Jeffersonville (across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky) on the Abraham Lincoln Bridge; traffic exiting the state travels on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge. I-65 travels past Clark State Forest before reaching Seymour to the north. I-65 intersects with U.S. Highway 50 (US 50), providing access to Seymour to the west. US 31 runs parallel to the Interstate until it reaches Indianapolis. North of Seymour, I-65 passes through Columbus. Just north of Columbus, I-65 runs near Camp Atterbury, an Indiana National Guard training base. The Interstate continues north into Indianapolis.

 

I-65 crosses the I-465 loop before reaching Indianapolis. The section of I-65 in Downtown Indianapolis overlaps 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 "Spaghetti Bowl" due to the visual complexity of the overlapping freeways. The "North Split" was closed for reconstruction in early 2021 and reopened to traffic in May 2023. As part of that reconstruction, the old ramps were replaced with ones that eliminate the lane switching that drivers originally had to perform to stay on I-70 eastbound and I-65 northbound.

In 1999, the 25-mile (40 km) segment of I-65 between the two I-465 interchanges was renamed the Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway. At milemarker 116, I-65 passes Crown Hill Cemetery, burial site and memorial of former-President Benjamin Harrison. I-65 leaves the I-465 loop on the northwest side of Indianapolis. The highway travels past Eagle Creek Park and it then passes the terminus of I-865 and picks up US 52.

The segment of I-65 north of Indianapolis heads in the direction of Chicago, Illinois. US 52 runs concurrently until the north side of Lebanon; US 52 runs parallel to I-65 from this point to Lafayette, located at about the halfway point between Indianapolis and Chicago. I-65 crosses the Wabash River in Lafayette and passes next to Prophetstown State Park.

North of Lafayette, I-65 parallels US 231 and passes through the open flatlands of northwest Indiana. Protruding from the fields are some of the hundreds of wind turbines of the Benton County Wind Farm and Fowler Ridge Wind Farm. At approximately mile 199.4 is the timezone boundary between Central Time (Jasper County) and Eastern Time (White County). The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) marked change in timezone with a two-sided blue sign in the center median.

Upon crossing into Lake County, over the Kankakee River, the highway is known as the Casimir Pulaski Memorial Highway. It is known as this from that point to its northern terminus. The northern terminus of I-65 is only 0.125 miles (0.201 km) north of I-90 (Indiana Toll Road) in Gary.

Initial construction

Like all Interstate Highways in Indiana, I-65 was constructed in segments. There were six segments in the southern portion of the state between the Kentucky border and the south leg of I-465 in Indianapolis, nine within the I-465 loop and 11 more that made up the northern portion connecting the northwest side of Indianapolis to the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) in Gary.

The first section of I-65 to be completed in Indiana was the 16 miles (26 km) section between Jefferson and SR 160 in Henryville, which was dedicated and opened by then-Governor Harold W. Handley on September 14, 1960. The 13.39-mile (21.55 km) stretch between a temporary connection with US 52 near Royalton in Boone County (just south of the present-day interchange with I-865) and the US 52 junction northwest of Lebanon opened in December 1960. The initial southern Indiana portion, running 45.71 miles (73.56 km) between then-US 31E (now US 31) in Clarksville and US 50 east of Seymour, saw its first traffic in November 1961. The final of the 17 segments of I-65 outside of I-465, 23.09 miles (37.16 km) from State Road 252 (SR 252) near Edinburgh to Southport Road on Indianapolis's far south side, opened on June 30, 1972.^{[page needed]}

Unlike for most of portions of I-70 within the I-465 beltway, several inner sections of I-65 were built throughout the overall project lifespan. However, the final three segments from the south side through the heart of the city, including the common portion of I-65 and I-70 (east leg of the "Inner Belt"), were not finished and opened to traffic until October 1976.

Subsequent improvements

Prior to 2004, the interchange from the Indiana Toll Road to southbound I-65 required making a physical left turn onto I-65 via a traffic signal; traffic from northbound I-65 to I-90 bypassed the traffic signal via an isolated right-turn lane. This deficiency has since been corrected by a grade-separation.^{[citation needed]}

As part of the Operation Indy Commute project, INDOT began work in 2013 to widen I-65 on both northbound and southbound mainlines from exit 103 at Southport Road northward to the southern junction with I-465 (exit 106), adding auxiliary lanes in this section to improve merging of traffic entering southbound I-65 from I-465 and entering northbound I-65 from westbound Southport Road. To reduce congestion on I-65 South from I-465 west, the loop ramp from westbound I-465 was replaced by a flyover ramp to southbound I-65. The eastbound I-465 exit to southbound I-65 south was also expanded for improved merging with traffic from the new west-to-south flyover. Most of this work was completed in late 2014.

Auxiliary routes

I-65 has three auxiliary routes in Indiana:

•   I-265: The Indiana segment of the incomplete beltway around the Louisville metropolitan area, running from I-65 in Clarksville to I-64 in New Albany and signed the Lee H. Hamilton Freeway. The Indiana segment, plus the Lewis and Clark Bridge across the Ohio River to connect the Indiana segment of I-265 with the Kentucky segment, was completed in December 2016 but is currently not signed as I-265 between I-65 and the new bridge.
•   I-465: A beltway around Indianapolis, signed as the USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway.
•   I-865: A connector from I-65 to the northwest corner of I-465 in Indianapolis.

Former business route

Business Loop 65 (BL 65) is a former business route of I-65 located in Lebanon and was the only business route for the entire route of I-65. The route took over the former alignment of US 52 and traveled up SR 39 (South Lebanon Street) from I-65 and then SR 32 (West South Street) back to I-65.