Interstate 265
Gene Snyder Freeway (Kentucky); Lee H. Hamilton Freeway (Indiana) | ||||||||||
I-265 (signed) highlighted in red; signed as KY 841 in cyan; signed as IN 265 in blue; non-concurrent KY 841 in purple | ||||||||||
Route information | ||||||||||
Auxiliary route ofI-65 | ||||||||||
Maintained byINDOTandKYTC | ||||||||||
Length | 31.21 mi[1](50.23 km) | |||||||||
Existed | 1977–present | |||||||||
Component highways | ![]() ![]() | |||||||||
Restrictions | Nohazardous goodsonLewis and Clark Bridgeand East End Tunnel | |||||||||
Major junctions | ||||||||||
BeltwayaroundLouisville, KY | ||||||||||
Counterclockwise end | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||||||||
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Clockwise end | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||||||||
Location | ||||||||||
Country | United States | |||||||||
States | Kentucky,Indiana | |||||||||
Counties | KY:Jefferson IN:Clark,Floyd | |||||||||
Highway system | ||||||||||
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Interstate 265(I-265) is a 31.21-mile (50.23 km)Interstate Highwaypartially encircling theLouisville metropolitan area.Starting fromI-65in the southern part of Louisville, it runs throughJefferson County, Kentucky,crosses theOhio Riveron theLewis and Clark Bridgeinto Indiana, meets I-65 for a second time, and then proceeds westbound to terminate at theI-64interchange.
The entire Kentucky stretch of the road is cosigned withKentucky Route 841(KY 841). An additional 10.25-mile-long (16.50 km) stretch of freeway betweenU.S. Route 31W(US 31W)/US 60/KY 1934and I-65 in the southern Louisville is solely designated as KY 841. The portion from I-71 to the Ohio River, while designated as I-265 by AASHTO, is only signed as KY 841. The highway is named theGene Snyder Freeway(originally named theJefferson Freeway), after theformer congressman from Kentucky,and usually called "the Snyder" by locals.[citation needed]
Likewise on the Indiana side, the stretch from I-65 to the bridge, while designated as I-265 is signed as State Route 265 (SR 265). The highway is known as theLee H. Hamilton Freewayafter theformer congressman from Indiana.[citation needed]
I-265 signage for the section from I-71 to the Indiana I-65 interchange has not yet been placed.[citation needed]
Route description
[edit]mi[1] | km | |
---|---|---|
IN | 6.73 | 10.83 |
KY | 24.48 | 39.40 |
Total | 31.21 | 50.23 |
Indiana
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/IN_265.jpg/220px-IN_265.jpg)
I-265 in the US state of Indiana presently runs 6.73 miles (10.83 km) from I-64 at the western edge ofNew Albanyto the Lewis and Clark Bridge nearUtica.[2]Beginning at its western terminus, the freeway is concurrent withState Road 62(SR 62) until exit 10.
Kentucky
[edit]I-265 in the US state ofKentuckypresently runs 24.48 miles (39.40 km) from theLewis and Clark Bridgein northernLouisvilleto an interchange withI-65in southern Louisville.[2]The entire freeway is concurrent with KY 841.
The Gene Snyder Freeway, in which KY 841 and I-265 overlap for 24.48 miles (39.40 km) between I-65 and the Indiana state line, has seen an increase in serious accidents. The primary factors stem from its low-level grass median which offers little to no protection for crossover incidents. Driver inattention and increased traffic and congestion has led to a decline in the overall level-of-service. In 2006,cable barrierswere installed in the median for 10 miles (16 km) between I-71 andI-64,with further installation possible in the near future.[3]A section of the freeway spanning from exit 30 to exit 32 is currently signed inkilometers,which is unusual in the United States.[4]
Kentucky Route 841
[edit]Location | Louisville, Kentucky |
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Kentucky Route 841(KY 841) is a 38.9-mile-long (62.6 km)state highwayin the suburbs of Louisville. The route is a partial beltway, encircling Louisville on its southern and eastern sides. Compass direction changes to the north and south of exit 23, the Taylorsville Road interchange. The western terminus of the route is atUS 31WandUS 60in the southwest Louisville community ofValley Station,where KY 841 continues to the west asKY 1934while the northern terminus is at the Lewis and Clark Bridge north of the north of the East End Tunnel. Even though the section between its terminus at KY 1934 andI-65was built to Interstate Highway standards, it is designated only as KY 841 due toAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials(AASHTO) numbering rules.[citation needed]The exit numbering for the Kentucky portion of beltway currently starts at the western terminus of KY 841. The KY 841 designation mostly concurrent with I-265 in Kentucky has remained.[5]
History
[edit]Originally signed just as KY 841, the Jefferson Freeway was initially constructed in the 1960s in two sections—one betweenKY 155(Taylorsville Road) andUS 60(Shelbyville Road) and a second section betweenKY 1447(Westport Road) andUS 42—as short connectors to the eastern suburban expansion as well as anew Ford plant.By 1970,I-264had become very congested and was in need of reconstruction and other improvements. I-265 was proposed as an outer beltway to provide pass-through motorists relief from the congestion of I-264. Construction started in the early 1980s and was finished later that decade and signed in 1987.
Location | Clarksville—Utica, Indiana |
---|---|
Length | 6.2 mi (10.0 km) |
Existed | 1977–2023 |
State Road 265(SR 265) was what the segment of the highway between I-65 andSR 60at exit 10 in Indiana was originally known as. It was legally rechristened in June 2019 to I-265 after a new 7.7-mile (12.4 km) section of highway that includes the Lewis and Clark Bridge (known as the East End Bridge during planning and construction) fully opened to traffic on December 18, 2016, however the SR 265 signs along the road and the exits still remain and have not been updated to I-265 signage, while the Kentucky portion of the new roadway likewise has not had I-265 signage added as of yet. In early 2023, Indiana DOT announced plans to redesignate as well as renumber the exits of the freeway beginning in the fall of 2023 and with completion expected over the next two years.[6]
East End Bridge
[edit]Negotiations between Indiana and Kentucky to build the bridge had taken place over the preceding 30 years.
In late 2005, members of theLouisville Metro Councilproposed a committee to begin planning a western bridge over the Ohio River to link the southwestern end of the highway in Kentucky to Indiana.
On December 18, 2016, SR 265 was extended east of SR 62, which crosses the Ohio River connecting with KY 841, and north of US 42 in Kentucky as part of theOhio River Bridges Project,creating a bypass around the eastern side of the city of Louisville.
The I-265/I-64 interchange, currently a cloverleaf with nocollector–distributor lanes,[7]is being reconstructed as part of the I-Move Kentucky Project with an estimated completion in the autumn of 2023.[8]
Exit list
[edit]State | County | Location | mi | km | Old exit | New exit[6] | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kentucky | Jefferson | Louisville | 10.2 | 16.4 | 10 | ![]() | I-65 exit 125; signed as exits 10A (north) and 10B (south) westbound Continues as KY 841 past this exit | |
11.7 | 18.8 | 12 | ![]() | |||||
13.5 | 21.7 | 14 | Smyrna Road | |||||
15.2 | 24.5 | 15 | ![]() | |||||
17.3 | 27.8 | 17 | ![]() ![]() | |||||
19.4 | 31.2 | 19 | ![]() | |||||
23.1 | 37.2 | 23 | ![]() | |||||
Middletown | 25.5 | 41.0 | 25 | ![]() | I-64 exit 19; signed as exits 25A (east) & 25B (west). | |||
26.8 | 43.1 | 27 | ![]() | |||||
Louisville | 28.7 | 46.2 | 29 | Old Henry Road | ||||
30.4 | 48.9 | 30 | ![]() | |||||
32.5 | 52.3 | 32 | ![]() | |||||
34.0 | 54.7 | 34 | ![]() | |||||
34.7 | 55.8 | 35 | 24 | ![]() | I-71 exit 9; signed as exits 35A (east) & 35B (west) | |||
Prospect | 37.0 | 59.5 | 37 | 26 | ![]() | Northbound exit and southbound entrance only | ||
Louisville East End Tunnel | ||||||||
Ohio River | 38.9 13.11 | 62.6 21.10 | Lewis and Clark Bridge(Opened December 18, 2016); at state line – north end of KY 841 concurrency | |||||
Indiana | Clark | Utica | 11.81 | 19.01 | 11 | 29 | International Drive/Old Salem Road – River Ridge | Opened December 18, 2016 |
Jeffersonville | 9.63 | 15.50 | 10 | 32 | ![]() ![]() | East end of SR 62 concurrency; double roundabout exit also provides access to/from Port Street | ||
6.94 | 11.17 | 7 | 34 | ![]() | I-65 exit 6; signed as exits 7A (north) and 7B (south) westbound | |||
Floyd | New Albany | 4.52 | 7.27 | 4 | 37 | Charlestown Road | FormerSR 311 | |
3.35 | 5.39 | 3 | 38 | Grant Line Road | FormerSR 111 | |||
0.97 | 1.56 | 1 | 40 | State Street | ||||
0.00 | 0.00 | 0 | 41 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | I-64 exit 121; western terminus; west end of SR 62 concurrency; westbound exit and eastbound entrance; both ramps are signed as exit 0 | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ab"Table 2 – Auxiliary Routes – FHWA Route Log and Finder List – Interstate Highway System – National Highway System – Planning".Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).Federal Highway Administration.December 31, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on February 13, 2023.RetrievedMarch 18,2022.
- ^ab"INDOT Reference Post Book – July 2015"(PDF).Indiana Department of Transportation.Archived(PDF)from the original on February 6, 2017.RetrievedDecember 25,2016.
- ^Hogan, Doug (January 20, 2006)."Governor Fletcher & Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Move Forward with Safety Measures for Interstate Highways: Median Cable Barriers to Be Installed at Two Jefferson County Locations"(Press release).Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2006.
- ^Stevens, Ashlie (June 14, 2019)."Curious Louisville: Why Is A Stretch Of Louisville Highway Measured In Kilometers?".89.3 WFPL News Louisville.Archivedfrom the original on June 17, 2019.RetrievedJune 17,2019.
- ^"Special Committee on U. S. Route Numbering – 2019 Spring Meeting Report to the Council on Highways and Streets"(PDF).s3.amazonaws.Archived(PDF)from the original on July 3, 2022.RetrievedMarch 22,2022.
- ^abINDOT (February 16, 2023)."I 265 Resigning".INDOT.Archivedfrom the original on March 9, 2023.RetrievedMarch 9,2023.
- ^"Interstate 64 at Interstate 265 Interchange Reconstruction | KYTC".transportation.ky.gov.Archivedfrom the original on February 23, 2022.RetrievedMarch 23,2022.
- ^"About – I-Move Kentucky".i-moveky.Archivedfrom the original on February 23, 2022.RetrievedMarch 23,2022.
External links
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