Interstate 65 - Definition and Overview

Interstate 65 is an interstate highway in the United States. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with Interstate 10 in Mobile, Alabama; its northern terminus is at an intersection with Interstate 90 in Gary, Indiana, southeast of Chicago.

Length

Major Cities Along the Route

• Mobile, Alabama
• Montgomery, Alabama
• Birmingham, Alabama
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Bowling Green, Kentucky
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Lafayette, Indiana
• Gary, Indiana

Chicago, Illinois is not on the route as such, but Interstate 65 feeds into Interstate 90, which feeds into Chicago, an obvious destination for much of its northbound traffic.

Intersections with other Interstates

• Interstate 10 in Mobile, Alabama
• Interstate 85 in Montgomery, Alabama
• Interstate 20 in Birmingham, Alabama
• Interstate 59 in Birmingham, Alabama
• Interstate 24 in Nashville, Tennessee
• Interstate 40 in Nashville, Tennessee
• Interstate 64 in Louisville, Kentucky
• Interstate 74 in Indianapolis, Indiana
• Interstate 70 in Indianapolis, Indiana
• Interstate 80 in Gary, Indiana
• Interstate 94 in Gary, Indiana
• Interstate 90 in Gary, Indiana

Spur Routes

• Mobile, Alabama - I-165
• Spur to Huntsville, Alabama - I-565
• Louisville, Kentucky - I-265 (Louisville's outer beltway; also called the Gene Snyder Freeway; formerly the Jefferson Freeway)
• Indianapolis, Indiana - I-465
• Indianapolis, Indiana - I-865
• New Albany, Indiana - I-265

Notes

• Interstate 65 combines with Interstate 24 and Interstate 40 near downtown Nashville, Tennessee to form a loop around the center city. Once, the northwestern leg of this loop was designated I-265; this is no longer true, as Nashville's government successfully petitioned to have the designation changed to I-65 in order to help alleviate traffic caused by motorists following I-65 through the city. This results in some rather confusing Interstate signage through central Nashville.

• Known as "Auto Alley" because so many automotive plants and suppliers are within an hour's drive of the highway. Interstate 65's straight north direction leads to automotive assembly plants located in the upper mid-west. The most famous plant is the GM plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which makes the Chevrolet Corvette sports car, as well as the Cadillac XLR luxury roadster. Another GM plant, which builds Saturn vehicles, is also within a short driving distance from I-65 in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

• While most Interstates with numbers divisible by 5 are major direct north-south or east-west routes, I-65 is somewhat different. It runs northwest-southeast from Gary, Indiana to Indianapolis, Indiana and northeast-southwest from Montgomery, Alabama to Mobile, Alabama.

Reference

• 2005 Rand McNally "The Road Atlas 2005" - newest feature- interstate mileage by state