Interstate 65 in Kentucky
Encyclopedia
In the U.S. state
of Kentucky
, Interstate 65
enters the state five miles (8 km) south of Franklin
. It passes by the major cities of Bowling Green
, Elizabethtown
, and Louisville
before exiting the state.
, Crystal Onyx Cave, Diamond Caverns, Bernheim Forest, the National Corvette Museum
, and the Fort Knox Military Reservation.
It junctions with the four parkways. The first major junction is with the William H. Natcher Parkway
at Bowling Green
, followed by the Cumberland Parkway
north of the 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. Interstate 65 also has interchanges with I-265
, I-264
, I-64
and I-71
.
The widest stretch of Interstate 65 in its entirety is in Louisville at the Kentucky Route 1065 (Outer Loop), where the mainline is 14 lanes wide. It crosses the Ohio River
into Indiana on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge
.
Both of the Ford Motor Company truck plants in Louisville
are accessible—The Explorer SUV plant is directly accessible from I-65 while the Kentucky Truck Plant, makers of the F-350 and Excursion SUV, is accessed via I-265.
In Bowling Green
, I-65 comes within proximity of a GM plant, which makes the Chevrolet Corvette
sports car, as well as the Cadillac XLR
luxury roadster.
The highway crosses between the Central and Eastern Time Zones
at the border of Hart
and LaRue Counties
, respectively.
, 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. 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.
On February 12, 2007 a bill passed the Kentucky Senate
to rename I-65 in Jefferson County the "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway". Signage was posted July 25, 2007.
On July 15, 2007 Kentucky officially raised its speed limits on Interstate and State Parkway Highways to 70 mi/h. Until that date, Kentucky was the only state along I-65's path that had a speed limit of 65 mi/h.
| rowspan=2|Simpson
|
| 1.980
| 2
|
|
|-
|
| 5.979
| 6
|
|
|-
| rowspan=6|Warren
|
| 20.568
| 20
|
|
|-
| Bowling Green
| 22.388
| 22
|
|
|-
|
| 25.732
| 26
|
|
|-
| Bowling Green
| 28.066
| 28
|
|
|-
| Oakland
| 35.631
| 36
|
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| Smiths Grove
| 37.578
| 38
|
|
|-
| rowspan=3|Barren
|
| 43.135
| 43
|
|
|-
| Park City
| 47.371
| 48
|
|
|-
| Cave City
| 52.423
| 53
|
|
|-
| rowspan=3|Hart
|
| 57.627
| 58
|
|
|-
| Munfordville
| 64.200
| 65
|
|
|-
|
| 70.407
| 71
|
|
|-
| LaRue
| Upton
| 75.896
| 76
|
|
|-
| rowspan=6|Hardin
| Sonora
| 80.457
| 81
|
|
|-
|
| 85.686
| 86
|
|
|-
| rowspan=3|Elizabethtown
| 91.086
| 91
|
|
|-
| 93.345
| 93
|
|
|-
| 94.154
| 94
|
|
|-
|
| 102.533
| 102
|
|
|-
| rowspan=5|Bullitt
| Lebanon Junction
| 104.698
| 105
|
|
|-
|
| 111.773
| 112
|
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Shepherdsville
| 115.574
| 116
|
|
|-
| 116.639
| 117
|
|
|-
|
| 121.722
| 121
|
|
|-
| rowspan=17|Jefferson
|
| 125.143
| 125
|
| Signed as exits 125A (east) and 125B (west) northbound
|-
|
| 126.746
| 126
|
|
|-
| rowspan=15|Louisville
| 128.328
| 128
|
|
|-
| 129.802
| 130
|
|
|-
| 130.710
| 131A
|
| Signed as exits 131A (east) and 131B (west) southbound
|-
| 130.792
| 131B
| Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
|
|-
| 132.601
| 132
| Crittenden Drive (KY 1631) – Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
| No northbound exit
|-
| 132.955
| 133
|
| Signed as exits 133A (east) and 133B (west) northbound
|-
| 133.767
| 134
|
| South end of KY 61 overlap; no northbound exit
|-
| 133.978
| 134A
|
| North end of KY 61 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| 134.145
| 134B
| Woodbine Street
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| 134.675
| 135
| St. Catherine Street west
|
|-
| 135.195-
135.384
| 136A
| Chestnut Street, Broadway (US 150)
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| 135.649
| 136B
| Brook Street
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| 135.649-
135.919
| 136C
| Muhammad Ali
Boulevard, Jefferson Street – Downtown Louisville
|
|-
| 136.421
| 137
| , St. Louis
, Cincinnati
|
|-
|
|colspan=3 align=center|John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge
over the Ohio River
(state line)
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Interstate 65
Interstate 65
Interstate 65 is a major Interstate Highway in the United States. The southern terminus is located at an intersection with Interstate 10 in Mobile, Alabama, and its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 90 , U.S. Route 12, and U.S...
enters the state five miles (8 km) south of Franklin
Franklin, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,996 people, 3,251 households, and 2,174 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,074.7 people per square mile . There were 3,609 housing units at an average density of 485.1 per square mile...
. It passes by the major cities of Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
, Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in the state...
, and Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
before exiting the state.
Route description
Throughout its length, it passes near Mammoth Cave National ParkMammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park is a U.S. National Park in central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system known in the world. The official name of the system is the Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System for the ridge under which the cave has formed. The park was established...
, Crystal Onyx Cave, Diamond Caverns, Bernheim Forest, the National Corvette Museum
National Corvette Museum
The National Corvette Museum showcases the Chevrolet Corvette, an American sports car that has been in production since 1953. It is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, off Interstate 65's Exit 28...
, and the Fort Knox Military Reservation.
It junctions with the four parkways. The first major junction is with the William H. Natcher Parkway
William H. Natcher Parkway
The Wiliam H. Natcher Green River Parkway is a limited-access freeway from Bowling Green, Kentucky to Owensboro, Kentucky. The Natcher is one of nine highways that are part of Kentucky's parkway system. Conceived as the "Owensboro-Bowling Green Parkway," it was instead named the Green River...
at Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
, followed by the Cumberland Parkway
Cumberland Parkway
The Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway is an 88.547 mile long east–west controlled-access highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky, extending from Barren County in the west to Somerset in the east...
north of the city between Smiths Grove
Smiths Grove, Kentucky
Smiths Grove is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 784 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area.- Geography :Smiths Grove is located at ....
and Park City
Park City, Kentucky
Park City is a city in Barren County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 517 at the 2000 census. It has historically served as a gateway to nearby Mammoth Cave National Park and Diamond Caverns, a privately-owned cave attraction....
. At Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in the state...
, it has two more parkway interchanges with the Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway and the Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway. Interstate 65 also has interchanges with I-265
Interstate 265
Interstate 265 is an Interstate Highway ringing the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area, which includes southern Indiana, although the Indiana and Kentucky segments remain separate at the present time. In Kentucky it only runs through Jefferson County, from Interstate 71 in northeastern...
, I-264
Interstate 264 (Kentucky)
The Henry Watterson Expressway, also known as the Georgia Davis Powers/Shawnee Expressway west of US 31W, is one of two Interstate Highways in the United States designated as Interstate 264 . It is 22.93 miles in length, and runs an open circle around central Louisville, Kentucky...
, I-64
Interstate 64
Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. 40, and U.S. 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. As I-64 is concurrent with...
and I-71
Interstate 71
Interstate 71 is an Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64 and Interstate 65 in Louisville, Kentucky. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 90 in Cleveland,...
.
The widest stretch of Interstate 65 in its entirety is in Louisville at the Kentucky Route 1065 (Outer Loop), where the mainline is 14 lanes wide. It crosses the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
into Indiana on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge
John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge is a seven-lane, single-deck cantilever bridge that carries Interstate 65 across the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The main span is and the bridge has a total length of...
.
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
are accessible—The Explorer SUV plant is directly accessible from I-65 while the Kentucky Truck Plant, makers of the F-350 and Excursion SUV, is accessed via I-265.
In Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
, I-65 comes within proximity of a GM plant, which makes the Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car. Myron Scott is credited for naming the car after...
sports car, as well as the Cadillac XLR
Cadillac XLR
The XLR was a retractable hardtop convertible marketed by the Cadillac division of General Motors, assembled in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Intended to be Cadillac's flagship sports car, the XLR was based on the Chevrolet Corvette's Y platform...
luxury roadster.
The highway crosses between the Central and Eastern Time Zones
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
at the border of Hart
Hart County, Kentucky
Hart County is a county located in the U.S. state — or, more correctly, "Commonwealth" — of Kentucky. It was formed in 1819. , the population was 17,445. Its county seat is Munfordville. The county is named for Captain Nathaniel G. S. Hart, a Kentucky militia officer in the War of 1812...
and LaRue Counties
LaRue County, Kentucky
LaRue County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is included in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 13,373. Its county seat is Hodgenville...
, respectively.
History
At one time, 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 cardinalNorthern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal or Redbird or Common Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico...
, 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. 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
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
Memorial Highway.
On February 12, 2007 a bill passed the Kentucky Senate
Kentucky Senate
The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators...
to rename I-65 in Jefferson County the "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway". Signage was posted July 25, 2007.
On July 15, 2007 Kentucky officially raised its speed limits on Interstate and State Parkway Highways to 70 mi/h. Until that date, Kentucky was the only state along I-65's path that had a speed limit of 65 mi/h.
Exit list
|-| rowspan=2|Simpson
Simpson County, Kentucky
Simpson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 16,405. Its county seat is Franklin. The county is named for Captain John Simpson, a Kentucky militia officer who fought in Battle of Fallen Timbers in the Northwest Indian War, and was killed in the...
|
| 1.980
| 2
|
|
|-
|
| 5.979
| 6
|
|
|-
| rowspan=6|Warren
Warren County, Kentucky
Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky, specifically the Pennyroyal Plateau and Western Coal Fields regions. It is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 113,792 in the 2010 Census. The county seat is Bowling Green...
|
| 20.568
| 20
|
|
|-
| Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
| 22.388
| 22
|
|
|-
|
| 25.732
| 26
|
|
|-
| Bowling Green
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
| 28.066
| 28
|
|
|-
| Oakland
Oakland, Kentucky
Oakland is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, USA. The population was 260 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area...
| 35.631
| 36
|
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| Smiths Grove
Smiths Grove, Kentucky
Smiths Grove is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 784 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area.- Geography :Smiths Grove is located at ....
| 37.578
| 38
|
|
|-
| rowspan=3|Barren
|
| 43.135
| 43
|
|
|-
| Park City
Park City, Kentucky
Park City is a city in Barren County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 517 at the 2000 census. It has historically served as a gateway to nearby Mammoth Cave National Park and Diamond Caverns, a privately-owned cave attraction....
| 47.371
| 48
|
|
|-
| Cave City
Cave City, Kentucky
Cave City is a city in Barren County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,880 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Glasgow Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Cave City is located at ....
| 52.423
| 53
|
|
|-
| rowspan=3|Hart
Hart County, Kentucky
Hart County is a county located in the U.S. state — or, more correctly, "Commonwealth" — of Kentucky. It was formed in 1819. , the population was 17,445. Its county seat is Munfordville. The county is named for Captain Nathaniel G. S. Hart, a Kentucky militia officer in the War of 1812...
|
| 57.627
| 58
|
|
|-
| Munfordville
Munfordville, Kentucky
Munfordville is a city in and the county seat of Hart County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,563 at the 2000 census.-History:The city was once known as Big Buffalo Crossing. The current name came from Richard Jones Munford, who donated the land for development in 1816...
| 64.200
| 65
|
|
|-
|
| 70.407
| 71
|
|
|-
| LaRue
LaRue County, Kentucky
LaRue County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is included in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 13,373. Its county seat is Hodgenville...
| Upton
Upton, Kentucky
Upton is a city in Hardin and LaRue counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 654 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Upton is located at ....
| 75.896
| 76
|
|
|-
| rowspan=6|Hardin
Hardin County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 94,174 people, 34,497 households, and 25,355 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 37,673 housing units at an average density of...
| Sonora
Sonora, Kentucky
Sonora is a city in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 350 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Elizabethtown, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Sonora is located at ....
| 80.457
| 81
|
|
|-
|
| 85.686
| 86
|
|
|-
| rowspan=3|Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Elizabethtown is a city in and the county seat of Hardin County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,531 at the 2010 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in the state...
| 91.086
| 91
|
|
|-
| 93.345
| 93
|
|
|-
| 94.154
| 94
|
|
|-
|
| 102.533
| 102
|
|
|-
| rowspan=5|Bullitt
Bullitt County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 61,236 people, 22,171 households, and 17,736 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 23,160 housing units at an average density of...
| Lebanon Junction
Lebanon Junction, Kentucky
Lebanon Junction is a city in Bullitt County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,801 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lebanon Junction is located at ....
| 104.698
| 105
|
|
|-
|
| 111.773
| 112
|
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Shepherdsville
Shepherdsville, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,334 people, 3,177 households, and 2,363 families residing in the city. The population density was 791.3 people per square mile . There were 3,402 housing units at an average density of 323.0 per square mile...
| 115.574
| 116
|
|
|-
| 116.639
| 117
|
|
|-
|
| 121.722
| 121
|
|
|-
| rowspan=17|Jefferson
Jefferson County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...
|
| 125.143
| 125
|
| Signed as exits 125A (east) and 125B (west) northbound
|-
|
| 126.746
| 126
|
|
|-
| rowspan=15|Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
| 128.328
| 128
|
|
|-
| 129.802
| 130
|
|
|-
| 130.710
| 131A
|
| Signed as exits 131A (east) and 131B (west) southbound
|-
| 130.792
| 131B
| Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
|
|-
| 132.601
| 132
| Crittenden Drive (KY 1631) – Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center
| No northbound exit
|-
| 132.955
| 133
|
| Signed as exits 133A (east) and 133B (west) northbound
|-
| 133.767
| 134
|
| South end of KY 61 overlap; no northbound exit
|-
| 133.978
| 134A
|
| North end of KY 61 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| 134.145
| 134B
| Woodbine Street
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| 134.675
| 135
| St. Catherine Street west
|
|-
| 135.195-
135.384
| 136A
| Chestnut Street, Broadway (US 150)
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| 135.649
| 136B
| Brook Street
| Northbound exit and southbound entrance
|-
| 135.649-
135.919
| 136C
| Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
Boulevard, Jefferson Street – Downtown Louisville
|
|-
| 136.421
| 137
| , St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
|
|-
|
|colspan=3 align=center|John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge
John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge is a seven-lane, single-deck cantilever bridge that carries Interstate 65 across the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana. The main span is and the bridge has a total length of...
over the Ohio River
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
(state line)