Interstate 265

Interstate 265
Gene Snyder Freeway
Route information
Maintained by Indiana DOT and KYTC
Existed:	1977 – present
Indiana segment
Length:	6.73 mi[1] (10.83 km)
West end:	I-64 / US 150 / SR 62 near New Albany, IN
East end:	I-65 / SR 62 / SR 265 in Clarksville, IN
Kentucky segment
Length:	24.48 mi[1] (39.40 km)
West end:	I-65 / KY 841 in Minor Lane Hghts., KY
North end:	I-71 / KY 841 in Prospect, KY
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business ← SR 264 IN SR 267 → ← I-264 KY KY 266 →

Interstate 265 (I-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 Louisville to Interstate 65 in the southern part of the city. The entire Kentucky stretch of the road is co-signed with Kentucky Route 841. The highway is named the Gene Snyder Freeway (initially named the "Jefferson Freeway"), after the former congressman, and usually called "the Snyder" by locals. It is considered part of Louisville's "beltline".

In Indiana, I-265 runs from I-64 in western Floyd County to I-65 in Clark County and is known as the Lee H. Hamilton Highway. East of I-65, the freeway continues as State Road 265 (Clark Maritime Highway) until intersecting State Road 62 (Charlestown Pike). This stretch is scheduled to be extended east across the Ohio River, where it will eventually link up with its Kentucky counterpart, creating a bypass around the eastern side of the city. Currently, construction is slated for completion in 2018.

In late 2005 members of Louisville's Metro Council proposed a committee to begin planning a western bridge to link the southwestern end of the highway to Indiana as well.

Route description

Indiana

State Road 265 (future I-265) at its eastern terminus at State Road 62.

State Road 265 in the U.S. State of Indiana is a two mile (3 km), divided four-lane freeway that runs east-to-west for two miles (3 km), connecting Interstate 65 with Interstate 265 north of Jeffersonville. It overlaps State Road 62 for its entire length. The freeway is scheduled to become an extension of Interstate 265 when the East End Bridge, part of the Ohio River Bridges Project, is completed.

East End Bridge

In various discussions for over 30 years, the East End Bridge is part of a new 6.5-mile (10.5 km) highway that will connect Interstate 265 in Indiana to Interstate 265 in Kentucky. The completion of the bridge would connect the two disjointed interstates and form a 3/4 beltway around the Louisville, Kentucky metro area, completion date is expected to be 2016. There is currently no plan to construct a bridge on the west end of Interstate 265; however, I-264 does connect at the Sherman Minton Bridge.

Kentucky

Kentucky Route 841 is a 37.006 mile (59.555 km) long state highway in the suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky. The route is a partial beltway, encircling Louisville on its southern and eastern sides. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 31W and U.S. Route 60 in the southwest Louisville community of Valley Station, where KY 841 continues to the west as Kentucky Route 1934. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 42 in Prospect northeast of downtown Louisville.

KY 841 and Interstate 265 overlap for 24.477 miles (39.392 km) between Interstate 65 exit 125 and Interstate 71 exit 9.

Safety issues

The Gene Snyder Freeway, from Interstate 65 to Interstate 71 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. Its concrete pavement, which was diamond-ground in the late 1990s, made the pavement quite slick in wet weather. Driver inattention and increased traffic and congestion has led to a decline in the overall level-of-service. In 2006, cable barriers were installed in the median for 10-mile (16 km) between Interstate 71 and Interstate 64, with further installation possible in the near future.^[2]

History

Junction of U.S. Route 31E and KY 841

Originally signed just as KY 841, the Jefferson Freeway was constructed originally with two sections, one between KY 155 (Taylorsville Road) and US 60 (Shelbyville Road) and a second section between KY 1447 (Westport Road) and US 42 in the 1960s as short connectors to the eastern suburban expansion as well as a new automobile plant. I-264 by 1970 was woefully congested and was in dire need of reconstruction and other improvements, therefore 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.

The road is signed Interstate 265 from the I-65 interchange to the I-71 interchange. From I-65 west to US 31W (although it is up to Interstate Highway standards) and I-71 north/west to US 42, is signed as KY 841 due to AASHTO numbering rules. KY 841 is signed throughout the entire designation of Interstate 265. The exit numbering for the entire beltway starts at the western terminus of KY 841.

Reconstruction efforts have been continuing on several segments of I-265. The concrete used in the midsections of I-64 and the western segments of KY 841 have caused many dips and rough spots to the point where diamond grinding, or the patching and then the regrooving of the pavement was necessary.

Studies have also been conducted for the reconfiguration of the I-265 and I-64 interchange. It is currently an underpowered cloverleaf with no collector-distributor lanes, a relic of the original Jefferson Freeway.

Exit list

State	County	Location	Mile	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Kentucky	Jefferson				1	US 31W / US 60 – Fort Knox, Louisville KY 1934	Continues as KY 1934 past this exit
					3	Stonestreet Road
					6	New Cut Road
					8	KY 1020 (National Turnpike) – Fairdale
					10	I-65 – Nashville, Louisville	West end of I-265; signed as exits 10A (north) and 10B (south) westbound
					12	KY 61 (Preston Highway)
					14	Smyrna Road
					15	KY 864 (Beulah Church Road)
					17	US 31E / US 150 – Bardstown, Louisville
					19	KY 1819 (Billtown Road)
					23	KY 155 – Jeffersontown, Taylorsville
		Middletown			25	I-64 – Lexington, Louisville	Signed as exits 25A (east) and 25B (west)
					27	US 60 (Shelbyville Road) – Middletown, Eastwood
					29	Old Henry Road
					30	KY 146 (La Grange Road) – Anchorage, Pewee Valley
					32	KY 1447 (Westport Road) / Chamberlain Lane
					34	KY 22 (Brownsboro Road) – Crestwood
					35	I-71 – Cincinnati, Louisville	Temporary north end of I-265; signed as exits 35A (east) and 35B (west)
						US 42	Temporary north end of KY 841
Ohio River			0.00	0.00	Proposed bridge
Indiana	Clark	Jeffersonville			10	SR 62 east – Charlestown, Jeffersonville	Temporary east end of SR 265 and of the SR 62 overlap; signed as exits 10A (west) and 10B (east) eastbound
					7	I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville	Temporary east end of I-265; signed as exits 7A (north) and 7B (south) westbound
	Floyd	New Albany			4	SR 311 (Charlestown Road)
					3	SR 111 (Grant Line Road)
					1	State Street
					0	I-64 / US 150 / SR 62 west – New Albany, Louisville, St. Louis	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; both ramps are signed as exit 0
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Unopened

References

External links

• KentuckyRoads.com: I-265

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