Interstate 65 North - Louisville

I-65 through Kentucky is known as the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Expressway, with the exception of Louisville Metro where it is named after MLK. Signs were put up along the route, and sit at each end as well.

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The Gene Snyder Freeway is the outer loop of the city, and is signed totally as KY 841, and partially as I-265. The I-265 portion has its western end here at I-65.

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Exit 125A departs Interstate 65 north for I-265/KY 841 east. There are no control points for the loop other than the name of the freeway.

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The westbound exit is a loop ramp and connects to KY 841, which runs west to US 60 and the Dixie Highway.

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KY 841 (Gene Snyder Freeway) leads west to U.S. 31W/60 where the freeway ends and KY 1849 (Greenbelt Highway) begins. KY 1849 connects KY 841 with KY 1934, the extension of Greenbelt Highway north.

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Okolona and Fairdale, formerly towns in their own right, are the control points for the next exit. Today they are simply neighborhoods of Louisville.

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North of I-265, I-65 briefly becomes a very wide 14 lane expressway. The stretch of road from E-town to Interstate 264 was built in the 1950s as the Kentucky Turnpike. State law requires toll roads be made free once the bonds are paid off, and thus the turnpike became toll-free I-65.

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The next exit is for the local road known as Outer Loop. Originally it would have been part of the Gene Snyder Freeway, but instead of upgrading it the state just built a new freeway parallel and to the south.

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I-65 northbound at KY 1065. The route is 13 miles long and runs east/west on the south side of Louisville.

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I-65 maintains 12 lanes north of KY 1065, which is quickly pared down as lanes merge on the right.

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Fern Valley Road runs east/west along the south side of the airport. In 2003 it was connected with Hurstbourne Parkway to form a major arterial along the south and east sides of the city.

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Two lanes peel away to connect the interstate with KY 1747. 1747 runs east and north to I-64, and US 60.

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Collector/distributor lanes run along both sides of the freeway at Fern Valley, exiting and merging traffic is safely separated from through traffic by barriers here.

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Interstate 65 straddles the east side of Louisville's International airport to KY 61 (Preston Highway) and Interstate 264 (Henry Watterson Expressway)

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Northbound on the c/d roadway at Exit 128 to KY 1747 (Fern Valley Road). KY 1747 westbound ends at Grade Lane by the Louisville Ford Assembly Plant and cargo facilities of Louisville International Airport (SDF).

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A parclo interchange links I-65 with KY 1747 at Exit 128. Fern Valley Road comprises a strip lined with a number of traveler amenities and industrial businesses en route to Newburg.

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The interstate is still impressive with 10 lanes as traffic from Fern Valley merges.

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Continuing north toward the parclo interchange (Exit 130) with KY 61 and following directional cloverleaf interchange (Exit 131 A) with I-264. KY 61 lines the eastern side of the freeway from Lynnview to Audubon Park. Interstate 264 travels the north side of the adjacent Louisville airport and the UPS Worldport hub, one of the metro area's largest employers.

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Exit 130 departs Interstate 65 north for KY 61 (Preston Highway). Preston Highway, northward called Preston Street, runs north/south along the east side of the freeway. It is an important local route with many old motels and homes along it.

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Another MLK Expressway sign is shown here at the Broadway Exit. Broadway is also known and signed as US 150, and is a major east/west street on the south side of downtown.

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The next exit connects the interstate with Brook Street. Brook, formerly East Street, runs north/south along the east side of downtown. The yellow warning sign is the first indication of the infamous Hospital Curve ahead.

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The hospital curve is the point east of downtown where I-65 curves around the largest concentrations of hospitals in the city. The section through here is entirely elevated and provides good views of the skyline off to the west.

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Muhammad Ali Blvd, formerly Walnut Street, is the last exit that directly connects to local streets downtown. Ali Blvd runs westward through downtown all the way to the Shawnee Expressway.

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I-65 gains a lane ahead of Interstate 64 and the northbound beginning of Interstate 71 at Exit 137.

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The old Ohio River railroad bridge comes into view as I-65 curves from east to north.

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I-65 meets I-64 at the Kennedy Interchange, also known locally as spaghetti junction. The interchange was named for the adjacent Kennedy Bridge, and was built from April 1962 to 1963. Today, the interchange handles about 300,000 cars per day - and plans for a redesign were unveiled in 2005.

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Traffic crawls during the evening peak hours from Interstate 65 north to Exit 137. Interstate 64 leads west to New Albany and Evansville, Indiana; Interstate 71 north to Cincinnati, and Interstate 64 east to Jeffersontown and Frankford.

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The John F. Kennedy Memorial bridge connects Kentucky and Indiana over the Ohio River. The bridge has four northbound lanes and three southbound. The main span over the river is 700 feet long.

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The John F. Kennedy Memorial bridge connects Kentucky and Indiana over the Ohio River. The bridge has four northbound lanes and three southbound. The main span over the river is 700 feet long.

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Construction began in 1961 and the bridge opened on December 6, 1963. As this was less than a fortnight since the assassination of the President, there was wide agreement the new bridge be named after JFK. Currently a new bridge is being planned just to the east to carry northbound traffic, while the JFK bridge will be converted to a southbound-only facility.

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Exit 0 leaves Interstate 65 northbound at the north end of the Kennedy Bridge for Court Street and Broadway in downtown Jeffersonville. The parclo interchange ties U.S. 31 traffic into the freeway from the adjacent George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge.

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