Existed: 1958 – present Constructed 1958 | Length 195.9 km | |
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South end: I‑65 at Alabama state line North end: I-65 at Kentucky state line Counties Giles County, Tennessee, Marshall County, Tennessee | ||
Interstate 65 (I-65) runs from Ardmore north in Tennessee to just south of Franklin, Kentucky, forming part of the national Interstate 65, which goes from Mobile, Alabama, to Gary, Indiana. In Tennessee the highway's official name is the Albert Arnold Gore Sr. Memorial Highway.
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Route description
I-65 enters Tennessee from the south near the town of Ardmore, and passes through mostly rural territory for 65 miles (105 km). At exit 1 (Tennessee State Route 7), US-31 separates from the Interstate, having merged at Athens, Alabama, and immediately services Elkton. After skimming the edges of Columbia and Spring Hill, the road comes to an interchange with Interstate 840. The road widens to eight lanes and travels through Franklin and Brentwood, Tennessee, before coming to an interchange with Interstate 440. The highway enters Downtown Nashville, sharing brief concurrences with Interstate 40 and Interstate 24. The road then separates from I-24 and intersects with SR-155 (Briley Parkway) on the north side of Nashville, and widens to ten through lanes. The widest section of I-65 is found on the north side of this interchange, where the road briefly accommodates 15 through lanes (8 northbound, 7 southbound). The road passes through Madison, and comes to an interchange with SR-386 (Vietnam Veterans Blvd) in Goodlettsville, and narrows back to six lanes. SR-386 can only be accessed from the northbound lanes. The highway then enters a largely rural area, passing through White House, and it exits near Portland into Kentucky to the north.
History
A small part of I-65 was the first interstate Highway opened to traffic in Tennessee. A 1.8-mile (2.9 km) section near the Alabama–Tennessee state line opened on November 15, 1958. The McDowell and McDowell Construction company had started work on the interchange in May 1957. Until 2000, the 2-mile (3.2 km) northern leg of the loop in Nashville was designated as Interstate 265. On April 7, 2000, the I-265 designation vanished, and I-65 itself was re-routed from the southern and eastern half of the loop (where it traveled concurrently with I-24/I-40) to the western and northern half of the loop (where it travels concurrently with I-40 only on the western side, and has the northern stretch to itself). Nashville–Davidson County's city/county government had argued to have the designations changed in order to help alleviate traffic congestion caused by motorists' following I-65 through the main body of the city. Because of this, the new I-65 route is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) longer than the previous route. Mile markers north of Nashville were not changed with the reroute, so they do not accurately represent the length of I-65 in Tennessee.