Major Highway Systems of Indianapolis
There are multiple roads crisscrossing the Indianapolis metro, and in this article, we shall be discussing some of them. Some roads are Interstate freeways, while other roads are US Routes. To clarify, we shall be talking about some of the more important roads, as these will allow you to access the city of Indianapolis much quicker and easier. We shall talk about Interstate freeways first.
The first one to be discussed is Interstate 465, which is also known as the USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway. It is the beltway circling Indianapolis, Indiana. It is roughly rectangular in shape and has a perimeter of approximately 53 miles. It lies almost completely within the boundaries of Marion County, except for two short sections on the north leg in Boone and Hamilton Counties. It intersects with the Interstates I-65, I-69, I-70 and I-74, and provides additional access to I-65 via I-865.
Next, there’s Interstate 65, but before that, there is Interstate 865, which connects I-65 and I-465 together. Interstate 865 (I-865) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a short connector between I-65 and I-465, running for five miles and completely concurrent with U.S. Route 52 (US 52). The highway was originally numbered as a branch of I-465 in 2002 to prevent I-465 from intersecting with itself. This section was previously known as the Dog Leg, and the mile markers ran from 900 to 905.
Interstate 65 (I-65) in the U.S. state of Indiana traverses from the south-southeastern Falls City area bordering Louisville, Kentucky, through the centrally located capital city of Indianapolis, to the northwestern Calumet Region of the Hoosier State which is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The Indiana portion of I-65 begins in Jeffersonville after crossing the Ohio River and travels mainly north, passing just west of Columbus prior to reaching the Indianapolis metro area. Upon reaching Indianapolis, the route alignment of I-65 begins to run more to the northwest and subsequently passes Lafayette on that city’s east and north sides. Northwest of there, in west-central Jasper County, the route again curves more northward as it approaches the Calumet Region. Shortly after passing a major junction with I-80 and I-94, I-65 reaches its northern national terminus in Gary at I-90 which is carried on the Indiana East–West Toll Road. I-65 covers about 260 miles in the state of Indiana. This is one of the principal interstate highways that cross the state, and, more specifically, intersect at the city of Indianapolis, that has given the state the nickname of “Crossroads of America”. As for the road itself in the city, the freeway comes from a slight southeasterly direction, after intersecting with I-465 near Carson Square, it passes through much of Indiana’s downtown areas, it also intersects with Interstate 70 there. Intersecting once more with I-465 east of Eagle Creek Park. It is connected with the northwestern corner of I-465 with I-865. It then leaves the Indianapolis metropolitan area after that.
Finally, coming from the east, is Interstate 70. In the U.S. state of Indiana, Interstate 70 (abbv. I-70) travels east–west across the state passing through the capital of Indianapolis. I-70 crosses from Illinois into Indiana near Terre Haute and departs into Ohio at Richmond. It covers 156.60 miles in Indiana, paralleling U.S. Route 40, the old National Road.
