Interstate 69 - Route Description

Route Description

I-69 currently exists as a number of distinct SIUs (section of independent utility):

• The original (with later additions), fully completed route from Indianapolis, Indiana, to the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron, Michigan (SIU 1);
• Portions of the Indianapolis Beltway (I-465) (SIU 2);
• A 67-mile (108 km) section from I-64/I-164 to US 231 near the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center), sections 1-3 of (SIU 3);
• An 18-mile (29 km) section of Interstate 164 near Evansville, Indiana (SIU 4);
• The upgraded portions of the Kentucky Parkway system: Pennyrile, Western Kentucky and Purchase parkways (SIU 5) and (SIU 6);
• A 42-mile (68 km) section from Tunica Resorts, Mississippi, to the I-40/I-69/State Route 300 (SR 300) interchange in Memphis, Tennessee part of (SIU 9) and (SIU 10);
• Existing US 59 from I-610 in Houston, Texas, to Liberty County, Texas (SIU 19); and
• A six-mile (9.7 km) segment of US 77 between I-37 and State Highway 44 (SH 44) near Corpus Christi, Texas (SIU 22).

The new I-69 in Mississippi and Tennessee starts at an at-grade intersection with the former route of Mississippi Highway 304 (MS 304) in Banks, Tunica County, Mississippi. It continues roughly north-northeast, crossing into DeSoto County, to a partial interchange with the current route of MS 304, then runs easterly to an interchange with I-55 in northern Hernando. It then continues north, overlapping I-55 to the Tennessee state line, and continues northward concurrently with I-55 to the south side of Memphis. It then follows I-240 northward through downtown before joining I-40. Presently, the northern end of this section of I-69 is at the I-40/I-69/SR 300 interchange on the north side of Memphis. This portion of the route is the first "section of independent utility" (SIU) of the proposed extension to be signed as part of the national I-69 route, and the first portion designed as part of the extension.

The new section of Interstate 69 in southern Indiana presently begins at the I-64/I-164/SR 57 interchange north of Evansville, at the boundary between the SIU 3 and SIU 4; from there, it runs north to SR 68. Construction was completed on November 19th, 2012 on a 67 mile segment (SIU 3, Section 1-3). This extension takes the route north-northeast from there to SR 64 near Oakland City, then north-northeast to US 50/US 150 at Washington and finally northeast to US 231 near the Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center). Construction is currently underway for the final new terrain segment (SIU 3, Section 4), which will take I-69 from Crane NSWC northeast to SR 37 on the southwest side of Bloomington and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014. From there, Sections 5 (Bloomington to Martinsville) and 6 (Martinsville to Indianapolis) of I-69's SIU 3 will eventually upgrade the existing SR 37 expressway corridor to full Interstate Highway standards all the way north-northeast to I-465 on the southwest side of Indianapolis.

The traditional portion of Interstate 69 in Indiana (SIU 1 of the overall national plan) starts at an interchange with I-465 in northeastern Indianapolis, running roughly northeast to near Anderson, where it turns more easterly to provide indirect access to Muncie before turning more northerly towards Fort Wayne. In Fort Wayne, I-69 roughly runs along the western edge of the city while an auxiliary route, I-469, loops east of the city. I-69 continues northerly to the Indiana Toll Road near Fremont, then crosses the border into Michigan just south of Kinderhook.

I-69 in Michigan runs north passing through Coldwater and Marshall. Near Olivet, I-69 begins to turn in a northeasterly direction passing through the Lansing metropolitan area. Here I-69 is cosigned on/with I-96, the only such palindromic pairing in the Interstate Highway System. I-69 is signed east–west from Lansing through Flint to Port Huron. At its eastern terminus, I-69 joins I-94 to cross the Blue Water Bridges at the Canadian border over the St. Clair River.