Interstate 69

Interstate 69 currently consists of a disconnected route along a 1,660 mile long corridor (FHWA, 2012). The original section stretches northward from I-465 at Indianapolis, Indiana to the Bluewater Bridge alongside I-94 at Port Huron, Michigan. Additional segments of Interstate 69 are designated from the Gulf Coast to the Midwest:

• Rosenburg northeast to Houston and Cleveland in southeast Texas
• East from U.S. 61, north of Tunica, in northern Mississippi to I-240/SR 300 in Memphis, Tennessee
• Within western Kentucky, northeast from the Tennessee state line at Fulton to U.S. 41 at Henderson
• Evansville northeast to Bloomington, Martinsville and Indianapolis.

The long range goal is to unite all of the separate sections into a seamless corridor linking Canada with Mexico.

Interstate 69 connects the cities of Indianapolis, Indiana with Lansing, Flint and Port Huron, Michigan within the Great Lakes region. Connecting the capital city with Muncie, Fort Wayne and Angola in northeastern Indiana, the route originally began at the Indianapolis Beltway (Interstate 465).  Through Fort Wayne, I-69 passes west of Downtown while a beltway, Interstate 469, encircles the Summit City to the east as both a commuter route and connection to the Fort to Port Corridor, U.S. 24 leading east to Toledo, Ohio. Also in Fort Wayne, I-69 overtakes the former route of U.S. 27 north to Lansing, Michigan.

Crossing into the Great Lakes State, I-69 heads northerly to Marshall and a junction with Interstate 94 before shifting eastward toward the capital city of Lansing. Business loops along the route serve communities bypassed along old U.S. 27. Once in the Lansing area, I-69 changes directions. Removed by 2011, a sign indicated that I-69 north becomes I-69 east. Beyond Lansing and the overlap with Interstate 96, I-69 crosses I-75 at a nearly 90 degree angle within the city of Flint and then meets Interstate 475. The freeway returns to rural areas east of Flint en route to Lapeer and Port Huron. Once in Port Huron, I-69 and I-94 meet for a second time and combine eastward to the Blue Water Bridge to Sarnia, Ontario.

The first section of I-69 south of Indiana posted was the 14.7 mile stretch between U.S. 61 near Tunica and Interstate 55 by Hernando, Mississippi. This route generally serves as a connector for through traffic heading south to U.S. 61 and an area of casinos from I-55 north into Memphis, Tennessee. A subsequent extension of I-69 made in 2008 lengthened the route alongside I-55 north into Memphis.
Main guide: Interstate 69 Mississippi

Road work in 2009 added 1.77 miles of Interstate 69 in southwestern Indiana. This short stretch tied into the cloverleaf interchange joining I-64 and I-164. It was lengthened in 2012 northeast by 67 miles to U.S. 231. By 2013, the 20 miles of I-164 at Evansville were redesignated as the southernmost alignment of I-69 in the Hoosier State. Construction on I-69, Section 4 followed with 27 more miles of freeway opened between Crane and Bloomington in December 2015. Substantially completed by October 30, 2018, Section 5 extended I-69 another 21 miles to Martinsville.

Three parkways in Kentucky were incorporated into the route of Interstate 69. Starting with the Western Kentucky Parkway, I-69 was designated between I-24 at Eddyville and the Pennyrile Parkway near Nortonville in 2011. An extension of I-69 west to Mayfield along the Julian Carroll-Purchase Parkway, including a 17 mile long overlap with I-24, was established in 2015. I-69 was also designated along the Pennyrile Parkway north from the Western Kentucky Parkway to Henderson in 2015. Lengthening I-69 south to Fulton, the western 21 miles of the Purchase Parkway were upgraded to Interstate standards in 2024.

Section 1 of the Interstate 69 Ohio River Crossing (ORX) extended I-69 six miles further north to U.S. 60 at Henderson. Construction included upgrading three miles of freeway along U.S. 41 to Interstate standards and building 2.5 miles of new roadway east to U.S. 60. A ribbon cutting ceremony took place for Section 1 on November 3, 2025.

Additional stretches of Interstate 69 were added following the 2012 legislation Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) stating that

routes can be designated as part of the Interstate system if the route or a segment of the route meets current Interstate design standards and connects to, or is planned to connect to, an existing Interstate within 25 years.

This meant that sections of freeway that will eventually become part of a seamless Interstate 69 may receive shielding in advance, even if they are disconnected from the rest of the designated mainline.

Through southeastern Texas, IH 69 overlays U.S. 59 north from Rosenberg to the Montgomery / Liberty County line. These stretches were signed over the span of three years between 2012 and 2015. They joined shorter segments of the three IH 69 branch routes in South Texas. IH 69E, the 6.2 mile long route between SH 44 and IH 37 near Corpus Christi was designated in 2011 initially as just IH 69. It was renumbered as IH 69E in 2013 when IH 69C and IH 69E in the Rio Grande Valley were dedicated. IH 69W appeared in 2014 when the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved a 1.4 mile long stretch of Loop 20 in Laredo as an Interstate highway.

Main guide: Interstate 69 Texas

Interstate 69 from Texas northeast to Michigan in its entirety is part of High Priority Corridor 18: NAFTA Superhighway. The section within Texas is also part of High Priority Corridor 20: U.S. 59 from Laredo to Texarkana.

The existing section of Interstate 69 northeast of Indianapolis largely does not follow any historic U.S. route, with the exception of the stretch between Fort Wayne and Lansing, where it supplanted U.S. 27.

Interstate 69 along the Purchase Parkway in southwestern Kentucky parallels U.S. 45 between Fulton and Mayfield and U.S. 641 between Benton and Draffenville. Including the overlap with I-24, I-69 east from Lake City to I-169 at Nortonville follows U.S. 62. Northward along the Pennyrile Parkway between Nortonville and Henderson, I-69 parallels U.S. 41.

When originally planned, Interstate 69 was proposed to run only between Indianapolis and I-94 at Marshall, Michigan. The route was formally extended by the American Association of State Highway and Officials (AASHO) on June 23, 1969 north to Lansing and east to I-75 at Flint. Within Indianapolis, I-69 was proposed to continue southwest into Downtown along the Northeast Freeway. The planned route followed an alignment along former Indiana State Road 37 (Binford Boulevard) southwest from I-465 to the North Split interchange of I-65 and I-70. This plan was later reduced to just a spur southwest to Binford Boulevard and renumbered as Interstate 165 before being dropped altogether.

Interstate 69 ended at I-75 in Flint until November 10, 1973, when AASHO approved a short extension of the route east to Interstate 475. This replaced portions of  M-21 and M-78, which opened along a freeway from Saginaw Street in Flint east to Center Road on December 21, 1971. Costing $22.1 million, the 2.5 mile segment in Flint linked two sections of freeway from M-52 near Perry to M-24 at Lapeer. It included the second level of the four level interchange with I-475 (The Owosso Argus-Press, 1971).

Additional freeway for I-69 completed in 1972 included a 12 mile section of I-69 between Olivet and Charlotte. The 37 mile stretch from Lapeer east to Wadhams was scheduled for construction after 1974 (The Owosso Argus-Press, 1971). I-69 was extended further east over M-21 to I-94 at Port Huron and along I-94 to the Blue Water Bridge and international border formally on October 1, 1983 by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The last section of Interstate 69 to open in the state was the stretch from Charlotte to Lansing in 1992. This replaced the route of U.S. 27 (Rook, 2006).

Planned as a 1,250 mile extension to Laredo, Texas, from Indianapolis southwest through Evansville, Memphis, Shreveport and Houston, Interstate 69 is part of High Priority Corridors 18 and 20. These High Priority Corridors are in turn subdivided into “segments” for ease of reference in various environmental and planning documents. For additional historical information, visit Chris Lawrence’s I-69 Info.com web page.

Texas

The entire corridor is described on the Alliance for I-69 Texas web site. Interstate 69 splits into three branches so it can serve the border areas near Laredo and near Brownsville:

• Interstate 69W – Victoria to Laredo via U.S. 59
• Interstate 69C – Rio Grande Valley/McAllen via U.S. 281
• Interstate 69E – Rio Grande Valley/Brownsville via U.S. 77

IH 69 began in Texas as a 6.2 mile route alongside U.S. 77 between SH 44 at Robstown and IH 37 at Corpus Christi, with an official dedication on December 5, 2011. This portion was reclassified as IH 69E at the May 5, 2013 Route Numbering Committee meeting of AASHTO, because of the branch split of IH 69 south from Victoria.

Other branch route sections of IH 69 were signed starting on July 15, 2013. Included is IH 69E, which overlays a stretch of U.S. 77 from Brownsville to Raymondville; IH 69C, which superseded 18.0 miles of U.S. 281 between Pharr and Edinburg and IH 2, which overlaps with U.S. 83 and connects IH 69C and IH 69E in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. 73 miles of State Highway 44, from U.S. 59 at Freer to SH 358 in Corpus Christi, became a Congressionally Designated I-69 High Priority Corridor as part of the FAST Act signed into law on December 4, 2015. 5.8 miles of SH 44 by Corpus Christi International Airport (CRP) were previously built to interstate standards (Alliance for I-69 Texas, 2015).

North from the merge of IH 69E and IH 69C near Victoria to Houston, IH 69 will directly overlay U.S. 59 along Segment 20, from Victoria to SH 99. Through the Houston area, IH 69 runs concurrent with U.S. 59 on Segment 19 while SH 99, the Grand Parkway, provides a tolled bypass and possible branch of IH 69. Signage for IH 69 was added along U.S. 59 from the north loop of IH 610, 35 miles to the Montgomery / Liberty County line in September 2012. Signs designating IH 69 within the IH 610 beltway in Houston were posted beginning in April 2015.

IH 69 continues along U.S. 59 to depart Houston northward toward Cleveland (Segment 18 – from SH 99 to Lufkin). IH 69 converge with U.S. 69 around Lufkin. Northeast from there, IH 69 will angle to Nacogdoches via Segment 17, then continue to Carthage and Panola via Segment 16.

Main guide: Interstate 69 Texas

A spur freeway (Segment 29), designated Interstate 369, is proposed to follow U.S. 59 north past Carthage to Texarkana, while IH 69 will turn east into Louisiana via Segment 16 – Nacogdoches to Stonewall, Louisiana and Segment 15. Approved by AASHTO on November 15, 2012, IH 369 constitutes a 4.2 mile long spur along U.S. 59, south from IH 30 on the west side of Texarkana to FM 93 and SL 151.

Louisiana

Interstate 69 will cross into Louisiana from Texas between U.S. 79 and U.S. 84 near Carthage, Texas, between Logansport and Bethany. Heading northeast, I-69 will head toward Shreveport and Bossier City approximately along LA 525, then angle roughly toward Haynesville before entering Arkansas via AR 15. It is likely that Interstate 69 will stay south of Shreveport by avoiding I-20 and crossing I-49 south of Shreveport.

Mississippi

The Great River Bridge is the crossing Interstate 69 proposed to take across the Mississippi River. Planned at Rosedale, Mississippi, as a compromise location between Mississippi and Arkansas, the span is being designed as a four lane, Interstate standard bridge, contingent upon I-69 being constructed to the bridge. Leading away from the river, I-69 will turn north along U.S. 61 toward Memphis.

The section from U.S. 61 near Tunica to I-55/269 north of Hernando opened on October 3, 2006 (Risher, 2006). On May 6, 2008, the Interstate 69 designation was extended north on shared alignments with I-55, I-240 and I-40 through Memphis, Tennessee, after approval by AASHTO. Signs in Tennessee however only refer to “Future Interstate 69”.
    Main guide: Interstate 69 Mississippi

Tennessee

Part of High Priority Corridor 18, there are three designated Segments to be built within western Tennessee.

Through Memphis, I-69 utilizes I-55, I-40 and I-240 north to the SR 300 freeway spur as part of Segment 9 (Hernando, Mississippi to Millington). This was the alignment recommended by the Memphis Metropolitan Planning Organization and the City of Memphis. Much of the route along I-55 and I-40 incorporated into I-69 through Memphis was improved by 2010 to carry between six and eight lanes. A beltway route, Interstate 269, bypasses the city to the east via a course parallel to MS 304 in DeSoto County and along the SR 385 freeway between Millington and Collierville. I-269 was completed between I-55/69 in Mississippi and I-40 in Tennessee on October 26, 2018.

Beyond the Memphis belt line, Segment 8 (Dyersburg to Millington) for I-69 will take SR 300 northwest to U.S. 51, then parallel U.S. 51 to the west to Covington. The freeway will overtake U.S. 51 across the Hatchee River before shifting east of U.S. 51 around Ripley and west of U.S. 51 again to I-155/U.S. 412 at Dyersburg.

Segment 7 is the corridor from Dyersburg northeast to Union City and Fulton, Kentucky. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) awarded a contract for Section 5 of SUI 7 on March 29, 2019. The contract outlined the construction of 4.87 miles of roadway from west of SR 21 to U.S. 51 near Mayberry Road in Obion County (ITB, 2018). Estimated for completion in Summer 2023, a $31.9 million paving project kicked off on July 13, 2021 on a 6.5 mile long stretch of I-69 around Unionville (WBBJ, 2021). Sections 1 and 2 of SIU 7 will eventually complete the link to Interstate 155 (ITB, 2019).

Costing $220 million and designated as Tennessee State Route 690, Future I-69 along Segment 7 opened around Union City from U.S. 51 to SR 21 on February 21, 2024 (WBBJ, 2024). This segment ties into the existing freeway along U.S. 45W/51 joining Union City with South Fulton near the Kentucky state line.

With construction anticipated to begin in 2028, a project under development will complete the Interstate standard connection to I-69 along the Purchase Parkway in Fulton, Kentucky. Alternative 2C, the Preferred Alternative, upgrades U.S. 51 to a new sweeping curve to the east near KY 116 (State Line Road). The project also includes reconstructing the interchange joining U.S. 51/45E/45W. The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) held a public meeting for the I-69 Interchange Re-configuration project on March 20, 2025 (Heller, 2025).

Kentucky

Interstate 69 runs north from the Tennessee state line with U.S. 51 on the Julian M. Carroll Purchase Parkway at Fulton. The $33.9 million in construction upgrading 21 miles of the Purchase Parkway to Interstate standards from Fulton north to Mayfield was part of Segment 6 (Fulton north to Eddyville). Governor Andy Beshear announced the completion of the two year project on December 24, 2024. Work included reconfiguring the cloverleaf at Exit 14 originally designed to accommodate toll booths into a diamond interchange (Latek, 2024).

I-69 is posted along the Purchase Parkway from KY 80 at Mayfield northeast to Interstate 24. Between 1991 and 1999, it appeared as if I-69 would be constructed on a new alignment from the parkway end northeast to Henderson, Kentucky. However, in May 1999, the state of Kentucky announced that I-69 would follow the existing Wendell Ford/Western Kentucky Parkway and Breathitt/Pennyrile Parkway (Segment 5, from Eddyville to Nortonville, and Nortonville to Henderson). Future Interstate 69 signs were posted along these rouses on October 18, 2011.

The Purchase Parkway was formally established as Interstate 69 by AASHTO on May 15, 2015. This covered the 50 mile stretch from KY 166 at Fulton northeast to Interstate 24, south of Calvert City. 38 miles of I-69 were previously approved by AASHTO for the portion of I-24 leading east from the Purchase Parkway to the Western Kentucky Parkway, and along the WK Parkway east to the Pennyrile Parkway.

A project to add high speed ramps between the former Western Kentucky Parkway and Pennyrile Parkway for the Interstate 69 mainline was let in late 2014. This work coincided with efforts to bring the Pennyrile Parkway up to Interstate standards, including a total rebuild of the Mortons Gap interchange. Total cost for these projects was estimated at $146 million (SurfKY News Media, 2013).

Completion of this work allowed I-69 shields to be placed northward through Madisonville to Henderson. The AASHTO meeting on May 15, 2015 addressed I-69 again with the approval of 42 miles of the Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway, from the WK Parkway north to KY 425 just south of Henderson, as new Interstate 69. The parkway was formally designated as I-69 at a ceremony held by outgoing Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear on November 16, 2015. This followed completion of the Mortons Gap interchange project (The Lane Report, 2015).

U.S. 41 links Henderson, Kentucky and Evansville, Indiana. The U.S. 41 bridges across the Ohio River are not adequate for freeway standards, and a new Ohio River crossing is under construction for I-69 to the east. The new alignment bypasses Henderson to the east and connects with I-69 (old I-164) north at Evansville, Indiana as part of Segment 4. 2011 cost estimates for the crossing and approaches were $1.4 billion (Kunz, 2011).

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) are jointly developing the I-69 Ohio River Crossing (I-69 ORX) project. The combined Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) was approved by the FHWA on September 16, 2021. Divided into two sections, the project upgraded the freeway along U.S. 41 along the Henderson bypass and builds a new alignment to the northeast leading to a four lane bridge spanning the Ohio River.

The KYTC oversaw Section 1, which extends six miles north from KY 425 (Henderson Bypass) to U.S. 60. A $158 million design-build contract was awarded and construction got underway in Fall 2022. Substantial completion of Section 1 construction was celebrated during a ribbon cutting event attended by Governor Andy Beshear (D), KYTC officials and local leaders on November 3, 2025. Final work on punch-list items continues into early 2026 on the six mile long extension of I-69. The project built new bridges, reconstructed seven more, rebuilt the interchange with KY 351 and added interchanges with U.S. 41 and U.S. 60. Designated KY 3690, the 2.5 mile long section of Future I-69 opened to traffic east from U.S. 41 to U.S. 60 on November 10, 2025 (Office of Governor Andy Beshear, 2025).

INDOT and KYTC partner on Section 2, which connects I-69 with the section in Evansville. Estimated to cost $975 million, construction is expected to start in 2027 and take four years to complete. Under the jurisdiction of INDOT, construction on ORX Section 3 builds some of the approach roadways and bridges north of the Ohio River. Work on Section 3 started in Fall 2024 and is expected to be completed by late 2026 (Office of Governor Andy Beshear, 2025).

Indiana

20.70 miles of Interstate 164 were incorporated into I-69 when it overtook the route north from U.S. 41 to I-64 as approved by AASHTO on October 21, 2013. This tied into a previously completed 1.77 mile long segment of I-69 between I-64 and SR 68. Groundbreaking for that portion was held on July 16, 2008, in Gibson County (Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, 2008). It replaced SR 57 to the west between the cloverleaf interchange at I-64 and SR 68 when it opened on October 1, 2009.

Continuing north from there along new alignment, Interstate 69 serves Oakland City, Petersburg, Washington and Crane. Accelerated by INDOT’s “Major Moves” initiative funded by the leasing of the Indiana Toll Road, the 67 mile long stretch opened between SR 64 and U.S. 231 near Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center on November 19, 2012.

Segment 4 extends Interstate 69 north from U.S. 231 at Crane to Bloomington. Paralleling existing routes, I-69 follows SR 45 eastward to combine with SR 37 on the south side of Bloomington. This 27 mile section opened following a ribbon cutting ceremony held on December 9, 2015. The $471 million project was previously delayed by nearly a year due to wet Summers and inclement Winters in 2013 and 2014 (Evansville Courier & Press, 2015).

Photo Guides

• Indiana
• Texas

Discussion

• I-69 Extension in Indiana – AARoads Forum
• Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana – AARoads Forum
• I-69 Ohio River Bridge – AARoads Forum
• I-69 in KY – AARoads Forum
• I-69 in TN – AARoads Forum
• I-69 in MS – AARoads Forum
• I-69 in AR – AARoads Forum
• I-69 in LA – AARoads Forum
• I-69 in TX – AARoads Forum

Cardinal Direction Change – Lansing, Michigan