Interstate 69 is an interstate highway in the midwestern United States. It runs from Indianapolis, Indiana at Interstate 465 to the U.S. side of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, at the Canadian border.
Length
360 miles
Major cities along the route
(from south to north)
Intersections with other Interstates
- Interstate 80 near Fremont, Indiana
- Interstate 90 near Fremont, Indiana
- Interstate 94 in Marshall, Michigan
- Interstate 96 in Lansing, Michigan
- Interstate 75 in Flint, Michigan
- Interstate 94 in Port Huron, Michigan
Spur routes
- Memphis, Tennessee - Future I-269
- Fort Wayne, Indiana - I-469
Notes
- Between Lansing, Michigan and Port Huron, Michigan I-69 is an east-west route.
- In Flint, Michigan, I-69 is also known as the Chevrolet-Buick Freeway, as a tribute to the Detroit automotive industry.
- The original southern termination point of I-69 was to have been at the I-65/I-70 interchange (known locally as the "spaghetti bowl") on the northeast side of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. In fact, the grading and overpasses for this connection's ramps can still be seen at that ___location. Later, the State of Indiana changed its mind (so it would not need to re-number the existing interchanges on the completed portions of the Interstate) and sought to designate the freeway connecting the spaghetti bowl to the I-69/I-465 interchange (approximately 11 miles) as "I-169". Due to a political fight over the inner-city portions of I-70 and I-65, it was decided to scrap I-169. In its place the state widened I-70 from 8 to 10 lanes and reworked its eastside interchange with I-465 to handle the additional traffic loads from the northeastern suburbs.
- In 1998, Congress approved an extension of I-69 to the south and west from Indianapolis to the Texas-Mexico border.
- From the Texas-Mexico border, I-69 will follow a path into Houston, then turn northward through Cleveland, Shepherd, Livingston, Lufkin, and Nacogdoches. It will go to the northeast, passing through Carthage, and then enter Louisiana towards Stonewall, where it will meet I-49 (which will be extended northward from its current terminus in Shreveport). It will also cross I-20 near Haughton, Louisiana.
- From the Shreveport area, I-69 will trek to Memphis via the towns of Haynesville, Louisiana; El Dorado, Hampton, Warren, Monticello, McGehee, and Arkansas City, Arkansas; and Benoit, Clarksdale, Rich and Robinsonville, Mississippi (via US 61); there could be a spur into Greenville, Mississippi, which would be called I-169.
- I-69 will follow US 61 and US 51 through the Memphis area. While in the area, it will overlap with I-55, I-240 and I-40. Also, construction has begun on a new bypass route, called I-269.
- From Memphis, I-69 will continue into Evansville, Indiana. The route will pass through the cities of Millington, Covington, Ripley, Dyersburg, Troy, Union City, and South Fulton, Tennessee; Mayfield, Eddyville, Princeton, Madisonville, and Henderson, Kentucky (via the Purchase Parkway, I-24, Western Kentucky Parkway and Pennyrile Parkway); and then cross the Ohio River into Evansville.
- Finally, I-69 will continue to its original southern terminus in Indianapolis via US 41, I-465 and various Indiana state routes. The specific route was a matter of some contention in local Indiana politics.
- I-69 could stop in Mexico at any of the following towns: in Laredo (via US 59), McAllen (via US 281), or Brownsville (via US 77). Since no one knows exactly where it will end, suffixes have been applied to it: I-69A, I-69C and I-69E. However, because federal law prohibits suffixed Interstate numbers (except for I-35 in Texas and Minnesota), two of the routes would most likely be made spurs of I-69. Two of the three potential routes meet at Victoria, Texas, where I-69 will continue into Houston via US 59.
External links
- Interstate 69 at Michigan Highways
- Alliance for I-69 Texas, an association supporting the development of I-69 in Texas