Driving 65 south of Indianapolis?

[halssister]

Ive seen a lot posted about construction on 65 in Indiana, but it sounds like most of it was around Lafayette, north of Indy. I'm wondering if anyone has knowledge of major construction going on south of Indy. We are heading down at the end of month from the South Bend Indiana area, so we will head straight south down 31 to Indy, and the we were planning on taking 65 to 24 into Chattanooga to stay for the night. But all this talk of construction troubles makes me wonder if going through Cincinnati and then 75 to Chattanooga would be better. DH prefers the 65 route as he is more familiar, but the distance and time doesn't look too much worse taking 74. Anyone with inside info down that way?

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

You might want to google "I65 construction" and read the news reports and INDOT press releases to see any possible issues. I'm very aware of the construction around Lafayette and it is a nightmare. I don't have any first hand knowledge of what you may find after Indianapolis though.


Also, found this if it will help:

http://roadnow.com/i65/traffic.php

 

[Flynnismine]

There is some road work, with single lane closures, on I-65 south past Indy but it's nothing compared to the jacked up mess we have going on down here near Louisville . I live in southern Indiana, just across the river from Louisville, and can confirm that I-65 south, from Clarksville all the way through downtown Louisville is pure road carnage. We're getting a new bridge across the river into Louisville, because two bridges apparently isn't enough Some of the exits off of I-65 in that area have been rerouted or closed and there are multiple lane shifts/changes before and after crossing the Kennedy bridge from Jeffersonville into Louisville. With that said, I wouldn't hesitate to drive I-65 south IF you can get through the Louisville area before 6am or well after 6pm to avoid the major traffic backups that occur during rush hour and randomly throughout the day. Hope that helps.

 

[NotUrsula]

Just FYI, there is a huge road-widening project going on at the infamous Monteagle Pass on I-24 west of Chattanooga. It took us 2.5 hours to go 30 miles through that area two Saturdays ago.

 

[grimley1968]

I-75 from northern KY to Chattanooga is normally a nice route, and I normally prefer I-75 in Kentucky and Tennessee than I-65. I-65 always seems to have more construction and wrecks than I-75, in my experience. I-75 also has more 3-lane sections than I-65 in those two states. My biggest frustration on I-75 for years was going through or around Knoxville. It just seemed like it was Construction Central for years. But even that has improved in the last 2 years or so.

One thing to keep in mind, though, on either I-65 or I-75: there are several stretches where a lane may be closed due to pothole repairs (combined with shoulder maintenance). KY and TN had a much more severe winter than normal this year and that kind of repair work will be more prevalent this summer as a result.

 

[halssister]

Thank you all for your input! Definitely some things to check out and consider

 

[MrsHammer]

There has also been construction off and on over the last few months on 65 just north of Nashville causing some delays.

 

[KCEMOM]

Drove I-75 from Knoxville to Lexington then I-65 from Louisville to Indy on Tues. Held up in stopped and bumper to bumper traffic for a total of 2 1/2 hours between the 2. As the PP mentioned getting into and over the bridge in Louisville was awful as well. I would avoid it at all possible.

 

[sam_gordon]

For getting through Kentucky, you may want to look at http://511.ky.gov/. It's an interactive map of what's happening on Kentucky highways. There's also a mobile version.

I live around Lexington. If we're going to Indy, we go to Cincinnati and then take 74. 65 always seems more crowded (to say nothing about the construction).