Interstate 64

Interstate 64 Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length:	953.74 mi[1][2] (1,534.90 km)
Formed:	1961
West end:	I-70 / US 40 / US 61 in Wentzville, MO
Major junctions:	I-55 / I-70 in St. Louis, MO I-57 in Mt. Vernon, IL I-65 / I-71 in Louisville, KY I-75 in Lexington, KY I-77 in Charleston, WV I-81 in Lexington, VA I-95 in Richmond, VA
East end:	I-264 / I-664 in Chesapeake, VA

Interstate 64 (I-64) is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. 40, and U.S. 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. As I-64 is concurrent with U.S. 40 and U.S. 61 at its western terminus, the road itself continues as an arterial road as part of the Avenue of the Saints^[3] connecting St. Louis, Missouri to St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Missouri Department of Transportation has completed extending I-64 to I-70 in Wentzville, Missouri.^[4] In April 2007, construction started to rebuild 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of I-64 in St. Louis, Missouri, from Spoede Rd. to Kingshighway. This project will include repaving the entire expressway, rebuilding the overpasses and interchanges, adding a fourth lane between Spoede Rd. and I-170, and connecting I-64 to I-170 in all directions. Construction will result in the complete closure of portions of the expressway in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, I-64 was closed from I-270 to I-170, re-opening December 15, 2008. Beginning December 15, 2008, I-64 from I-170 to Kingshighway Blvd. is closed. By December 7, 2009,^[5] Interstate 64 will complete its entire length in Missouri from the Poplar Street Bridge to I-70 in Wentzville.^[6]

Route description

Missouri

In Missouri, the stretch was originally labeled as the Daniel Boone Expressway then only as US-40, and as such, is still known to locals in the St. Louis area as Highway US-40, even though the road has been designated as both I-64 and US-40 since 1988. This road is also the southern-most portion of the Avenue of the Saints. An interchange at Highway N O'Fallon, Missouri opened on December 13th 2004. This interchange will also accommodate the future tie in of the Route 364 freeway to I-64. As of October 14, 2009, I-64 is now signed all the way to Interstate 70 in Wentzville^[7]. All stoplights have been removed.

Illinois

I-64 enters Illinois from St. Louis, Missouri, via the Poplar Street Bridge, where it overlaps I-55 and I-70 as it crosses the Mississippi River. After crossing the city of East St. Louis and the rest of suburban St. Clair County, the freeway quickly enters rural Southern Illinois. Shortly after passing Mid-America Airport at Exit 23, I-64 enters Clinton County, then Washington County. After providing access to towns such as Carlyle, Nashville, and Centralia, the freeway overlaps I-57 through the Mt. Vernon area for approximately five miles. East of Mt. Vernon in Illinois, services along I-64 are few. The freeway crosses Jefferson, Wayne, and White counties as it progresses east toward Indiana and the Evansville area. East of the St Louis area, there are numerous oil wells dotting the landscape.

Indiana

I-64 crosses the Wabash River and enters the state of Indiana. It passes Indiana 69 and Indiana 165, and also passes under Indiana 68 (no direct interchange serves Indiana 68, though one can access said route from either Indiana 165 or 65) then passes three officially marked exits for Evansville (Indiana 65, US 41, and Interstate 164/Indiana 57/Future Interstate 69) then proceeds through part of the scenic Hoosier National Forest, with service exits leading to Ferdinand, Santa Claus and Indiana 37, and intersects Interstate 265 in New Albany before crossing into Kentucky on the Sherman Minton Bridge.

Streaking Lights on I-64 as seen from the horse/bike bridge at Seneca Park in Louisville Kentucky.

Kentucky

Interstate 64 enters into Kentucky at Louisville, paralleling the Ohio River along the Riverfront Expressway. It junctions with several downtown interchanges before coming to the Kennedy Interchange, where it intersects Interstate 65 and Interstate 71 in a tangle of ramps often referred to as the "Spaghetti Junction." Moving eastward, I-64 passes through Shelbyville, Frankfort, Midway, Lexington, Winchester, and Morehead, before leaving the state near Ashland at Catlettsburg. It overlaps Interstate 75 as it makes an arc around the northeast of Lexington, with the exit numbers for I-75 used for the concurrent portion. The two interstates diverge and become separate a few miles northeast of Lexington. It is often called "The I-64/I-75 Southern Split."

West Virginia

Toll booths on the West Virginia Turnpike.

Interstate 64 travels for 184 miles (296 km) within the state of West Virginia, passing by the major towns and cities of Huntington, Charleston, Beckley, and Lewisburg. It has only two major junctions within the state: Interstate 77 in Charleston and in Beckley. It also crosses the Kanawha River a total of 4 times in a 20-mile (32 km) stretch (twice west of Charleston, immediately before entering the downtown Charleston area, then approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) east of downtown Charleston).

Between I-64's two junctions with I-77, I-64 and I-77 overlap. From the final crossing of the Kanawha River east of Charleston to their split at Exit 40 south of Beckley, the two Interstates are tolled, forming a part of the West Virginia Turnpike.

While the two expressways overlap, the exit signs are those for Interstate 77. Thus, eastbound travellers entering from Kentucky will see exit numbers increase until Exit 60, at which time Interstate 77's exit numbers are used, decreasing from Exit 100.

Virginia

Interstate 64 in Virginia runs east-west through central Virginia from West Virginia via Covington, Lexington, Staunton, and Charlottesville to Richmond. From Lexington to Staunton, it overlaps Interstate 81 (using I-81 exit numbers). From Richmond, Interstate 64 continues southeasterly through Newport News and Hampton to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, and then through Norfolk and a small portion of Virginia Beach to end in Chesapeake.

I-64 itself does not reach the Oceanfront area of Virginia Beach, as it continues through the western portion of Virginia Beach as part of the circumferential Hampton Roads Beltway. At its eastern terminus, East I-64 is actually running westbound (and West I-64 eastbound), as the route forms a fishhook around Norfolk.

Access to the Oceanfront area is accomplished from I-64 via a portion of Interstate 264, a roadway which was originally built as the Virginia Beach Expressway, funded by tolls to retire revenue bonds.

History

Elements of Interstate 64, such as the Sherman Minton bridge over the Ohio on the Indiana-Kentucky border, were completed by the early 1960s. The interstate was complete between St. Louis and Charleston with the completion of the 9th Street overpass in Louisville in December 1976.^[8]

I-64 signs started going up in August 1987 on the US 40 freeway in St. Louis. This change was made, due, in part, to truck drivers deliberately using US 40 to avoid mandatory fines for overweight trucks.^[9]

Major intersections

Southern terminus of the I-81/I-64 overlap near Lexington, Virginia as viewed from I-81 north.

• Interstate 70 Wentzville, Missouri (future western terminus)
• Interstate 270 in St. Louis County, Missouri
• Interstate 170 in St. Louis County, Missouri
• Interstate 55/Interstate 70 in St. Louis, Missouri (western terminus of overlap)
• Interstate 55/Interstate 70 in East Saint Louis, Illinois (eastern terminus of overlap)
• Interstate 57 near Mount Vernon, Illinois (4.14-mile (23 km) overlap)^[2]
• U.S. Route 41 near Haubstadt, Indiana.
• Interstate 164/Indiana 57 near Evansville, Indiana, soon to become Interstate 69/Indiana 57.
• U.S. Route 231 near Dale, Indiana
• Interstate 265 near New Albany, Indiana
• Interstate 65 and Interstate 71 in Louisville, Kentucky
• Interstate 75 near Lexington, Kentucky (6 mile overlap)
• Interstate 77 in Charleston, West Virginia (northern terminus of overlap)
• Interstate 77 in Beckley, West Virginia (southern terminus of overlap)
• Interstate 81 near Lexington, Virginia (southern terminus of overlap)
• Interstate 81 near Staunton, Virginia (northern terminus of overlap)
• Interstate 195 in Richmond, Virginia
• Interstate 95 in Richmond, Virginia (4 mile overlap)^[10]
• Interstate 264 in Norfolk, Virginia
• Interstate 264/Interstate 664 in Chesapeake, Virginia

Auxiliary routes

I-44/55/64/70 on one highway sign in downtown St. Louis.

• Spur to Evansville, Indiana - I-164 ; Known as the Robert D. Orr Highway, Most of this spur will become Interstate 69 upon completion of the route to Indianapolis.
• Louisville, Kentucky - I-264; also called the Watterson Expressway (this is the inner beltway at Louisville; the outer beltway is I-265, also called the Gene Snyder Freeway)
• Hampton Roads area, Virginia - I-264, I-464, I-564, I-664

v • d • e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 64 Indiana: 164 — Kentucky: 264 — Virginia: 264 • 464 • 564 • 664

References

External links

• Indiana Highway Ends: I-64
• Illinois Highway Ends: I-64
• Interview with MODOT's Linda Wilson and Dan Galvin public information manager for The design/build contractor Gateway Constructors

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 64

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