Interstate 65 (I-65) is part of the Interstate Highway System that runs north–south from Mobile, Alabama, to Gary, Indiana. In Tennessee, I-65 traverses the middle portion of the state, running from Ardmore at the Alabama border to the Kentucky border near Portland. The route serves the state capital and largest city of Nashville, along with many of its suburbs. Outside of urban areas, the Interstate bypasses most cities and towns that it serves, instead providing access via state and U.S. Highways. The Interstate passes through the Highland Rim and Nashville Basin physiographic regions of Tennessee, and is often used as the dividing line between the eastern and western portions of the former.
Of the four states which I-65 runs through, the segment in Tennessee is the shortest, at long. I-65 parallels the older U.S. Route 31 (US 31) and US 31W corridors for its entire length in Tennessee. The first section of Interstate Highway constructed in Tennessee under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 was the southernmost section of I-65, opened in 1958. The Interstate was completed between Nashville and the Alabama state line in 1967, and the final section, located in Nashville, opened in 1973. Since its completion, the rapid growth of the Nashville metropolitan area, as well as the general increase in traffic, has necessitated many widening and reconstruction projects. I-65 contains the first high-occupancy vehicle lanes constructed in Tennessee, as well as the widest stretch of road in the state. From 1971 to 2000, the Interstate had one auxiliary route, I-265, which was decommissioned when I-65 was rerouted to reduce congestion in Nashville.
Route description
I-65 is maintained by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), along with all other Interstate, US, and state highways in Tennessee. In 2025, annual average daily traffic (AADT) counts ranged from 24,220 vehicles per day at the Alabama state line (which is one of the lowest traffic volumes on any mainline Interstate Highway in Tennessee) to 188,694 vehicles per day on the concurrent section with I-24 in Nashville, which was the busiest section of road in Tennessee.
Southern Highland Rim, Nashville Basin, and Nashville suburbs
I-65 enters Tennessee from Alabama in rural Giles County near the town of Ardmore, running concurrently with U.S. Route 31 (US 31). About later, near the town of Elkton, is an interchange with State Route 7 (SR 7), where US 31 splits off into a concurrency with that route, heading north toward Pulaski. Continuing through mostly rural territory characterized by slight rolling hills, I-65 gradually descends off of the Highland Rim into the Nashville Basin, and crosses the Elk River. About later, the Interstate has an interchange with US 64 near the Frankewing community, which also serves Pulaski to the west and Fayetteville to the east. I-65 meanders over the next several miles through a series of irregular hills and valleys characteristic of the region's topography, and contains several minor curves along this stretch. It then crosses into Marshall County and immediately has an interchange with US 31A near the town of Cornersville, which also serves as a connector to Lewisburg. Bypassing Lewisburg to the west, I-65 passes through an artificial cut in a ridge, and traverses additional hilly terrain that is mostly wooded before straightening out. Immediately after entering Maury County is an interchange with SR 50, which serves Columbia to the northwest and Lewisburg to the southeast. Bypassing Columbia to the east, I-65 crosses the Duck River and, after some distance, has an interchange with SR 99 and the eastern terminus of US 412.
After about , I-65 crosses into Williamson County and has an interchange with the eastern terminus of SR 396 (Saturn Parkway), a freeway spur that serves Spring Hill and the General Motors Spring Hill Manufacturing plant. After passing east of Spring Hill and the town of Thompson's Station, the freeway widens to six lanes and reaches a combination interchange with I-840, which serves as an outer southern bypass of Nashville. The Interstate receives eight lanes from this interchange, with the left lanes serving as high-occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV lanes) during rush hour. I-65 has an interchange with the eastern terminus of SR 248 (Goose Creek Bypass) southeast of Franklin, one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area. Entering the eastern part of Franklin, the Interstate crosses the Harpeth River and has interchanges with SR 96 (a major arterial route that also serves Murfreesboro to the east), McEwen Drive, Cool Springs Boulevard, and SR 441 (Moores Lane). The highway then leaves Franklin, enters Brentwood, and has an interchange with SR 253 (Concord Road) a little over later. Passing through the center of Brentwood, the Interstate crosses into Davidson County about later and immediately has an interchange with SR 254 (Old Hickory Boulevard), which is considered the second Brentwood exit due to its extreme proximity.
Nashville to Kentucky
Serving as the boundary between Oak Hill and the southern neighborhoods of Nashville, I-65 has an interchange with SR 255 (Harding Place) about later. The HOV lane restrictions then end, and the freeway widens to 10 lanes. On the border between Berry Hill and Nashville is a four-level spaghetti junction stack interchange with I-440, a southern bypass of downtown Nashville. Here, I-65 reduces to six lanes, and a little over later, enters downtown Nashville and begins a brief concurrency with I-40. The mile and exit numbers during the concurrency are numbered using I-40's mileage. Forming part of the Downtown Loop, the set of Interstate Highways that encircle downtown Nashville, the routes pass near Music Row and the neighborhoods of The Gulch and SoBro, and shift sharply to the west, before shifting to the northwest. In short succession are interchanges with Demonbreun Street, US 70S/US 431 (Broadway), and US 70 (Charlotte Avenue). About later, I-40 splits off to the west, heading toward Memphis, and I-65 curves sharply to the northeast, reaching an interchange with US 41A (Rosa L. Parks Boulevard) immediately beyond.
About later, I-65 crosses the Cumberland River on the Lyle H. Fulton Memorial Bridge and then reaches an interchange with I-24, beginning a concurrency with that route and shifting into a northward direction. Unlike the concurrency with I-40, the I-65 mile and exit numbers are retained. Carrying eight lanes, the combined routes have an interchange with US 431 (Trinity Lane) just beyond. About later, I-24 splits off, heading northwest toward Clarksville, while I-65 shifts northeast, carrying a total of 10 through lanes, the left lanes once again functioning as HOV lanes during rush hour. Slightly over later is a complicated stack interchange with US 31W/US 41 (Dickerson Pike) and SR 155 (Briley Parkway), the latter of which is a freeway that serves as a northern bypass around Nashville. A controlled-access section of US 31E (Ellington Parkway) that parallels I-65 and I-24 south of this interchange is also directly accessible here. The widest section of highway in Tennessee is found on the north side of this interchange, where the road briefly accommodates a total of 15 lanes (eight northbound, seven southbound). The road passes through Madison and has an interchange with SR 45 (Old Hickory Boulevard) about later. A little over later, the Interstate reaches an interchange with the western terminus of SR 386 (Vietnam Veterans Boulevard) in Goodlettsville, a freeway spur which serves the Nashville suburbs of Hendersonville and Gallatin. Here, I-65 reduces to six lanes, and the HOV restrictions terminate.
Leaving the urban Nashville area, I-65 reduces back to four lanes at SR 174 (Long Hollow Pike) and enters Sumner County. Immediately beyond is an interchange with US 31W near the city of Millersville, where the Interstate begins a temporary ascent, utilizing a truck climbing lane. The freeway then enters a predominantly rural area and a few miles later begins a steep ascent out of the Nashville Basin onto the northern part of the Highland Rim with the northbound lanes utilizing a truck climbing lane over a distance of about . The Interstate crosses into Robertson County at the top of this ascent. later is an interchange with SR 76 in White House, which also serves Springfield to the west. Passing through rural terrain characterized mostly by farmland, I-65 expands back to six lanes and reaches an interchange with SR 25 about later near the town of Cross Plains, which also connects to Springfield and Gallatin. The Interstate crosses the Red River twice in short succession, and, bypassing Portland to the west, reaches an interchange with SR 52. A few miles beyond this point, I-65 reaches an interchange with SR 109 northwest of Portland and then crosses into Kentucky about later.
History Predecessor highways When Middle Tennessee was first settled by European Americans in the late 18th century, a series of Native American trails existed within what is now the I-65 corridor. These gradually evolved into stagecoach paths which were used extensively by early settlers and travelers through the region. In 1816, Congress approved the construction of a road between Nashville and New Orleans that also passed through Franklin and Columbia. Completed four years later, the road was named Jackson's Military Road after President Andrew Jackson, who had advocated for its construction during the Creek War. It ran east of the Natchez Trace, another Native American trail used by early settlers. In the 1830s and 1840s, two toll roads were constructed between Nashville and Louisville. These two roads were designated as the Louisville and Nashville Turnpike, also known as the L&N Turnpike, and roughly followed existing Native American trails.
In 1911, Jackson's Military Road and the eastern branch of the L&N Turnpike were designated as part of the Jackson Highway, an auto trail. A branch route running between Nashville and Selma, Alabama, was designated the Alabama-Jackson Highway. A portion of the Dixie Highway, another auto trail, was established along the western branch of the L&N turnpike in 1915. That same year the Tennessee Department of Highways and Public Works, the predecessor agency to TDOT, was established and tasked with establishing a state highway system. In 1923, with the formation of the Tennessee State Route System, the Jackson Highway was designated as part of SR 6, and SR 7 was applied to the road between Ardmore and Columbia. SR 6 was also applied to the eastern branch of the L&N Turnpike, with the western branch designated as part of SR 11 and 75. When the United States Numbered Highway System was established by Congress in 1926, SR 6 and 7 between Nashville and Alabama were designated as part of US 31, and the L&N Turnpike was designated as US 31E and 31W.
Planning and construction