I-65 Indy to Montgomery, AL

[Parrothead_Mike]

It's a few weeks before we head down to FL, but thought I'd get some local input on traveling I-65 south from Indianapolis to Montgomery, AL. I'm already familiar with the rough road around Birmingham, AL, but are there any other construction zones or issues elsewhere along that route?

[Gulfcoast]

For a pretty smooth ride around Birmingham, take I-20 east (by the airport), then go south on I-459 to join I-65 again. It's a few miles further but it saves the rough bouncing on I-65 thru downtown.

[Parrothead_Mike]

OP here. I've driven through Louisville numerous times and don't plan to avoid the toll. In fact, I got a letter requesting toll fees after returning from FL this past spring.

Will hit Nashville early evening as long as our drive from SW Michigan stays true to form. Usually stay down near Columbia (exit 46) the first day on the road.

Looks like continued road problems around Birmingham as expected. Definitely through B-ham before 3 p.m. We usually camp the second day out at Deer Run RV Park north of Troy, AL.

Thanks for the road info everyone.

[jkwilson]

Whaler wrote:
You could avoid Louisville and I65 by taking 37 to I69 at Bloomington. There is construction on 37 but once you pick up I69 you have very little traffic until Evansville/Henderson which is not that bad. Construction on Ohio bridge is ongoing. Stay in right lane. Stay on I69/ I169/ Pennyrile and pick up I24 to Nashville. I just delivered a motorhome to Orlando but side tracked to Chapel Hill to pick up a toad. Cheapest fuel prices I saw were in Henderson.

I'd pay double on the toll to avoid 37 from Indy to Bloomington. 45MPH construction zone the whole way. Frequent dead stops.

The bridge at Henderson just changed construction "modes" or is changing soon. Used to have the three lanes on the NB bridge and one on the SB, but I believe they will be closing or have closed the SB bridge completely for paving.

[ADAD437]

Whaler wrote:
You could avoid Louisville and I65 by taking 37 to I69 at Bloomington. There is construction on 37 but once you pick up I69 you have very little traffic until Evansville/Henderson which is not that bad. Construction on Ohio bridge is ongoing. Stay in right lane. Stay on I69/ I169/ Pennyrile and pick up I24 to Nashville. I just delivered a motorhome to Orlando but side tracked to Chapel Hill to pick up a toad. Cheapest fuel prices I saw were in Henderson.

i don't see any advantage to going all the way out of the way to avoid lou. i live in metro lou and it is not that bad, just pick your time of day.

[Whaler]

You could avoid Louisville and I65 by taking 37 to I69 at Bloomington. There is construction on 37 but once you pick up I69 you have very little traffic until Evansville/Henderson which is not that bad. Construction on Ohio bridge is ongoing. Stay in right lane. Stay on I69/ I169/ Pennyrile and pick up I24 to Nashville. I just delivered a motorhome to Orlando but side tracked to Chapel Hill to pick up a toad. Cheapest fuel prices I saw were in Henderson.

[Triker33]

I wouldn't bother avoiding the toll on 65 at Louisville. The only route around would be to jump off onto I265 and go over to I64 then cross over and rejoin 65 in downtown Louisville. Around 10 miles further. The toll will be $7 for 4 axles. $6 if your plate is registered with River Link and $5 if you have an EZPass.

The accuracy of the toll by plate isn't very good, so there is a reasonable chance it will be free anyway.

I went over it in September with my MH & Toad. Haven't received a bill yet. 🙂

[jkwilson]

I wouldn't bother avoiding the toll on 65 at Louisville. The only route around would be to jump off onto I265 and go over to I64 then cross over and rejoin 65 in downtown Louisville. Around 10 miles further. The toll will be $7 for 4 axles. $6 if your plate is registered with River Link and $5 if you have an EZPass.

The accuracy of the toll by plate isn't very good, so there is a reasonable chance it will be free anyway.

If you do take the detour, watch the signs closely because they just finished major construction in the area and many GPS maps don't have the ramps right where 64, 65 and 71 come together. Traffic in Louisville isn't terrible, but with the metro area on both sides of the river, an incident that impedes traffic on a bridge is not unusual. You want to know about it before you commit to a bridge so using Waze or some other traffic app starting about 20 miles north of the river is a good idea.

[Mortimer_Brewst]

The bridge over the Ohio River is now a toll bridge. You can avoid the toll fairly easily. Set Google Maps to avoid tolls and it will show the best route.

[bowl2764]

Mike,

I can only comment for I65 from Nashville to south of B-ham. You will encounter a lot of traffic in N-ville so you probably want to come thru after morning rush. Once you clear there you will have limited traffic going south. Make sure to stop at AL welcome center as they have an original Saturn 5 rocket set up. As you enter B-ham there is a lot of construction at the I65, I20, I59 interchange. If you get thru here before 3pm you should not be in bumper to bumper traffic. If you come thru this area at night they are doing some lane closures. Once you get south of B-ham you should have smooth sailing.

If you are planning to stop in Montgomery for an overnight there are some beautiful COE parks within 10-15 miles from I65.