Interstate 565

Infobox road
state=AL
type=I
route=565

---

maint=
length_mi=21.688
length_ref=
length_round=3
established=1991
direction_a=West
direction_b=East
terminus_a=Jct|state=AL|I|65|SR|20 in Decatur
junction=
terminus_b=Jct|state=AL|US|72 in Huntsville
previous_type=I
previous_route=459
next_type=SR
next_route=604

Interstate 565 (I-565) is a 22-mile (35 km) long Interstate spur that connects Interstate 65 (I-65) in Decatur, Alabama with U.S. Highway 72 in Huntsville, Alabama.

I-565 serves the cities of Decatur, Madison, and downtown Huntsville. It also provides a route to the Huntsville International Airport.

I-565 forms a part of Appalachian Development Highway System Corridor V. U.S. Highway 72 Alternate also follows this entire route of I-565.

History

When the Interstate Highway system was envisioned in the 1950s I-65 was routed near Decatur, Alabama as it was the largest city at the time in extreme northern Alabama between Birmingham and Nashville, and because routing the road to the east of its eventual path would have posed problems resultant of terrain and the location of Redstone Arsenal. In the late 1950s and early 1960s Huntsville was going through a population boom as result of the space race and the new George C. Marshall Space Flight Center. By the late 1960s Huntsville had grown to become more than twice the size of Decatur and it had become obvious that a spur was needed to connect Huntsville with I-65. Construction finally began in 1987 and completed on 26 October1991. At the time construction had begun, Huntsville was the largest city in the Continental United States which was not connected to the Interstate System.

When I-565 first opened, it was signed north-south, which provided some level of confusion as the highway runs mostly east-west, and the highway was resigned as east-west not long after opening.Fact|date=March 2007

Unlike many urban Interstates that feature a speed limit of 55 mph, I-565 maintains a speed limit of 70 mph (110 km/h) well into the urban area and 65 mph (100 km/h) on the elevated section through downtown.

On November 20, 2006, a school bus carrying high school students collided with another vehicle or swerved to avoid a collision and drove off an elevated on-ramp to the roadway, falling nose-first approximately 30 feet to the ground. [Faulk, Ken. "Bus crash kills 3 students." "The Birmingham News" November 21, 2006. [http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1164104378295680.xml&coll=2] ] [McCarter, Patricia C. "15 still hospitalized after horrific crash; parents beg for info." "The Huntsville Times" November 21, 2006. [http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1164104160295660.xml&coll=1] ] [" Fourth teen dies in Alabama school bus crash." CNN.com. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/21/bus.crash/index.html] November 21, 2006. Accessed November 21, 2006.] Four teenage girls were killed in the accident. See 2006 Huntsville bus accident.

Future

Plans are currently in place to extend I-565 east several miles past the junction of U.S. Highway 72 along a newly upgraded freeway section of US-72 east of Huntsville. Construction could start on two new exits at Moores Mill Road and Shields Road in 2009. Just south of Madison, plans are to provide an interchange between the highway and County Line Road to put less stress on the Wall-Triana interchange and allow quicker access to the western suburbs. Plans are also in place to extend I-565 west from the junction of I-65 along the route of SR-20 and Alternate US-72 to the junction with US-31 in the northern city limits of Decatur with eventual plans on building a new bridge over the Tennessee River connecting on the west side of Decatur. In January 2007, leaders in Northwest Alabama announced that they are launching a campaign to extend the planned I-565 spur west to Florence. [ [http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070121/NEWS/701210345/1011 Officials discussing I-565 spur to Shoals | TimesDaily.com | Times Daily | Florence, AL ] ] I-565 is part of the route that would connect Memphis, Tennessee with Atlanta, Georgia via Rome, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee as part of ISTEA High Priority Corridor 7.

Exit list

References

External links

* [http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-565_al.html Interstate Guide I-565]
* [http://www.aaroads.com/high-priority/corr07.html AA-Roads Corridor V / Corridor 7]
* [http://www.aaroads.com/high-priority/corr11.html AA-Roads Corridor 11]