and KY 841
Kentucky portion Originally signed as KY 841, the Jefferson Freeway was initially constructed in the 1960s in two sections—one between
KY 155 (Taylorsville Road) and
US 60 (Shelbyville Road) and a second section between
KY 1447 (Westport Road) and
US 42—as short connectors to the eastern suburban expansion as well as a
new Ford plant. By 1970,
I-264 had become very congested and was in need of reconstruction and other improvements. I-265 was proposed as an outer beltway to provide pass-through motorists relief from the congestion of I-264. Construction started in the early 1980s and was finished later that decade and signed in 1987.
Indiana portion Originally signed as
State Road 265 (
SR 265), the segment of the highway stretched from I-64 to I-65. It was later extended to
SR 60, today's exit 10. The freeway was legally rechristened in June 2019 to I-265 after a new section of highway that includes the Lewis and Clark Bridge (known as the East End Bridge during planning and construction) fully opened to traffic on December 18, 2016, however the SR 265 signs along the road and the exits still remain and have not been updated to I-265 signage, while the Kentucky portion of the new roadway likewise has not had I-265 signage added as of yet. In early 2023, Indiana DOT announced plans to redesignate as well as renumber the exits of the freeway beginning in the fall of 2023 and with completion expected over the . As of February 2025, I-265 signage exists from the western terminus at I-64 to Charlestown Pike, about a mile west of the IN 62 interchange.
East End Bridge Negotiations between Indiana and Kentucky to build the bridge had taken place over the preceding 30 years. In late 2005, members of the
Louisville Metro Council proposed a committee to begin planning a western bridge over the Ohio River to link the southwestern end of the highway in Kentucky to Indiana. On December 18, 2016, SR 265 was extended east of SR 62, which crosses the Ohio River connecting with KY 841, and north of US 42 in Kentucky as part of the
Ohio River Bridges Project, creating a bypass around the eastern side of the city of Louisville. The I-265/I-64 interchange, previously a cloverleaf with no
collector–distributor lanes, was reconstructed as part of the I-Move Kentucky project, with estimated completion originally set for fall 2023 but delayed to fall 2024. ==Exit list==