Interstate 69 in Indiana
The original plan (in a DEIS prepared by INDOT in 2004, but later dropped) was for I-69 to leave the now-former I-164 alignment somewhere just east of Green River Road (exit 3) and head south (instead of turning west with I-164) for approximately before crossing the Ohio at a point near the mouth of the Green River. This portion of the route had not then been funded, as construction of the new Ohio River crossing and its approaches in both states was expected to cost approximately $800 million. Indiana and Kentucky officials had said construction on the new Ohio River Bridge would not begin until at least 2020, after two new crossings near Louisville were completed. With Indiana then preparing to break ground on SIU 3, Kentucky officials indicated that collecting tolls might be the only feasible option for completing the I-69 bridge, as traditional federal and state funding for such projects were drying up. , neither Kentucky nor Indiana officials had yet come up with the money to plan and construct this I-69 bridge.
Interstate 69 in Kentucky
On May 15, 2006, Kentucky governor Ernie Fletcher announced that I-69 will encompass of existing parkways and a segment of I-24. To reflect this decision by state and federal officials, crews began erecting Future Interstate 69 signs along the following highway segments:On May 2, 2008, the United States House of Representatives passed HR-1195 (SAFETEA-LU Technical Corrections Act of 2008) which designates the Pennyrile Parkway from Henderson to Nortonville, and the Western Kentucky Parkway from Nortonville to I-24 at Eddyville as Future I-69. It further designates the Audubon Parkway as a future spur (I-X69) of I-69 once necessary upgrades are completed. President George W. Bush signed the bill on June 6, 2008 and Future I-69 signs began appearing on the parkways during the summer of 2008. This legislation applied the Future I-69 designation to the following roadways:
Signs on the Western Kentucky Parkway now read "I-69" and "Former Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway" from the Pennyrile Parkway to the interchange with the Western Kentucky Parkway at I-24 (as the photo of I-69 at Dawson Springs shows).
Signage and mile marker posts were changed in mid-December 2012.