It is named after U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who was born in Kentucky and grew up in Southern Indiana.

The existing I-65 John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge, completed in 1963, was renovated for six lanes of southbound traffic.

On October 10, 2016, five lanes of the Kennedy Bridge reopened, at which time the Lincoln Bridge began carrying only northbound traffic after several months of carrying three lanes of traffic in both directions.

From spring 2005 to summer 2006 several hundred citizens attended a series of public meetings in Louisville, Kentucky and Jeffersonville, Indiana and evaluated a range of bridge design options using 3D visualizations.

The bridge, originally built to ease congestion, is proving to be unused by commuters who do not want to pay the toll.