I-69 begins in Southwestern Indiana at the interchange with U.S. Route 41 (US 41) and Veterans Memorial Parkway in Evansville and crosses the state line traveling due northeast into Michigan northwest of the town of Fremont.

However, in the mid-2010s, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) rerouted and resigned US 24 from its junction with I-469 in New Haven to use the northern leg of that beltway (concurrent with westbound US 30) to I-69, then south on the parent Interstate route to the aforementioned Jefferson Boulevard interchange.

US 33 continues north to the Goshen Road interchange near Coliseum Boulevard on the northwest side of Fort Wayne, where it departs I-69, eastbound US 30 joins, and the freeway curves more to the east once again.

Finally, between Fort Wayne and the Michigan state line, the Pigeon Creek Welcome Center serves southbound motorists in Steuben County near milemarker 345 (formerly marker 145).

[16] The original southern termination point of I-69 was to have been located at the northeast corner of the inner loop (now known locally as the I-65/I-70 "North Split" interchange) near 13th Street and College Avenue in Indianapolis.

The 11th and final segment (of the original route) to be completed was the 5.05-mile (8.13 km) stretch between the north leg of I-465 in Indianapolis and the split with SR 37 at Fishers, which fully opened to traffic on November 16, 1971.

After nearly 10 years of studies and close coordination between the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and INDOT, the final route for I-69 between Indianapolis and Evansville was announced in March 2004.

When the national I-69 extension project was conceived, SIU 1 was already long completed except for the northernmost portion of I-469 which was still under construction at the time, so the scope of future work in this segment of the "new I-69" would be limited.

A major project in the Fort Wayne metropolitan area began in 2002, resulting in an additional travel lane in each direction, bridge and pavement reconstruction, and interchange reconfiguration.

[18] At the north end of the Fort Wayne section, a new dogbone interchange was built in 2012 at Union Chapel Road (exit 317) to serve the then-new Parkview Regional Medical Center campus, replacing an original grade separation without Interstate access at that location.

[25] This contract also included the reconstruction and conversion of the interchange at Campus Parkway/Southeastern Parkway (exit 210) into I-69's second DDI while maintaining traffic flow and full access for all directional movements.

INDOT had strongly indicated that any concurrent signing of this route along I-465 would likely not be done until the southern (SIU 3, Section 6) portion of I-69 is connected (at new exit 5, just west of the SR 37/Harding Street interchange on the southwest side of Indianapolis).

In conjunction with the construction of the I-69/I-465 southwest interchange at the northern end of SIU 3, several miles of I-465 between I-70 to the west and I-65 to the east will be reconstructed and widened to handle the additional traffic expected to be generated on I-465 when the last section of I-69 is completed.

[citation needed] In November 2005, then-Governor Mitch Daniels announced the Major Moves initiative, which would raise billions of dollars for transportation projects by leasing the Indiana Toll Road.

[40] In October 2006, Democratic State Representatives David Crooks and Trent Van Haaften proposed revising Major Moves legislation to make the entire 142-mile (229 km) length of I-69 between Evansville and Indianapolis part of SITR.

[43] Officials further noted that they would accelerate the final EIS and construction on the southernmost two-mile (3.2 km) section from I-64 to SR 68 to facilitate access to the Toyota's Princeton plant.

[citation needed] On February 10, 2008, INDOT and the FHWA issued the Tier 2 draft EIS for two sections from Oakland City to Crane, totaling 55 miles (89 km).

[citation needed] After the signing of Major Moves, highway opponents immediately filed two lawsuits to block the toll road lease legislation, arguing it violated the Indiana Constitution.

[citation needed] On December 12, 2007, the FHWA issued its ROD, giving final federal approval for construction to begin on the section between I-64/I-164 and SR 64 near Oakland City.

However, the partnership experienced multiple delays from the original completion date of October 2016 due to financial and other difficulties, including several work stoppages by subcontractors who cited a lack of being paid in the agreed to manner by the private group.

[52] On August 14, 2017, the state of Indiana terminated the P3 arrangement with I-69 Development Partners, citing default on the contract terms and construction being delayed two years from the initial October 2016 completion deadline.

INDOT reported that studies have shown that this preferred routing would reduce crashes and congestion the most, affect less forest and farm acreage, and result in the greatest decrease in travel time.

It provided $700 million (equivalent to $1.02 billion in 2023[20]) from the Indiana Toll Road lease to be used to complete nearly 20 years of environmental studies and construct about half of the proposed extension (between the I-64/164 interchange and NSWC Crane Division).

Due to ongoing controversy over making this portion of the extension a toll road, the governor announced in November 2006 that the entire stretch of the highway would be toll-free, subject to construction of the ICC (SIU 2).

[69] INDOT and the Indiana Finance Authority released a request for qualifications on May 23, 2013,[70] for a public–private partnership agreement to complete the 26 miles (42 km) of Section 5 of SIU 3, with four proposals shortlisted on July 31, 2013.

[75] 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.

As of February 2018[update], a new draft EIS was in the process of being prepared, a project website had been set up, public involvement and input were being solicited, and the preliminary routing alternatives had been narrowed to three.

[79] In Late-November 2023, Indiana awarded a nearly $202 million contract to ORX Constructors to build their approach bridges and roadway; construction will begin by summer 2024 with completion set for 2026.

Instead, opponents tried to block construction through the legislative process, when Democrats in the Indiana House of Representatives stripped funding for the I-69 extension in their version of the 2008 two-year state budget.

The Indiana Commerce Connector (ICC) was a proposed 75-mile (121 km), Interstate-grade, partial outer beltway on the south and east sides of Indianapolis that was put forward by Governor Mitch Daniels in November 2006.