Wherein yakra exhumes, copies, pastes and edits his old thread that he trashed before writing this...This sounds good enough for me. I was originally going to advocate for I-164's removal; I just had enough doubt cast on the thought process before deciding to go all the way down the rabbit hole.
The shapefiles sound like a good enough, conclusive resource to make this decision, without having to email INDOT and ask.
Furthermore, the shapefiles show I-69 as extending west of US 41, to the point where the "westbound" C/D road merges back with the mainline.
This is especially significant. This location is a pretty exact match for the 21.39 mi listed in INDOT's application, or the 21.24 mi in
Table 3 of the
Route Log & Finder List. So, this could count as one argument in favor of "The whole thing has been changed over & renumbered."
As far as the extent of I-69, one could argue based on the shapefiles that INDOT considers the ramps at both US 41 and Kentucky Ave to be part of the same interchange complex,
That was sort of my takeaway too. Perhaps Si, and/or Tim back in the Dark Ages, had a different interpretation of "One Point Per Interchange" from INDOT.
I haven't looked at the shapefiles, but the map in the
AASHTO application shows "Interestate" roads in red -- and this included the ramps at other interchanges. So, it could be that the roadway west of US41 is considered ramps --
that pesky fact of INDOT's mileage figures notwithstanding, that is. 
but I'll leave it to others as to how they want that one to play out in the Highway Browser.
I'll put my two cents in, though.
I like the
One-Point-Per-Interchanginess and
nice-clean-graphiness of just ending it at US41. In which case, I-69Whe could be left in the HB exactly as is, and I-164 deleted, and used as an AltRouteName for I-69Whe.
What determines whether or not it's an unsigned interstate: appearance in state highway logs, or federal legislation, or something else?
For my part, I'd say, recognition by the FHWA. (It's possible other collabs may differ on this a bit?)
What's the FHWA
Route Log & Finder List got to say?
Table 2 - Auxiliary Routes does not contain an I-164 listing.
(It seems they're not 100% consistent about updating lengths and locations for existing routes -- note ME I-295 & I-495...)Table 3: Interstate Routes lists IN I-69 at 273.47 miles -- just about right for the sum of the I-69 & I-69Whe sections in the HB (275.01 mi), taking the 2% fudge factor into account. However, it also still lists I-164, at a full 21.24 (contrast this to 20.70 as per the AASHTO application...) miles. Whatever update FHWA needs to make here (delete, or change mileage) has not happened. Inconclusive.
Table 4: Major Cities Served by Interstate Routes does not contain an I-164 listing. Evansville is listed as being served by I-69 only.
So, the Route Log & Finder List, going by the tables that
have been updated, seems to point toward an "I-164 doesn't exist" conclusion...
I agree that there's no evidence of this one in the field, and its number makes no sense.
+1
...once we have some clarity on what determined that it remain after the renaming of the rest of I-164 in the first place.
Not that I can speak for Si, but it could be that his determining factor was what I quoted from the AASHTO app in the other thread: pretty clear language and mileage figures indicating that
not all of I-164 was to become I-69...
But Wait! Lemme go ahead & get REALLY pedantic with that language!
Length of the route in miles: The overall route length of I-164 is 21.39 miles. The segment of I-164 that is proposed to be eliminated, renamed AND [emphasis added] resigned as I-69 over an existing facility is approximately 20.70 miles long.
So, an unstated possibility is that the remainder of I-164 was also to be eliminated -- just not renamed and resigned as I-69. BOOM!
So, as to what the actual outcome of their application is, we could punt that determination off to the FHWA -- and my reading of that particular crystal ball is above.
Regardless of INDOT's apparent intent in the AASHTO application (from I-64/69, 20.7 mi ~= the US41 interchange; 21.39 mi ~= just about exactly the gores at the west end of the Kentucky Ave interchange), my takeaway from the shapefiles is that the whole thing's been changed over.
We'll need to revisit this again in a few years after the new I-69 Ohio River bridge is built.
Ayuh.
