Numbered highways in Indiana

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I-69.svgUS 231.svgIndiana 62.svg
Standard highway markers
System information
NotesIndiana Routes are generally state-maintained.
Highway names
Interstates Interstate X (I-X)
US Highways U.S. Route X (US X)
State State Road X (SR X)
System links
  • Indiana State Highway System

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is responsible for the establishment and classification of a state highway network which includes Interstate Highways, U.S. Highways, and State Roads. There is no rule preventing the same numbering between state roads, U.S. routes, and Interstate highways, although traditionally, INDOT has avoided state road numbers which are the same as those on U.S. routes within the state.

Contents

Indiana has a mileage cap of 12,000 miles (19,000 km) for its highway system. [1]

History

Business Routes in Indiana

Many Indiana cities have business routes, but by law they are maintained by local governments, not INDOT. [2]

County Roads in Indiana

Most Indiana counties use a numbering system for designating county roads based on a grid. The system is similar to latitude and longitude on the globe, where numbering begins at the Equator and Greenwich Prime Meridian, respectively.

Typically, the north–south road that divides the county into east and west parts is named "Meridian Road", or "Base Road", and the east–west road that divides the county into north and south parts is named "Division Road", just as the north–south street that divides Indianapolis between "east" and "west" is named Meridian Street. However, roads along the baselines are given a variety of names in different counties. For example, Rush County designates them both as Base Road. Howard County designates the east–west baseline road as 00 NS. Some Counties, like Gibson, use state roads or other highways as baselines. Gibson County uses US 41 and most of Indiana 64's route in the county as base roads.

Other roads in the county are identified by the distance (in miles) from the baseline, multiplied by 100, followed by the compass direction from the baseline. For example, road "200 E" would be a north–south road located 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the meridian line, and road "350 N" would be an east–west road located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of the division line. Roads along a county line may be given a grid designation or may be referred to as County Line Road.

Some county roads still run diagonally, or do not run in straight lines, even in gridded counties; these roads are usually given names rather than numbers. Such roads may also be given an arbitrary numeric designation: an example is NE 80 in Decatur County.

Roads in gridded counties also change names due to jogs in the road, although small jogs less than about 300 feet (90 m) are usually neglected. Road numbers using the ordinary system are seldom seen with digits other than 0 or 5 in the units place (hundredths of a mile); indeed, roads whose numeric designation is not divisible by 25 (one-quarter mile) are not common. Some counties, such as Hendricks end a county road's number with the digit of 1 if the road dead ends or has no outlet.

One reason for implementing this grid-based numbering system related to the 9-1-1 emergency system. The grid system allows a location to be identified much more quickly and accurately than the old system of road names and rural routes. (This interpretation may seem somewhat flawed, since there can be several of the same road numbers within a few miles of each other. But while it is possible to find several different 'E100N' roads, for example, the coordinate system of road naming does enable a location to be pinpointed on a map very quickly.)

Alternate grid systems are used in some counties, including systems starting at the edges of the county rather than bisecting lines. For example, Hamilton County continues the street numbering system of Indianapolis all the way across the county from south to north. 96th Street runs east–west along the Marion/Hamilton county line, and the grid continues with 10 "streets" to the mile up to 296th Street in the rural area at the Hamilton/Tipton line. North–south roads in Hamilton County have unsystematic names, although many road signs will indicate the distance east or west of the baseline along with the road name. Marshall County uses a grid that starts at the northern and eastern county lines. East–west roads are given an ordinal number (First Road, Second Road, etc.) or number and letter (1A, 3B, etc.) to indicate their distance south of the northern border, while north–south roads follow its northerly neighbor St. Joseph County's pattern and are named with tree names whose initial letter indicates the distance west of the eastern border (Apple, Beech, etc.) and with the last names of notable local people whose initial letter indicates the distance south of the northern border, although the subsequent letters are not systematic (Hawthorn is west of Hickory). [3] [4] [5] Elkhart County uses a grid system like that of the state route system, except that the numbers for north–south odd-numbered roads increase west-to-east. [6] [ better source needed ]

Some counties are not gridded. Due to the geography of counties such as Dearborn and Ohio Counties, this grid system is not practical to implement. The southern third of the state, which was not covered by glaciers during the Illinoian Stage and therefore retains an unglaciated landscape similar to central Kentucky, is too hilly for this. Gridding is also difficult or impossible in counties laid out under other quadrangular mapping systems such as the Vincennes Quadrangular, an older style of mapping system using a river for reference. This is the case in parts of Clark, Gibson, Knox, and Vanderburgh Counties. A similar system is used in parts of White County, where some roads around Lake Shafer indicate mileage from Norway Dam, which itself lies at mile 30.2 of the Tippecanoe River. For example, the road called 4.3 lies 4.3 miles from the dam.

See also

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Indiana State Road 19

State Road 19 (SR 19) is a route on the Indiana State Highway System that runs between Noblesville and Elkhart in the US state of Indiana. The 143 miles (230.14 km) of Indiana SR 19 serve as a minor highway. Some of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are urban four-lane highway and rural two-lane highway. The highway passes through farmland, residential and commercial properties. The northernmost community along the highway is Simonton Lake at the Michigan state line.

Indiana State Road 26

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Indiana State Road 51

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Indiana State Road 15

State Road 15 is a north–south state road in northern part of the US state of Indiana. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Highway 35 and SR 22 near Jonesboro and its northern terminus is the Michigan state line, north of Bristol, where the roadway continues north as M-103. It is a surface highway that mostly passes farm fields but passing through a few cities of Marion, Wabash, Warsaw, and Goshen. Running for 94.835 miles (152.622 km) through the state, SR 15 is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT).

Indiana State Road 63

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U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Richmond, Virginia to Elkhart of the US state of Indiana. In Indiana, it is a state road that enters the state at the Ohio state line between Willshire, Ohio, and Pleasant Mills, Indiana. The 106.217 miles (170.940 km) of US 33 that lie within Indiana serve as a major conduit. All of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are rural two-lane highway, urbanized four-lane divided expressway and the Lincoln Highway. The northernmost community along the highway is Elkhart. The highway ends at an interchange in southern Elkhart after serving the northeastern region of Indiana. US 33 passes through farm fields and urban areas.

U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in Indiana is a main east–west highway that is parallel to the Indiana Toll Road. The western terminus of US 20 is at the Illinois state line and the eastern terminus is at the Ohio state line. US 20 through Whiting, East Chicago, and Gary is concurrent with US 12 twice. The route varies between one-way, two-lane, and four-lane streets, in northwestern Indiana. From the east side of Gary to west of South Bend, US 20 is a four-lane undivided highway. The route then heads around the west and south sides of South Bend and Elkhart as a four-lane limited access divided highway. East of State Road 15 (IN-15), US 20 is two-lane rural highway.

U.S. Route 31 (US 31) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Spanish Fort, Alabama, to Mackinaw City, Michigan. It enters the U.S. state of Indiana via the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge between Louisville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Indiana. The 266.02 miles (428.12 km) of US 31 that lie within Indiana serve as a major conduit. Some of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are rural two-lane highway and urbanized four- or six-lane divided expressway. The northernmost community along the highway is South Bend near the Michigan state line.

U.S. Route 231 in Indiana Highway in Indiana

U.S. Route 231 in Indiana is a main north–south highway in the western part of the state. The southern terminus of US 231 is at the Kentucky state line and the northern terminus is at US 41 just south of St. John. The highway is a mixture of expressway and two-lane roadway. The expressway is mainly in southern Indiana and around the Lafayette area, with the rest mainly being two-lanes.

References

  1. ↑ Indiana Code Title 8, Article 23, Chapter 4, Section 2a
  2. ↑ Indiana Code, Title 8, Article 23, Chapter 6, Section 4
  3. ↑ "History of the County Road Name System". St. Joseph County, Indiana Surveyor's Office. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  4. ↑ "County Road Names". St. Joseph County, Indiana Surveyor's Office. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
  5. ↑ "County Roads". St. Joseph County, Indiana Surveyor's Office. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
  6. ↑ "Elkhart Info Page: Hotels, Motels and Inns; Airlines and More: The Elkhart County roads". BarbCampbell.com.
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