State Road 104 (SR 104) is a state road in the northern section of the US state of Indiana. It serves as a connector between SR 4 near Stillwell to U.S. Route 6 (US 6) in Walkerton. The highway runs parallel to a rail line in a northwest-to-southeast direction in rural LaPorte and St. Joseph counties. SR 104 dates back to the 1940s.
 State Road 104 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SR 104 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by INDOT | ||||
| Length | 9.519 mi[1] (15.319 km) | |||
| Existed | 1940s–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  SR 4 near LaPorte | |||
| East end |  US 6 at Walkerton | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Indiana | |||
| Counties | LaPorte, St. Joseph | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
editSR 104 begins in La Porte County at an all-way stop with SR 4 and County Road 300 South, a few miles southeast of the city of La Porte. The route heads southeast towards Walkerton, paralleling a Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad track. The road is a two-lane rural highway, passing through farmland with some houses. SR 104 passes through the unincorporated community of Stillwell and crosses the Canadian National Railway. Southeast of Stillwell the highway drifts away from the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad track, for a short distance, before crossing the Kankakee River. After the river, SR 104 passes between the southeast end of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad track and the north end of a Norfolk Southern rail track. SR 104 continues southeast now paralleling the Norfolk Southern track and enters St. Joseph County. The route enters Walkerton and crosses the CSX Railroad track, soon after the tracks the SR 104 designation ends at US 6 (Roosevelt Road). The roadway continues southeast as Industrial Park Drive passing through the Walkerton Industrial Park Southwest.[2][3][4]
No segment of State Road 104 in Indiana is included in the National Highway System (NHS).[5] The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.[6] The highway is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) like all other state roads in the state. The department tracks the traffic volumes along all state roads as a part of its maintenance responsibilities using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). This measurement is a calculation of the traffic level along a segment of roadway for any average day of the year. In 2016, INDOT figured that lowest traffic levels were 1,163 vehicles used the highway daily from at the La Port–St. Joseph county line. The peak traffic volumes were 1,698 vehicles used the highway daily at western end SR 104.[7]
History
editSR 104 was added to the state road system between 1942 and 1945, running along its current routing between SR 4 and US 6 in Walkerton.[8][9] The entire roadway was paved between 1956 and 1959.[10][11][12] The routing of SR 104 has remained the same since.[12]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaPorte | Pleasant Township | 0.000 | 0.000 | SR 4 – LaPorte, Fish Lake | Western terminus of SR 104 |
| St. Joseph | Lincoln Township | 9.519 | 15.319 | US 6 – Gary, Walkerton | Eastern terminus of SR 104 |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b Indiana Department of Transportation (July 2015). Reference Post Book (PDF). Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ^ Indiana Department of Transportation (August 23, 2011). Indiana Railroad Map (PDF) (Map). 1:633,600. Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ "Overview of State Road 104" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ Indiana Department of Transportation (2012). Indiana Transportation Map (PDF) (Map) (2011–2012 ed.). 1:550,000. Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. § B6. OCLC 765461296. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (December 2003). National Highway System: Indiana (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike; Adderly, Kevin (September 26, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^ Indiana Department of Transportation. "Traffic Count Database System". Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1942). State Highway System of Indiana (Map). 1:720,000. Indiana State Highway Commission. OCLC 64382867. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau.
- ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1945). State Highway System of Indiana (Map). 1:633,600. Indiana State Highway Commission. OCLC 123132182. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau.
- ^ Indiana State Highway Department (1956). State Highway System of Indiana (Map). 1:660,000. Indiana State Highway Department. OCLC 64383090. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau.
- ^ Indiana State Highway Department (1957). State Highway System of Indiana (Map). Indiana State Highway Department. OCLC 78547924. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau.
- ^ a b Indiana State Highway Department (1959). State Highway System of Indiana (Map). 1:680,000. Indiana State Highway Department. OCLC 64590481. Retrieved December 29, 2016 – via Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau.