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 257.6 miles (414.57 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 31 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 31 highlighted in red; unsigned portion on beltway in orange | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by INDOT | ||||
| Length | 257.6 mi (414.6 km) | |||
| Existed | October 1, 1926[1]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 31 at Kentucky state line | |||
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| North end | US 31 at Michigan state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Indiana | |||
| Counties | Clark, Scott, Jackson, Bartholomew, Johnson, Marion, Hamilton, Tipton, Howard, Miami, Fulton, Marshall, St. Joseph | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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US 31 was first designated as a US Highway in October 1926. A northern section (from Rochester to South Bend) and a far southern section (on old US 31W into Louisville on the K&I Bridge) of the highway originally served as part of the Dixie Highway. US 31 was the Jackson Highway from Indianapolis to Seymour. US 31 replaced the original State Road 1 (SR 1) designation of the highway which dated back to the formation of the Indiana State Road system. SR 1 ran from Clarksville through Indianapolis to South Bend and ended at the Michigan state line.
Route description
editOnly the segment of US 31 that is north of Indianapolis is included as a part of the National Highway System (NHS).[2] The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.[3] The highway is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) like all other U.S. Routes in the state. The department tracks the traffic volumes along all state highways 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 2010, INDOT figured that lowest traffic levels were the 3,690 personal vehicles and 160 commercial vehicles that used the highway daily near Memphis. The peak traffic volume was 168,770 personal vehicles and 18,090 commercial vehicles along the section of US 31 concurrent with Interstate 465 (I–465).[4]
Jeffersonville to Columbus
editUS 31 overlaps I-65 in Jeffersonville, after crossing the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge from Kentucky. It then diverges as the access frontage lanes before splitting off north of Jeffersonville at Clarksville and proceeding to Indianapolis. US 31 was widened to two lanes in both directions for its length through Columbus in the early 2000s.
Columbus to Indianapolis
editAt I-465 on the south side of Indianapolis, US 31 is routed onto I-465 on the east side of the city. This is the closest approach the highway makes to downtown Indianapolis. Previously the northbound route of the highway through Indianapolis was on East Street, Madison Avenue, Delaware Street, North Street, and onto Meridian Street; southbound was on Meridian Street, North Street, Pennsylvania Street, Madison Avenue, and onto East Street.
Indianapolis to Michigan
editUS 31 exits I-465 (coincidentally at exit 31) in Carmel, and continues northward as a freeway through Westfield. North of SR 38, it reverts to an at-grade expressway until reaching the Kokomo area, where it again becomes a full freeway to bypass that city to the east. North of the Kokomo area US 31 again becomes a rural expressway, which skirts Peru, Rochester, and Plymouth. At US 30 east of Plymouth, US 31 becomes a freeway again and remains so for the rest of its journey in the state. After bypassing Lakeville to the east, US 31 approaches South Bend. There the route converges with US 20 (St. Joseph Valley Parkway) and proceeds west and then north to bypass South Bend. After US 20 splits off to the west near the South Bend Airport, US 31 has an interchange with the Indiana Toll Road (I-80/I-90) before proceeding north into Michigan.
History
editUS 31 was signed into law by the Governor on March 7, 1917, as Main Market Highway 1, and signs were installed on June 1 of that year.[5][6] The name was changed to State Road 1 within a year when Indiana began the state road system.[6][7] By 1924, most of the route was paved, leaving only from Columbus to Franklin and from Peru to Plymouth that was unpaved.[8] On October 1, 1926, US 31 was designated along what was SR 1 at the time.[1]
In the late 2000s, INDOT began a process of converting US 31 to Interstate Highway standards from South Bend to Indianapolis. Three projects were completed in the early 2010s: an upgrade of the road from I-465 in Indianapolis to SR 38 north of Westfield, a new 14-mile (23 km) freeway bypass of Kokomo, and a new freeway segment from Plymouth to South Bend, which was constructed largely on a new alignment.[9][10][11][12] A portion of the Plymouth–South Bend section was dedicated as the Richard W. Mangus Memorial Highway, in honor of the local state representative who supported the freeway's construction, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 27.[13][14] The entirety of the former segment of US 31 bypassed by the freeway segment in Kokomo and a portion of the one bypassed between Plymouth and South Bend were designated as SR 931.
Future
editThe remaining 78 miles (126 km) of US 31 between South Bend and Indianapolis is gradually being converted to a limited access highway without traffic signals, starting with an interchange at SR 28 in Tipton County which opened in November 2016.[15] As of 2018, there were six traffic signals left between Indianapolis and South Bend, and a program introduced by Governor Eric Holcomb in September 2018 proposed to remove four of those.[16][17] All six signals are expected to be removed by 2026.[18]
The approximately 20-mile (32 km) stretch of US 31 between SR 38 in Hamilton County and SR 931 in Tipton County, south of Kokomo, was planned to be converted to freeway, with estimated completion in 2025. However, after the state determined that the original plans would severely limit access within Tipton County, those upgrades were removed from consideration until further study could be completed and these issues mitigated. Current upgrade plans are only slated for Hamilton County.[19]
Major intersections
editThis section is missing mileposts for junctions. |
| County | Location | mi[20] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio River | 0.00 | 0.00 |  US 31 south – Louisville | Continuation into Kentucky | ||
| Clark Memorial Bridge; Indiana–Kentucky line | ||||||
| Clark | Jeffersonville | 0.30 | 0.48 | Court Avenue | Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; entrance ramp includes direct entrance from Missouri Avenue | |
   I-65 Toll south (Toll Bridge) – Louisville | I-65 exit 1; US 31 serves as service drives for freeway through I-65 exit 4 | |||||
| 0.41 | 0.66 | 6th Street, Court Avenue | Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
| Jeffersonville–Clarksville line | 0.87 | 1.40 | 10th Street | Interchange; no northbound exit | ||
| Clarksville | Stansifer Avenue | Partial interchange; at-grade intersection northbound, exit and entrance southbound | ||||
| 1.51 | 2.43 | Brown's Station Way – New Albany | Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; former SR 62 | |||
| Jeffersonville Township | Kopp Lane | Southbound exit only | ||||
| 3.71 | 5.97 |  I-65 north – Indianapolis | I-65 exit 4 | |||
| 6.16 | 9.91 |   SR 60 west – Salem | Eastern end of SR 60 | |||
| Henryville | 19.58 | 31.51 |  SR 160 – Salem, Charlestown | |||
| Scott | Vienna Township | 27.19 | 43.76 |   SR 356 east – Lexington | Western end of SR 356 | |
| Scottsburg | 29.76 | 47.89 |  SR 56 – Salem, Hanover | |||
| Austin | 34.25 | 55.12 |  SR 256 – Madison | |||
| Jackson | Crothersville | 37.14– 37.30 | 59.77– 60.03 | I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville | Exit 36 on I-65 | |
| 42.07 | 67.71 |  SR 250 – Brownstown | ||||
| Seymour | 50.42 | 81.14 |  US 50 – Seymour, North Vernon | |||
| Bartholomew | Columbus | 64.86 | 104.38 |  SR 7 – Columbus, North Vernon | ||
| 65.28 | 105.06 |  SR 46 – Columbus, Greensburg | ||||
| Taylorsville | 77.13– 77.60 | 124.13– 124.89 | I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville | Exit 76 on I-65 | ||
| Johnson | Edinburgh | 81.39 | 130.98 |  SR 252 east – Edinburgh | Southern end of SR 252 concurrency | |
| Blue River Township | 85.11 | 136.97 | SR 252 west – Martinsville | Northern end of SR 252 concurrency | ||
| Franklin |  Jefferson Street – Fairgrounds, Franklin College | To SR 44; serves Johnson Memorial Hospital | ||||
| Marion | Indianapolis |  SR 135 south (Thompson Road) | ||||
| 107.17 | 172.47 |    I-69 / I-74 / I-465 / US 36 / US 40 west / SR 67 south | South end of freeway section; southern end of I-69/I-74/I-465/US 36/US 40/SR 67 concurrencies; exit 2B on I-465 | |||
| 2A | East Street north | Exit numbers follow I-465; no northbound entrance; no exit number northbound | ||||
| 53 | I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville | Exit 106 on I-65 | ||||
| Beech Grove–Indianapolis line | 52 | Emerson Avenue | ||||
| Indianapolis | 49 |  I-74 east (US 421 south) / Southeastern Avenue – Cincinnati | Northern end of I-74 concurrency; southern end of US 421 concurrency | |||
| 48 | Shadeland Avenue | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||||
| 47 |  US 52 east (Brookville Road) – Cincinnati | Northern end of US 52 concurrency | ||||
| 46 |  US 40 east (Washington Street) – Dayton | Northern end of US 40 concurrency | ||||
| 44 |  I-70 / Shadeland Avenue – Indianapolis, Dayton | Signed as exits 44A (east) & 44B (west) northbound; I-70 east exit 89, west exit 90; Shadeland Avenue not signed northbound | ||||
| Indianapolis–Lawrence line | 42 |    US 36 east / SR 67 north (Pendleton Pike) | Northern end of US 36/SR 67 concurrency | |||
| Lawrence–Indianapolis line | 40 | Shadeland Avenue / 56th Street | ||||
| Indianapolis | 37A | I-69 north – Fort Wayne | Northern end of I-69 concurrency; exit 200 on I-69 south | |||
| 37B | Binford Boulevard – Indianapolis | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; former SR 37 south | ||||
| 35 | Allisonville Road | Single-point urban interchange | ||||
| 33 | Keystone Avenue – Carmel | Former SR 431 | ||||
| Hamilton | Carmel | 123.4 | 198.6 | 123 | I-465 / US 52 west / US 421 north – Indianapolis | Exit numbers follow US 31; no exit number northbound; northern ends of I-465/US 52/US 421 concurrencies; exit 31 on I-465 |
| — | Meridian Street south to Downtown | Left exit and entrances; former US 31 south | ||||
| 124.18 | 199.85 | 124 | 106th Street | Roundabout exit; no exit number northbound | ||
| 125.19 | 201.47 | 125 | 116th Street | Roundabout exit | ||
| 125.8 | 202.5 | 126 | Old Meridian Street | Northbound exit only | ||
| 126.69 | 203.89 | 127 | Main Street | Roundabout exit | ||
| 127.68 | 205.48 | 128 | 136th Street | Roundabout exit | ||
| Carmel–Westfield line | 129.1 | 207.8 | 129B | Keystone Pkwy Rangeline Road, Clay Terrace Boulevard | Northern terminus of Keystone Parkway; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
| 129A | 146th Street, 151st Street | City line at 146th Street | ||||
| Westfield | 130.68 | 210.31 | 131 | 161st Street | Roundabout exit | |
| 132.15 | 212.67 | 132 |  SR 32 (Main Street) – Lebanon, Noblesville | |||
| 133.76 | 215.27 | 134 | 191st Street | Roundabout exit | ||
| 135.79 | 218.53 | 136 |  SR 38 (Sheridan Road) – Sheridan, Noblesville | Northern end of freeway | ||
| Bakers Corner | 138 | 222 | 138 | 236th Street | Tight diamond roundabout interchange opened on November 15, 2023[21] | |
| Adams Township | 142.29 | 228.99 | 142 | 276th Street | Folded diamond interchange (loops in NW and SE quadrants) opened in December 2023 | |
| Tipton | Jefferson Township | 148 | 238 | 148 |  SR 28 – Frankfort, Tipton, Elwood | Rounabout interchange; opened November 2016 |
| 156 | 251 | 156 |  SR 931 north – Kokomo | South end of freeway; southern terminus of SR 931; northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| Howard | Oakford | 158 | 254 | 158 |  SR 26 – Hartford City, Lafayette | |
| Taylor Township | 161.5 | 259.9 | 161 | E. Boulevard Street (County Road 100S) | ||
| Darrough Chapel | 162 | 261 | 162 |   US 35 south (Markland Avenue) / SR 22 – Kokomo, Gas City | Southern end of US 35 concurrency | |
| Center–Howard township line | 165 | 266 | 165 | Touby Pike | ||
| Howard Township | 166 | 267 | 166 | US 35 north – Logansport, La Porte, Michigan City | Northern end of US 35 concurrency; northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| Howard–Clay township line | 167 | 269 | 167 | SR 931 south – Kokomo | Northern terminus of SR 931; southbound exit and northbound entrance; northern end of freeway | |
| Miami | Deer Creek Township |  SR 18 – Galveston, Marion | To be converted into interchange[21] | |||
| Pipe Creek Township |  SR 218 east – Bunker Hill | Southern end of SR 218 concurrency | ||||
| SR 218 west – Walton | Northern end of SR 218 concurrency | |||||
 US 31 Bus. north – Peru | Southern terminus of Bus. US 31; to be converted into interchange[21] | |||||
| Peru Township | 181.51 | 292.11 | Logansport Road (US 24 Bus.) – Peru | Interchange via connector road | ||
| 182– 183 | 293– 295 |  US 24 east – Peru, Fort Wayne | Cloverleaf interchange | |||
| US 24 west – Logansport | ||||||
| Jefferson–Union township line |  SR 16 – Denver | |||||
| Fulton | Rochester | 203.47 | 327.45 |  SR 25 (Main Street) – Rochester, Logansport | Diamond interchange; to SR 14 | |
| Fulton–Marshall county line | Richland–Walnut township line |  SR 110 – Mentone | ||||
| Marshall | Argos |  SR 10 (Indiana Avenue) – Culver, Argos | To be converted into interchange[21] | |||
| Plymouth | 224.22 | 360.85 | Bridge over Lincoln Highway (Old US 30); no access to/from highway | |||
| 225.41 | 362.76 | 225 |  US 30 – Valparaiso, Warsaw | South end of freeway; signed as exits 225A (east) and 225B (west) | ||
| 227.38 | 365.93 | 228 | Veterans Parkway | 7th Road to the east | ||
| La Paz | 232.67 | 374.45 | 233 |  US 6 – Walkerton, Bremen | ||
| St. Joseph | Lakeville | 239.33 | 385.16 | 239 |  SR 4 west (Pierce Road) – La Porte | Eastern end of the western section SR 4 |
| South Bend | 244.73 | 393.85 | 245 | Kern Road | ||
| 245.89 | 395.72 | 246A |  US 20 east (St. Joseph Valley Parkway east) – Elkhart | Southbound left entrance (via Bus. US 31) and northbound exit | ||
| — | Michigan Street (US 31 Bus. north) | Southern terminus of Bus. US 31; no direct southbound exit; Bus. US 31 exit 246B; serves Memorial Hospital of South Bend | ||||
| — | US 20 east (St. Joseph Valley Parkway east) – Mishawaka, Elkhart | Southern end of US 20 concurrency; southbound left exit and northbound left entrance | ||||
| 76 |  SR 23 – North Liberty, South Bend | |||||
| Portage Township | 75 | Mayflower Road | No northbound exit to southbound Mayflower Road or southbound entrance from northbound Mayflower Road | |||
| 73A | South Bend | |||||
| 73B |  SR 2 west – La Porte | Eastern terminus of SR 2 | ||||
| South Bend | 253.75 | 408.37 | 254A |  South Bend | Serves South Bend International Airport | |
| 254B | US 20 west – Michigan City | Northern end of US 20 concurrency | ||||
| 254.98– 255.12 | 410.35– 410.58 | 255A | Nimtz Parkway | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 255B |    I-80 Toll / I-90 Toll / Indiana Toll Road | Exit 72 on I-80 / I-90 / Toll Road | ||||
| 255A | Nimtz Parkway | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||||
| 255.9 | 411.8 | 256 | US 31 Bus. south (Cleveland Road) / Brick Road | Northern terminus of Bus. US 31 | ||
| 257.6 | 414.6 | US 31 north (St. Joseph Valley Parkway) – Niles | Continuation into Michigan | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Supplemental routes
editSee also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b "Road Numbers to Be Changed". The Hancock-Democrat. The Indianapolis News. September 30, 1926. Retrieved June 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (December 2003). National Highway System: Indiana (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ "INDOT Traffic Zones". Indiana Department of Transportation. 2010. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
- ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1917). 1917 Indiana State Highway Map and State Highway Commission (Map). Scale not given. Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission.
- ^ a b Indiana State Highway Commission (1917). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Scale not given. Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1918). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Scale not given. Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission.
- ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1924). Indiana Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ McFeely, Dan (November 26, 2013). "Kokomo US 31 Bypass Should Cut Commutes". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
- ^ Smith, Scott (November 27, 2013). "On Cruise Control". Kokomo Tribune. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- ^ Indiana Department of Transportation Northwest District [@INDOTNorthwest] (August 21, 2014). "And we have liftoff!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 19, 2016 – via Twitter.
- ^ Gray, Amanda (August 22, 2014). "Driving the New US 31 Is Smooth Sailing". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ "Governor Pence Officially Opens New US 31 Plymouth to South Bend" (Press release). Indiana Department of Transportation. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^ Meenan, Jim (August 28, 2014). "Pence Officially Opens New US 31". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
- ^ Pemberton, Caele (November 21, 2016). "Tipton Interchange to Open Tuesday". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
- ^ Office of the Governor of Indiana. "2019 Next Level Connections Fact Sheet" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
- ^ Carson, Gerber (September 7, 2018). "Two New interchanges Coming to US 31 in Miami Co." Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
- ^ Indiana Department of Transportation. "US 31 Project". Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ "U.S. 31 Limited Access Upgrade from S.R. 38 to S.R. 931". Indiana Department of Transportation. 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ Indiana Department of Transportation. "INDOT Roadway Referencing System" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Gerber, Carson (September 7, 2018). "Two new interchanges coming to U.S. 31 in Miami Co". Kokomo Tribune. Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
External links
edit- ProPEL US 31 (INDOT study)
