U.S. Route 31 in Indiana

(Redirected from U.S. Highway 31 (Indiana))

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 marker
U.S. Route 31
Map
US 31 highlighted in red; unsigned portion on beltway in orange
Route information
Maintained by INDOT
Length257.6 mi (414.6 km)
ExistedOctober 1, 1926[1]–present
Major junctions
South end US 31 at Kentucky state line
Major intersections
North end US 31 at Michigan state line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIndiana
CountiesClark, Scott, Jackson, Bartholomew, Johnson, Marion, Hamilton, Tipton, Howard, Miami, Fulton, Marshall, St. Joseph
Highway system
  • Indiana State Highway System
US 30 SR 32

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

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Only 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

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US 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

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At 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

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US 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

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US 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

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The 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

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CountyLocationmi[20]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Ohio River0.000.00 
 
US 31 south – Louisville
Continuation into Kentucky
Clark Memorial Bridge; IndianaKentucky line
ClarkJeffersonville0.300.48Court AvenueInterchange; 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
0.410.666th Street, Court AvenueInterchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
JeffersonvilleClarksville line0.871.4010th StreetInterchange; no northbound exit
ClarksvilleStansifer AvenuePartial interchange; at-grade intersection northbound, exit and entrance southbound
1.512.43Brown's Station Way – New AlbanyInterchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; former SR 62
Jeffersonville TownshipKopp LaneSouthbound exit only
3.715.97 
 
I-65 north – Indianapolis
I-65 exit 4
6.169.91 
 
SR 60 west – Salem
Eastern end of SR 60
Henryville19.5831.51  SR 160 – Salem, Charlestown
ScottVienna Township27.1943.76 
 
SR 356 east – Lexington
Western end of SR 356
Scottsburg29.7647.89  SR 56 – Salem, Hanover
Austin34.2555.12  SR 256 – Madison
JacksonCrothersville37.14–
37.30
59.77–
60.03
  I-65 – Indianapolis, LouisvilleExit 36 on I-65
42.0767.71  SR 250 – Brownstown
Seymour50.4281.14  US 50 – Seymour, North Vernon
BartholomewColumbus64.86104.38  SR 7 – Columbus, North Vernon
65.28105.06  SR 46 – Columbus, Greensburg
Taylorsville77.13–
77.60
124.13–
124.89
  I-65 – Indianapolis, LouisvilleExit 76 on I-65
JohnsonEdinburgh81.39130.98 
 
SR 252 east – Edinburgh
Southern end of SR 252 concurrency
Blue River Township85.11136.97 
 
SR 252 west – Martinsville
Northern end of SR 252 concurrency
Franklin  Jefferson Street – Fairgrounds, Franklin CollegeTo SR 44; serves Johnson Memorial Hospital
MarionIndianapolis 
 
SR 135 south (Thompson Road)
107.17172.47    I-69 / I-74 / I-465 / US 36 / US 40 west / SR 67 southSouth 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
2AEast Street northExit numbers follow I-465; no northbound entrance; no exit number northbound
53  I-65 – Indianapolis, LouisvilleExit 106 on I-65
Beech GroveIndianapolis line52Emerson Avenue
Indianapolis49 
 
I-74 east (US 421 south) / Southeastern Avenue – Cincinnati
Northern end of I-74 concurrency; southern end of US 421 concurrency
48Shadeland AvenueNorthbound 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, DaytonSigned as exits 44A (east) & 44B (west) northbound; I-70 east exit 89, west exit 90; Shadeland Avenue not signed northbound
IndianapolisLawrence line42 
 
 
 
US 36 east / SR 67 north (Pendleton Pike)
Northern end of US 36/SR 67 concurrency
LawrenceIndianapolis line40Shadeland Avenue / 56th Street
Indianapolis37A 
 
I-69 north – Fort Wayne
Northern end of I-69 concurrency; exit 200 on I-69 south
37BBinford Boulevard – IndianapolisSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; former SR 37 south
35Allisonville RoadSingle-point urban interchange
33Keystone Avenue – CarmelFormer SR 431
HamiltonCarmel123.4198.6123  I-465 / US 52 west / US 421 north – IndianapolisExit 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 DowntownLeft exit and entrances; former US 31 south
124.18199.85124106th StreetRoundabout exit; no exit number northbound
125.19201.47125116th StreetRoundabout exit
125.8202.5126Old Meridian StreetNorthbound exit only
126.69203.89127Main StreetRoundabout exit
127.68205.48128136th StreetRoundabout exit
CarmelWestfield line129.1207.8129BKeystone Pkwy
Rangeline Road, Clay Terrace Boulevard
Northern terminus of Keystone Parkway; southbound exit and northbound entrance
129A146th Street, 151st StreetCity line at 146th Street
Westfield130.68210.31131161st StreetRoundabout exit
132.15212.67132  SR 32 (Main Street) – Lebanon, Noblesville
133.76215.27134191st StreetRoundabout exit
135.79218.53136  SR 38 (Sheridan Road) – Sheridan, NoblesvilleNorthern end of freeway
Bakers Corner138222138236th StreetTight diamond roundabout interchange opened on November 15, 2023[21]
Adams Township142.29228.99142276th StreetFolded diamond interchange (loops in NW and SE quadrants) opened in December 2023
TiptonJefferson Township148238148  SR 28 – Frankfort, Tipton, ElwoodRounabout interchange; opened November 2016
156251156 
 
SR 931 north – Kokomo
South end of freeway; southern terminus of SR 931; northbound exit and southbound entrance
HowardOakford158254158  SR 26 – Hartford City, Lafayette
Taylor Township161.5259.9161E. Boulevard Street (County Road 100S)
Darrough Chapel162261162 
 
  US 35 south (Markland Avenue) / SR 22 – Kokomo, Gas City
Southern end of US 35 concurrency
CenterHoward
township line
165266165Touby Pike
Howard Township166267166 
 
US 35 north – Logansport, La Porte, Michigan City
Northern end of US 35 concurrency; northbound exit and southbound entrance
HowardClay
township line
167269167 
 
SR 931 south – Kokomo
Northern terminus of SR 931; southbound exit and northbound entrance; northern end of freeway
MiamiDeer Creek Township  SR 18 – Galveston, MarionTo 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 Township181.51292.11Logansport Road (US 24 Bus.) – PeruInterchange via connector road
182–
183
293–
295
 
 
US 24 east – Peru, Fort Wayne
Cloverleaf interchange
 
 
US 24 west – Logansport
JeffersonUnion
township line
  SR 16 – Denver
FultonRochester203.47327.45  SR 25 (Main Street) – Rochester, LogansportDiamond interchange; to SR 14
FultonMarshall
county line
RichlandWalnut
township line
  SR 110 – Mentone
MarshallArgos  SR 10 (Indiana Avenue) – Culver, ArgosTo be converted into interchange[21]
Plymouth224.22360.85Bridge over Lincoln Highway (Old US 30); no access to/from highway
225.41362.76225  US 30 – Valparaiso, WarsawSouth end of freeway; signed as exits 225A (east) and 225B (west)
227.38365.93228Veterans Parkway7th Road to the east
La Paz232.67374.45233  US 6 – Walkerton, Bremen
St. JosephLakeville239.33385.16239 
 
SR 4 west (Pierce Road) – La Porte
Eastern end of the western section SR 4
South Bend244.73393.85245Kern Road
245.89395.72246A 
 
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 Township75Mayflower RoadNo northbound exit to southbound Mayflower Road or southbound entrance from northbound Mayflower Road
73ASouth Bend
73B 
 
SR 2 west – La Porte
Eastern terminus of SR 2
South Bend253.75408.37254A  South BendServes South Bend International Airport
254B 
 
US 20 west – Michigan City
Northern end of US 20 concurrency
254.98–
255.12
410.35–
410.58
255ANimtz ParkwayNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
255B 
 
 
 
  I-80 Toll / I-90 Toll / Indiana Toll Road
Exit 72 on I-80 / I-90 / Toll Road
255ANimtz ParkwaySouthbound exit and northbound entrance
255.9411.8256 
 
 
US 31 Bus. south (Cleveland Road) / Brick Road
Northern terminus of Bus. US 31
257.6414.6 
 
US 31 north (St. Joseph Valley Parkway) – Niles
Continuation into Michigan
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Supplemental routes

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Road Numbers to Be Changed". The Hancock-Democrat. The Indianapolis News. September 30, 1926. Retrieved June 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "INDOT Traffic Zones". Indiana Department of Transportation. 2010. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  5. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1917). 1917 Indiana State Highway Map and State Highway Commission (Map). Scale not given. Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission.
  6. ^ a b Indiana State Highway Commission (1917). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Scale not given. Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  7. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1918). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Scale not given. Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission.
  8. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1924). Indiana Transportation Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  9. ^ McFeely, Dan (November 26, 2013). "Kokomo US 31 Bypass Should Cut Commutes". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  10. ^ Smith, Scott (November 27, 2013). "On Cruise Control". Kokomo Tribune. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  11. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation Northwest District [@INDOTNorthwest] (August 21, 2014). "And we have liftoff!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 19, 2016 – via Twitter.
  12. ^ Gray, Amanda (August 22, 2014). "Driving the New US 31 Is Smooth Sailing". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  13. ^ "Governor Pence Officially Opens New US 31 Plymouth to South Bend" (Press release). Indiana Department of Transportation. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  14. ^ Meenan, Jim (August 28, 2014). "Pence Officially Opens New US 31". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  15. ^ Pemberton, Caele (November 21, 2016). "Tipton Interchange to Open Tuesday". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  16. ^ Office of the Governor of Indiana. "2019 Next Level Connections Fact Sheet" (PDF). p. 2. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  17. ^ Carson, Gerber (September 7, 2018). "Two New interchanges Coming to US 31 in Miami Co." Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  18. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation. "US 31 Project". Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  19. ^ "U.S. 31 Limited Access Upgrade from S.R. 38 to S.R. 931". Indiana Department of Transportation. 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  20. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation. "INDOT Roadway Referencing System" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2011.
  21. ^ 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.
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  U.S. Route 31
Previous state:
Kentucky
Indiana Next state:
Michigan