Weird US highway truncations/extensions in Michigan City, Indiana

[usends]

Historically, both US 35 and US 421 extended all the way to their junctions with US 12 in downtown Michigan City.  Going through historic AASHTO meeting minutes, I see that it was 1975 when Indiana received approval to truncate both routes to their junctions with US 20, which bypasses the city.

As far as I know, US 421's terminus has remained there ever since.  INDOT state highway map insets of Michigan City were changed to show US 421's truncation starting in 1982.

I've heard during the 1970s or 1980s US 35 signs were removed between US 12 and US 20.  But the INDOT insets never showed this truncation; instead they continued to show US 35 at its old US 12 terminus.  And at some point (probably in the 1990s) US 35 signage was extended back to the junction with US 12, even though INDOT never sought AASHTO's permission for that (photos).  Then in 2008, INDOT got AASHTO approval to truncate US 35 to US 20 again (although it took until 2019 for them to adjust signage accordingly).

So what's up with this yo-yo-ing terminus of US 35?  I've heard Indiana has a legislated cap on its state highway mileage; might that have been the reason for the 1975 truncations?  As a way to transfer a few more miles worth of maintenance costs over to a municipality?  But then why was US 35 extended back downtown?  And then retracted again?  Whereas US 421 was never changed?

[dvferyance]

Historically, both US 35 and US 421 extended all the way to their junctions with US 12 in downtown Michigan City.  Going through historic AASHTO meeting minutes, I see that it was 1975 when Indiana received approval to truncate both routes to their junctions with US 20, which bypasses the city.

As far as I know, US 421's terminus has remained there ever since.  INDOT state highway map insets of Michigan City were changed to show US 421's truncation starting in 1982.

I've heard during the 1970s or 1980s US 35 signs were removed between US 12 and US 20.  But the INDOT insets never showed this truncation; instead they continued to show US 35 at its old US 12 terminus.  And at some point (probably in the 1990s) US 35 signage was extended back to the junction with US 12, even though INDOT never sought AASHTO's permission for that (photos).  Then in 2008, INDOT got AASHTO approval to truncate US 35 to US 20 again (although it took until 2019 for them to adjust signage accordingly).

So what's up with this yo-yo-ing terminus of US 35?  I've heard Indiana has a legislated cap on its state highway mileage; might that have been the reason for the 1975 truncations?  As a way to transfer a few more miles worth of maintenance costs over to a municipality?  But then why was US 35 extended back downtown?  And then retracted again?  Whereas US 421 was never changed?

I always thought the north end of 421 was kind of odd. I would think it would go all the way to 12 otherwise I would just end it at 94.

[Flint1979]

With US-35 it runs on a concurrency with US-20 for no reason at all really since it ends at the interchange with SR-212.

[theline]

So what's up with this yo-yo-ing terminus of US 35?  I've heard Indiana has a legislated cap on its state highway mileage; might that have been the reason for the 1975 truncations?  As a way to transfer a few more miles worth of maintenance costs over to a municipality?  But then why was US 35 extended back downtown?  And then retracted again?  Whereas US 421 was never changed?

It's been repeated many times on this forum that INDOT is way below the statutory mileage cap, so I take it that mileage cap is not an issue regarding this strange story.

[NWI_Irish96]

So what's up with this yo-yo-ing terminus of US 35?  I've heard Indiana has a legislated cap on its state highway mileage; might that have been the reason for the 1975 truncations?  As a way to transfer a few more miles worth of maintenance costs over to a municipality?  But then why was US 35 extended back downtown?  And then retracted again?  Whereas US 421 was never changed?

It's been repeated many times on this forum that INDOT is way below the statutory mileage cap, so I take it that mileage cap is not an issue regarding this strange story.

Correct.  INDOT is trying to get out of the business of maintaining what are essentially city streets, so in Michigan City and many other places, terminal roads have been truncated to the edges of cities.  No idea why 35 got switched back and forth like that though.

[Flint1979]

IMO US-35 ends at US-20 on the east side of the I-94 interchange.

[The Ghostbuster]

I once heard that US 241 [II] (1930-1954) was once proposed to be extended to Michigan City, but was rejected. I imagine such an extension would have followed US 231 from Murfreesboro, TN to Lafayette, IN; SR 43 to Reynolds, IN; and then US 421 to Michigan City.