Update on I-69 Extension in Indiana

[MNHighwayMan]

Nah they're going to decomission that when the interchange is done. I can't remember what the designer said but I believe indot wanted it signed but the feds said don't. Don't quote me on that.

They have no authority to dictate that.

[silverback1065]

Checked in again, and it was an INDOT decision. Not surprised in this. No need for 37 to exist anymore on the overlap.

[sturmde]

Checked in again, and it was an INDOT decision. Not surprised in this. No need for 37 to exist anymore on the overlap.

If they sign SR 37 on that last mile along the curve over Harding St from the new I-69 routing to I-465, it would encourage people to use it as a "shortcut" or "alternate route" rather than staying on 69 to 465.  Which is NOT a good idea, hence why I think INDOT would remove it.

The northern-Ft Wayne to Ohio segment should go back to part of SR 14.  Or utilize SR 214, which I think demotes it appropriately and suggests its connection to OH SR 2.  Coincidentally or not, OH doesn't have an SR 214, so if they want to truncate SR 2 somewhere along the way and "demote" the lesser western end of SR 2 from Stryker OH, and eliminate those duplexes from there to Williams Center OH, they could create a MSR 214.

The middle branch northern end from Exit 205 to Marion should take advantage of the grid-appropriate SR 21 being available.

[NWI_Irish96]

INDOT is not going to renumber a highway due to 1) the expense and 2) the confusion to drivers.  There are plenty of route numbers with multiple segments so 37 won't be any different.

[sturmde]

INDOT is not going to renumber a highway due to 1) the expense and 2) the confusion to drivers.  There are plenty of route numbers with multiple segments so 37 won't be any different.

Look, I get that.  Just because they SHOULD do a thing, doesn't mean they WILL do a thing.
.
But if you know the history, they've changed route numbers PLENTY of times.

[abqtraveler]

Checked in again, and it was an INDOT decision. Not surprised in this. No need for 37 to exist anymore on the overlap.

The northern-Ft Wayne to Ohio segment should go back to part of SR 14.

IIRC, SR-37 from Fort Wayne to the Ohio line was never part of SR-14.  Back before I-469 was built in the late '80s, SR-14 used to run through downtown Fort Wayne, and then continued east on what is now Dawkins Road and ended at the Ohio state line and connected to Ohio Route 613 in the village of Edgerton. That's about 10 miles south of where SR-37 runs today.

[NE2]

37 was originally 14. When 37 was extended to Ohio, 14 was moved south to replace 230.

[abqtraveler]

37 was originally 14. When 37 was extended to Ohio, 14 was moved south to replace 230.

How long ago was that? To date myself, I lived on SR-37 just outside of Harlan in the early 1980s, and at that time 37 was where it is today and 14 followed Dawkins Road to Edgerton.

[Captain Jack]

37 was originally 14. When 37 was extended to Ohio, 14 was moved south to replace 230.

How long ago was that? To date myself, I lived on SR-37 just outside of Harlan in the early 1980s, and at that time 37 was where it is today and 14 followed Dawkins Road to Edgerton.

According to my 1937 map, SR 37 did not go north of Indy. SR 13 went through Noblesville, and Elwood, then north towards Wabash.  There was no direct road between Elwood and Marion. SR 14 did run the alignment out of Ft. Wayne to Hicksville. SR 230 was the alignment from New Haven to Edgerton.

As of my 1954 map, SR 37 was in its present alignment from Indy through Noblesville, Elwood, Marion, co-signed with SR 9 to Huntington, co-signed with US 24 to Ft. Wayne, and then marked on the old SR 14 alignment to Hicksville. SR 14 was running on the Edgerton alignment at that time.

[NWI_Irish96]

INDOT is not going to renumber a highway due to 1) the expense and 2) the confusion to drivers.  There are plenty of route numbers with multiple segments so 37 won't be any different.

Look, I get that.  Just because they SHOULD do a thing, doesn't mean they WILL do a thing.
.
But if you know the history, they've changed route numbers PLENTY of times.

Not anytime recently.  Some routes have been truncated/decommissioned/rerouted, but a route hasn't had a number change since at least before I was born.

[tdindy88]

What about US 31 in Kokomo and St. Joseph County being renumbered as State Road 931?

[silverback1065]

What about US 31 in Kokomo and St. Joseph County being renumbered as State Road 931?

I've read that that portion of 931 was taken over by St. Joseph county recently. I think it will be decomissioned after a big project is completed on it in the coming years. (Road won't change much, just resurfacing, curb ramp replacements, and pipe replacements, and other minor improvements)

[abqtraveler]

37 was originally 14. When 37 was extended to Ohio, 14 was moved south to replace 230.

How long ago was that? To date myself, I lived on SR-37 just outside of Harlan in the early 1980s, and at that time 37 was where it is today and 14 followed Dawkins Road to Edgerton.

According to my 1937 map, SR 37 did not go north of Indy. SR 13 went through Noblesville, and Elwood, then north towards Wabash.  There was no direct road between Elwood and Marion. SR 14 did run the alignment out of Ft. Wayne to Hicksville. SR 230 was the alignment from New Haven to Edgerton.

As of my 1954 map, SR 37 was in its present alignment from Indy through Noblesville, Elwood, Marion, co-signed with SR 9 to Huntington, co-signed with US 24 to Ft. Wayne, and then marked on the old SR 14 alignment to Hicksville. SR 14 was running on the Edgerton alignment at that time.

Instead of reverting the Ft Wayne to Ohio section of SR-37 to SR-14, someone could make a better argument for INDOT to hand this section over to Allen County and revert the road to its pre-state road name, Maysville Pike.

[NWI_Irish96]

What about US 31 in Kokomo and St. Joseph County being renumbered as State Road 931?

That was a US route being rerouted and the old alignment given a state route number.  I meant (though I didn't say) a state route hasn't been renumbered as another route in quite a long time.  It's not going to happen.  People are too used to the number as it is.

[jnewkirk77]

SR 75 in Spencer County became US 231 in 1954 (but kept the 75 number until the late '70s) and then was renumbered as SR 161 in 2002.

[NWI_Irish96]

SR 75 in Spencer County became US 231 in 1954 (but kept the 75 number until the late '70s) and then was renumbered as SR 161 in 2002.

That's still a case of 40 years from being known as one state route number to another, not going directly from one to another.

[Life in Paradise]

SR 75 in Spencer County became US 231 in 1954 (but kept the 75 number until the late '70s) and then was renumbered as SR 161 in 2002.

Are you sure it wasn't SR 45?  IN-45 went through Rockport at one time after splitting with US 231 on the north side of Rockport, and then met up with it again in Patronville.  IN-45 was co-signed with US-231 form it's split in Scotland.

OK, I just checked my old 1959 map, and I see IN-75 on the stretch between Reo and Owensboro.

[X99]

going off on a tangent here

[Henry]

Given that IN has that system in place with a mileage cap on signed highways, decommissioning IN 37 along I-69 is not exactly a surprise.

[abqtraveler]

Given that IN has that system in place with a mileage cap on signed highways, decommissioning IN 37 along I-69 is not exactly a surprise.

Would there be any usefulness in redesignating IN-37 as US-37?  It would appear to fit nicely into the US route grid.

[KeithE4Phx]

Given that IN has that system in place with a mileage cap on signed highways, decommissioning IN 37 along I-69 is not exactly a surprise.

Would there be any usefulness in redesignating IN-37 as US-37?  It would appear to fit nicely into the US route grid.

No, because other than the 4-lane stretch between Bloomington and Mitchell, it's now a secondary road.  I-69, once finished between Martinsville and Indy, replaces it as the major highway between southern Indiana and Ohio in its entirety.

If that were ever to happen, it would have been done in the 1920s or '30s.

[silverback1065]

I-69 Martinsville is up for bids today!

[NE2]

Given that IN has that system in place with a mileage cap on signed highways, decommissioning IN 37 along I-69 is not exactly a surprise.

Wat.

[Plutonic Panda]

I-69 Martinsville is up for bids today!

I thought this already started construction? Was it a different part?

[ITB]

I-69 Martinsville is up for bids today!

I thought this already started construction? Was it a different part?

Segment 1 of Section 6 – that is, the "Martinsville" segment – was divided into two contracts. The first, comprised of new local roads and an overpass carrying Grand Valley Blvd. over SR 37, is under construction. The second, the big contract encompassing the mainline and interchanges, will be let October 9, 2019. Today, INDOT officially announced that contract is now open for bids.







Completion date: May 31, 2023. Hmm.