Indiana's first state-funded road was the Michigan Road, "built" (or what passed for built then) in the 1830s. It still exists; it's more or less US 421/old 421 from Madison to and through Indianapolis, and then SR 29 to Logansport, SR 25 to Rochester, Old US 31 through Plymouth, US 31/Business 31 to/through South Bend, Business US 20/US 20 and then US 35/old 35 to Michigan City, and finally a tiny bit of US 12.
I'm co-chair of a group to have it named a state byway. See www.historicmichiganroad.org for details.
We've built a coalition of support in all the counties along the route, and have submitted a draft of the byway application to INDOT. We had a preliminary meeting with INDOT this week to discuss the route and work out any concerns. I was really impressed with INDOT on this -- they were very helpful and even a little enthusiastic about this, and gave us some excellent advice that will help us move forward.
Anyway, wish us luck as we press ahead with this effort.
Peace,
jim
Good luck Jim. I grew up within 10 miles of the Michigan Road, so I'd love to see the project succeed.