Since Indiana spans two boards, I'm not really sure which one this should be on, but I'll just put it here. Okay, so this past weekend, a friend of mine when down to Kentucky, and at the rest area on I-65 south just before
Kentucky they saw that new Indiana maps are avaliable. However, they did not see any at the Welcome Center on I-65
north when they came back. Interested, I went over to the INDOT Headquarters in Downtown Indy to get myself a map
today and noticed some changes, for anyone interested.
Among the changes:
-I-69 coridoor is on the front cover of the map, and it's mentioned as being "Under Construction" from I-64 north to
US 231, with the exits mentioned along the construction route. North of US 231 the route is still mentioned as a
proposed cooridor.
-US 31 construction around Kokomo and from US 30 to South Bend is now mentioned with the exits along those routes
indicated. US 31 north of Carmel also has a new exit at SR 38, something that is currently under construction and
not planned on being opened until next year.
-SR 25 coridoor is now mentioned as being under construction as well with a new exit at US 421 near Delphi
-US 231 highway is now mentioned from I-64 to Ohio River with a new exit at SR 161 near Lincoln City.
-Proposed highways for US 50 around North Vernon and SR 61 around Boonville.
-New exit at Ronald Reagan Parkway on I-74 northwest of Indianapolis and between US 30 and US 231 off I-65 near Crown
Point are now mentioned.
-It is implied that US 40 still goes through Terre Haute, even though it doesn't anymore.
-The map itself is the same design as always with a new border around it, but other than that, it is the same.
Now, the back of the map has changed even more radically. In short, all the city insets are GONE. The only maps on the
back are of Downtown Indianapolis and of the location of all the state parks and recreation areas. The back of the map
is designed differently with some "highway facts" located throughout. Also, there is a section about the state symbols
of Indiana and a section for QR codes on various state tourism issues. At the top there are a few large pictures of
construction projects being done, thanks to Major Moves and at the bottom there is another section highlighting Major
Moves. As well, there is the usual mileage chart and listing of State Police offices.
Now, since I got this map at the INDOT offices in Indy, I'm not sure if the map is this way because the people most likely
to visit are interested in business in INDOT and not traveling through the state. So I'm not sure if the exclusion of the
city maps are for all state maps or only this one. I have not known INDOT to make different maps before, but I'm not sure
if this is the case, if anyone finds one at the rest area, let me know. I'm not sure if leaving out the insets of all the
major Indiana cities is worth it so the state can promote Major Moves twice, but the state has promoted its map in the
past years as more of a tool for businesses to locate to Indiana than as a tourist motive (such as Ohio's new map which is
all about "Come Visit Ohio".)
Went to the INDOT site to check the online version. The link says it is the 2011/12 map but when you click the link and open the PDF file, it is still the 2009-10 version.
The online version is the 2011-2012 map now - Indiana Map (http://www.in.gov/indot/files/StateTransportationMap.pdf)
Other new things on the map I noticed:
- SR 26 widened just east of Lafayette
- US 27 divided highway from Decatur south to SR 124
- SR 28 divided highway from Frankfort to I-65
- SR 32 divided highway east of Muncie
- SR 62 and SR 66 divided highways east of Evansville
- US 231 Lafayette bypass is shown as under construction
- SR 331 divided highway in Mishawaka
- SR 641 is shown
- The new I-65 exit mentioned is at 109th Avenue
Missing is the bypass under construction in Salem, the new gap in SR 912 (Cline Ave.), the SR 22 divided highway just east of Kokomo (UC and similar to SR 26 east of Lafayette), and Keystone Parkway is not shown as a freeway lite.
As for the city maps, many needed a lot of work to show complete metro areas so it is not a big loss.