State Road 2

SR 2 reassurance shield just east of the intersection with U.S. 41 in southwestern Lake County.

10/23/13

SR 2 heads east from U.S. 41 toward the communities of Lowell (two miles away) and Valparaiso (32 miles away).

10/23/13

SR 2 passes through the small community of North Hayden to the east of U.S. 41.

10/23/13

The Norfolk Southern railroad spans over SR 2 as the highway nears the town of Lowell.

10/23/13

Beyond the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge, SR 2 enters the town of Lowell (population 9,276). Lowell is the southernmost suburb of Lake County.

10/23/13

SR 2 (Commercial Street) travels through the west side of Lowell, which is marked mostly with residential neighborhoods.

10/23/13

SR 2 (Commercial Street) enters the Lowell business district at the intersection with Mill Street.

10/23/13

A wall of storefronts line SR 2 (Commercial Street) in the Lowell business district between Mill Street and Freemont Street. As with many small towns Downtown has seen better times with a lot of the businesses moving to the east side of town. Still the district looks relatively active in this late evening hour.

10/23/13

SR 2 (Commercial Street) leaves the Lowell business district at the intersection with Freemont Street.

10/23/13

SR 2 (Commercial Street) transitions from the traditional small town of Lowell into the more suburbanized part of town. Since Interstate 65 is located to the east of town, much of the suburban development has occurred in that direction.

10/23/13

An assortment of shopping centers, restaurants and commercial businesses line SR 2 (Commercial Street) east to the Clark Street / Holtz Road intersection by Lowell High School.

10/23/13

SR 2 becomes a rural two lane highway east of Lowell while serving as an important commuter route to Interstate 65.

10/23/13

Halfway between Lowell and Interstate 65, the highway approaches the intersection with SR 55. Here, SR 55 travels north for nine miles to the Lake County seat of Crown Point.

10/23/13

SR 55 is a 110 mile highway that runs from SR 25 in Wingate northward through Attica, Fowler, Goodland and Crown Point before ending at Business U.S. 6 in Gary.

10/23/13

SR 2 & 55 overlap for a half mile east from Orchard Grove to Harrison Street.

10/23/13

SR 55 continues to the south for seven miles to Shelby and 50 miles to Fowler. Traffic continuing to Hebron stays on SR 2 toward the Interstate 65 interchange.

10/23/13

SR 55 south turns off to the right as SR 2 continues toward Interstate 65. Harrison Street ties in from agricultural areas to the north.

10/23/13

East of the SR 55 south intersection, SR 2 is eight miles from Hebron and 25 miles from the Porter County seat of Valparaiso.

10/23/13

A view of SR 2 as it gets closer to Interstate 65.

10/23/13

Near the interchange with Interstate 65, SR 2 enters the small community of Dinwiddle.

10/23/13

Now in the vicinity of the interchange with Interstate 65, SR 2 widens to four lanes past the intersection with Mississippi Street.

10/23/13

Within the area around the Interstate 65 interchange, SR 2 was widened to four lanes in 2013 to better handle the additional commuter and truck traffic that utilizes this roadway.

10/23/13

Entering the diamond interchange with Interstate 65, a north-south freeway that goes for 887.3 miles from Gary, Indiana south through Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery and finally Mobile, Alabama, ending at Interstate 10 along the Gulf Coast.

10/23/13

Interstate 65 southbound heads toward Lafayette and the Hoosier State capital of Indianapolis.

10/23/13

Crossing under Interstate 65, to the left one can take the freeway northward toward Merrillville, Gary and Chicago (55 miles to the north via either Interstates 80, 90, or 94).

10/23/13

An assortment of traveler services surround the intersection of SR 2 and Colorado Street to the east of the interchange with Interstate 65. These developments helped push the state to widen this stretch of roadway to four lanes.

10/23/13

Heading east away from the interstate-based businesses, SR 2 quickly returns to two lanes.

10/23/13

East of Interstate 65, SR 2 crosses the southeastern part of Lake County, a long-shaped county that features several types of geography and development patterns. Here the highway traverses a strictly rural expanse of the county.

10/23/13

SR 2 enters Porter County (population 164,463). An alternative Interstate 65 shield guides traffic in the event of traffic disruptions on the busy freeway. The alternate route utilizes the upcoming U.S. 231 as an emergency detour if necessary.

10/23/13

Traffic has died down since crossing into Porter County, but SR 2 between Interstate 65 and Valparaiso can serve as an alternative route to bypass the congested U.S. 30 roadway to the north.

10/23/13

Up ahead is the junction with U.S. 231, which goes for 297 miles across Indiana from St. John at U.S. 41 southeast through Crown Point, Rensselaer, Remington, Lafayette, Crawfordsville, Greencastle, Spencer and Jasper before crossing into Kentucky near Owensboro. Nationally, the highway travels for 912 miles from St. John to Panama City, Florida.

10/23/13

Traffic continuing to Hebron and Valparaiso turns north onto U.S. 231 north & SR 2 east whereas U.S. 231 south runs south toward DeMotte (6.5 miles away) and the Jasper County seat of Rensselaer (29 miles away).

10/23/13

SR 2 turns left onto U.S. 231 north, as an emergency detour for Interstate 65 south follows U.S. 231 to the south. Straight ahead the road becomes County Road 1000 South.

10/23/13

Hebron lies two miles ahead on U.S. 231 & SR 2. Valparaiso, the Porter County seat, is 16 miles away.

10/23/13

For several miles, even after U.S. 231 breaks off, SR 2 runs in a due north direction through the southwestern part of Porter County.

10/23/13

U.S. 231 & SR 2 (Main Street) enters the town of Hebron (population 2,969).

10/23/13

A view of U.S. 231 & SR 2 (Main Street) through the south side of Hebron. The roadway was rebuilt in the latter half of the 2000s through the town.

10/23/13

SR 8 exists in two separate segments, here the western segment begins at U.S. 231 & SR 2 (Main Street) in Hebron and continues for another 43 miles to an eastern terminus with SR 17 southwest of Plymouth. The route passes through Kouts, La Crosse and Knox en route.

10/23/13

SR 8 (Sigler Street) runs east from U.S. 231 & SR 2 (Main Street) in the Hebron business district. The town of Kouts is nine miles to the east.

10/23/13

North of the intersection with SR 8 (Sigler Street), we approach the split between SR 2 east and U.S. 231 north (Pratt Street). Alternative Interstate 65 north traffic follows U.S. 231 back to the freeway, 9.3 miles northwest of here.

10/23/13

The Lake County seat of Crown Point lies about 11 miles from Hebron along U.S. 231 north. The US highway also serves as a connector between Hebron and Interstate 65. SR 2 continues north toward Valparaiso.

10/23/13

SR 2 (Main Street) is by itself again north of the split from U.S. 231 north (Pratt Street).

10/23/13

SR 2 (Main Street) passes through a small commercial district on the north side of Hebron.

10/23/13

Now leaving Hebron, SR 2 is 15 miles away. LaPorte is the next control city at a distance of 37 miles.

10/23/13

SR 2 leaving Hebron runs north for a few miles before taking on a northeasterly trajectory toward Valparaiso.

10/23/13

SR 2 runs through the typical rural scenes that are common in northern Indiana as the highway. As the route continues north however, it runs closer and closer to the development fringe of the greater Chicago area that runs as far southeast as Valparaiso.

10/23/13

A flashing light marks the intersection between SR 2 and County Road 500 West at Porter Crossroads.

10/23/13

SR 2 passes through a mix of wooded areas and farmland on the southwestern approach to Valparaiso. The highway has also been increasing in elevation from the Kankakee River lowlands that surrounded Lowell and Hebron toward the Valparaiso Moraine, a slightly elevated ridge that formed an older shoreline of Lake Michigan.

10/23/13

County Road 100 South runs west from SR 2 at Gates Corner toward the community of Lake of the Four Seasons, a gated development that straddles the Porter-Lake County line.

10/23/13

SR 2 gains traffic as the highway nears the outskirts of Valparaiso, a major community in Northwest Indiana and seat of Porter County.

10/23/13

Division Road heads west for a few miles from SR 2 to the community of Lake Eliza.

10/23/13

North of Division Road and Cobbs Corner, SR 2 passes through the suburban fringe of Valparaiso.

10/23/13

SR 2 crosses the intersection with County Road 100 West and Thornapple Way on the outskirts of Valparaiso.

10/23/13

Winding northeast along SR 2 past a Porter County highway garage as gets closer to the U.S. 30 expressway on the south edge of Valparaiso.

10/23/13

Smoke Road runs south from SR 2 while Horse Prairie Avenue heads north to U.S. 30.

10/23/13

Now in the city of Valparaiso (population 31,730), SR 2 approaches the junction with U.S. 30. U.S. 30 goes for nearly 159 miles in Indiana from Dyer on the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line east of New Haven. The U.S. highway is a four lane facility for its trip across the state, passing through Merrillville, Valparaiso, Plymouth, Warsaw, Columbia City and Fort Wayne. Nationally the highway travels for 3,073 miles from Astoria, Oregon to Atlantic City, New Jersey.

10/23/13

SR 2 combines with U.S. 30 to the east for a couple of miles before following SR 49 to form a bypass around Valparaiso. As with most large cities, SR 2 once passes through the city center of Valparaiso. Today traffic can continue on Washington Street to Downtown Valparaiso. U.S. 30 otherwise continues west toward Merrillville, Schererville and Dyer en route to Joliet, Illinois. To the east, U.S. 30 connects with the SR 49 expressway en route to Plymouth and Fort Wayne.

10/23/13

A view of an older-looking SR 2 shield at the intersection with Sturdy Road (old IN 130) and U.S. 30 on the southeast side of Valparaiso. The end shield was removed by 2013, and SR 130 was truncated west from Valparaiso by 2015.

05/14/12