State Road 49

Indiana State Road 49

Indiana 49 is a 44 mile state highway in Northwest Indiana, entirely within Jasper and Porter Counties. The highway starts at Indiana 14 northeast of Rensselaer and heads north through northeastern Jasper County before going into Porter County. Indiana 49 is the primary north-south highway within Porter County, the fastest growing county in Northwest Indiana with a growing suburban population based out of Chicago. As of 2010, Porter County had 164,348 people, mainly along a strip from Chesterton down to Valparaiso and from Chesterton westward along Interstate 94/U.S. 6. From U.S. 30 northward toward the Indiana Toll Road and Interstate 94 the highway is a four-lane expressway that bypasses Valparaiso and Chesterton.

This stretch of highway forms an important part of the Northwestern Indiana highway network as it is a well-traveled commuter corridor to access the main freeways to Chicago. The highway is used often by those traveling on U.S. 30 across Northern Indiana to access either the Toll Road or Interstate 94 to avoid the congestion along U.S. 30 west of Valparaiso. North of Interstate 94 the highway heads into the Indiana Dunes where it ends at the gate into Dunes State Park. Because of this, the stretch of Indiana 49 from Interstate 94 northward is part of the main gateway into the Indiana Dunes region.

Guide by Thomas Decker.

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Page Updated Thursday December 08, 2011.