U.S. 12 East - Porter & LaPorte Counties

U.S. 12 east of the Lake-Porter County Line in Portage (population 36,828). Despite being in the third largest city in Northwest Indiana, U.S. 12 has the appearance of a rural highway, running through the forests of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The National Lakeshore stretches from eastern Lake County in Gary all the way to the edge of Michigan City.

05/28/09

U.S. 12 (Dunes Highway) approaching the intersection with Hillcrest Road. Hillcrest Road is the entry road into Ogden Dunes (population 1,110). At the intersection is the Ogden Dunes railway station for the South Shore Line, a commuter rail line from South Bend to Downtown Chicago. The railroad follows U.S. 12 for its journey across Porter County.

05/28/09

U.S. 12 (Dunes Highway) briefly widens to four lanes as it passes by the folded diamond interchange with SR 249. SR 249 is a short, 2.4 mile highway that connects U.S. 12 with Interstate 94 and U.S. 20. The highway remains rural-looking with a series of transmission lines that follows the South Shore Line rail corridor.

05/28/09

Now in Porter (population 4,972) U.S. 12 (Dunes Highway) approaches the interchange with SR 49. SR 49 is a 44 mile state highway that stretches from the Indiana Dunes south through Chesterton and Valparaiso to its end point at SR 14 in Jasper County. The Indiana Dunes State Park (an Indiana DNR property) is located just north of U.S. 12 along SR 49. The Indiana Dunes Visitor's Center is located just south of U.S. 12 along SR 49.

05/28/09

Passing by the SR 49 overpass along U.S. 12 (Dunes Highway). To the left past the overpass the Dunes Park commuter rail station serves both Chesterton and northern Porter County along the South Shore Line.

05/28/09

U.S. 12, known as the Dunes Highway, heads northeast through the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore at it parallels the lakeshore by about a mile to the south. This provides for a scenic two lane highway that passes through woods for most of its trek from SR 49 into Michigan City.

05/28/09

U.S. 12 (Dunes Highway) at the intersection with SR 520 in the Town of Pines. SR 520 is the shortest highway in the state, going for a mere 1,000 feet as it connects U.S. 20 with U.S. 12. From here, U.S. 12 continues northeast toward downtown Michigan City while U.S. 20 bypasses the city to the south.

05/28/09

U.S. 12 northeast of the SR 520 intersection. The highway is now only a couple of miles from the Michigan City and LaPorte County line.

05/28/09

U.S. 12 (Dunes Highway) enters LaPorte County (population 111,467) and Michigan City (population 31,479). Michigan City is best known for its Lake Michigan beaches, harbor and lighthouse that attract visitors from Chicago and Northwest Indiana. It is also the location of the Indiana State Prison, located only a few blocks from U.S. 12 on the west side of town.

05/28/09

U.S. 12, which becomes 4th Street in Michigan City, is a four lane highway as it moves through the industrial northwest section of the city. The Michigan City Generation Station Cooling Tower is a dominate structure in the city and can be viewed from the Willis (Sears) Tower in Downtown Chicago on clear days. Despite its appearance, the generation station is not nuclear-powered.

05/23/10

U.S. 12 (4th Street) as it enters Downtown Michigan City. To the north is Washington Park, home to the Michigan City harbor and Michigan City Lighthouse, the only lighthouse in Indiana. The Lighthouse Outlet Shoppes are located near the Downtown as well. The building to the right in the second picture is the Michigan City Hall.

05/23/10

U.S. 12 (4th Street) continues east from Downtown where it continues to follow the shoreline for another few miles before it crosses the Michigan border in Michiana. The Blue Chip Casino can be accessed on the other side of the bridge. The first picture was taken after the decommissioning of U.S. 35 along Michigan Boulevard toward the east, while the second and third pictures were taken when the highway still connected with U.S. 12. Previously, both U.S. 35 and U.S. 421 connected with U.S. 12 in Downtown Michigan City but both have now been decommissioned to U.S. 20.

05/23/10

05/28/09