Interstate 70 in Indiana

Interstate 70
Route information
Maintained by INDOT
Length:	156.60 mi[1] (252.02 km)
Existed:	1956 (completed in 1992) – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-70 / US 40 at Illinois state line
	I-74 / I-465 in Indianapolis I-65 in Indianapolis I-465 / I-69 in Indianapolis
East end:	I‑70 / US 35 at Ohio state line
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Indiana State Roads Interstate US State Former ← SR 69 SR 70 →

In the U.S. state of Indiana, Interstate 70 (I-70) travels east–west across the state passing through the capital of Indianapolis. I-70 crosses from Illinois into Indiana near Terre Haute and departs into Ohio at Richmond. It covers 156.60 miles (252.02 km) in Indiana, paralleling U.S. Route 40 (US 40), the old National Road.

I-70 shield in the state of Indiana

Route description

The Indiana portion of I-70 begins at the Illinois state line west of Terre Haute. Heading east, I-70 crosses the Wabash River soon after entering the state. US 40 travels concurrent with I-70 briefly before breaking off and traveling north of the interstate into the center of the city. The interstate crosses through the south side of Terre Haute, where it has an interchange with US 41/US 150. Just outside the city to the east, I-70 passes near Terre Haute International Airport before continuing onward to the east-northeast through rural lands towards Indianapolis. This stretch of I-70 does not have any interchanges with any significant cities until it reaches the Indianapolis metropolitan area, but it does pass within proximity of Greencastle.

Entering the Indianapolis area, I-70 passes through the southern reaches of Plainfield in Hendricks County, home to many logistics and warehousing companies. Shortly thereafter, it enters Marion County and the City of Indianapolis, passing just to the south of the Indianapolis International Airport, where the freeway now serves as the passenger terminal's main vehicular access point. Just beyond the airport, I-70 has an interchange with the I-465 beltway for the first of two times. Curving northeast, then east, the interstate then crosses the White River, passing just south of Lucas Oil Stadium and downtown Indianapolis before reaching I-65.

Westbound sign for the north split between I-65 and I-70

Turning north, the next section of I-70 along the east side of downtown Indianapolis travels concurrent with I-65. The two major interchanges at either end of this concurrency are often referred to as the "North Split" and the "South Split", forming the eastern leg of a section of freeways and surface streets locally known as the "Inner Loop" (as opposed to the "Outer Loop" of the I-465 beltway). The north split is also called the "Spaghetti Bowl" due to the visual complexity of the overlapping freeways, ghost ramps, and overpasses that were originally intended as a connection to a never-built portion of I-69. Upon leaving I-65 at the north split, I-70 reaches a maximum width of ten lanes (five in each direction) as it departs downtown Indianapolis toward the east-northeast. On the east side of town, I-70 again intersects with the I-465 beltway before departing the city, county, and metro area in a nearly due-east direction towards Ohio.

The portion of I-70 east of Indianapolis has been designated as the "Anton Tony Hulman, Jr. Memorial Way". Tony Hulman is most known for rescuing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and making the Indianapolis 500 popular. This stretch of I-70 does not have any interchanges with any significant cities until it reaches Richmond, but it does pass within proximity of both Greenfield and New Castle. On the northwest side of Richmond, US 35 joins I-70 and remains on the freeway as both routes jointly cross into Ohio. It also has an interchange with US 27 providing access to Richmond south of the interstate. On the east side of Richmond, US 40 intersects with I-70 immediately to the west of the Ohio state line.

Changes in the route

Between 2003 and 2005, I-70 was rebuilt about 1,000 feet (300 m) south of its original alignment on the western edge of Indianapolis. This reconstruction was done to allow expansion of runways at Indianapolis International Airport.^[2]

Exit list

County	Location	mi[3]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Vigo	Sugar Creek Township	0.00	0.00		I-70 west / US 40 west – Effingham, St. Louis	Illinois state line
		1.07	1.72	1	National Road – West Terre Haute, Terre Haute	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		3.40	5.47	3	Darwin Road – West Terre Haute
	Terre Haute	6.84	11.01	7	US 41 / US 150 – Terre Haute, Evansville
		11.18	17.99	11	US 40 east to SR 42 / SR 46 east – Bloomington, Terre Haute, Riley, Terre Haute International Airport	Eastern end of US 40 concurrency; western terminus of SR 46
Clay	Posey Township – Jackson Township	22.57	36.32	23	SR 59 – Brazil, Linton
Putnam	Cloverdale Township	37.09	59.69	37	SR 243 – Putnamville
	Cloverdale	41.11	66.16	41	US 231 – Cloverdale, Greencastle
Morgan	Adams Township	50.65	81.51	51	County Road 1100 West
Hendricks	Liberty Township	59.21	95.29	59	SR 39 – Belleville, Monrovia
Morgan	No major junctions
Hendricks	Plainfield	66.22	106.57	66	SR 267 – Plainfield, Mooresville
		68.32	109.95	68	Ameriplex Parkway, Ronald Reagan Parkway – Indianapolis International Airport access road	Signed as exits 68A (south) and 68B (north) eastbound
Marion	Indianapolis	72.75	117.08	69- 73	I-74 / I-465 / US 36 / US 40 to I-69	Signed as exit 69 eastbound and exits 73A (east/south) and 73B (west/north) westbound; exits 68 and 69 are connected to each other via collector/distributor lanes
		74.53	119.94	75	Sam Jones Expressway to Raymond Street	Directional access (eastbound to eastbound and westbound to westbound) only; Raymond Street signed eastbound only
		76.38	122.92	77	Holt Road
		78.42	126.20	78	Harding Street
		79.47	127.89	79A	West Street
		80.01	128.76	79B	Illinois Street, Meridian Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance for Illinois Street; complete access to Meridian Street
		80.72	129.91	80	I-65 south – Louisville	Western end of I–65 concurrency
		80.77	129.99	110A	East Street	Westbound exit only
		81.01	130.37	83A	Fletcher Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; entrance via Virginia Avenue and Calvary Street
		81.51	131.18	111	Washington Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		81.69	131.47	83A	Ohio Street	Westbound exit only
		81.78	131.61	83A	New York Street, Michigan Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		82.20	132.29	83B	I-65 north – Chicago	Eastern end of I–65 concurrency
		84.33	135.72	85	Rural Street south, Keystone Avenue north	Signed as exits 85A (south) and 85B (north)
		86.20	138.73	87	Emerson Avenue
		88.47	142.38	89	Shadeland Avenue	Connected to exit 90 via collector-distributor lanes
		89.04	143.30	90	I-465 / I-69 / US 31 / US 36 / US 52 / US 421 / SR 37 / SR 67	Signed as exit 89 eastbound
		90.38	145.45	91	Post Road
Hancock	Mount Comfort	95.61	153.87	96	Mount Comfort Road
	Greenfield	103.31	166.26	104	SR 9 – Maxwell, Greenfield
Henry	Wayne Township	114.93	184.96	115	SR 109 – Wilkinson, Knightstown
	Spiceland Township–Franklin Township	122.68	197.43	123	SR 3 – New Castle, Spiceland
	Dudley Township	130.62	210.21	131	Wilbur Wright Road
Wayne	Jackson Township– Harrison Township	136.92	220.35	137	SR 1 – Hagerstown, Connersville, Cambridge City
	Center Township	144.88	233.16	145	Centerville Road
	Richmond	148.64– 148.74	239.21– 239.37	149	US 35 north to SR 38 / Williamsburg Pike – Muncie	Signed as exits 149A (east/south) and 149B (west/north); western end of US 35 concurrency
		150.67	242.48	151	US 27 (Chester Boulevard) – Winchester
		152.24	245.01	153	SR 227 – Union City
		155.56	250.35	156	US 40 (National Road) – Lewisburg	Signed as exits 156A (west) and 156B (east)
		156.60	252.02		I‑70 / US 35 – Dayton, Columbus	Ohio state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Popular culture

• The sign to I-70 in Indianapolis is shown at the beginning of the intro for One Day at a Time.

References

1. Federal Highway Administration (2002-10-31). "FHWA Route Log and Finder List: Table 1". Retrieved 2009-02-24.
2. "Interstate Alignment Shifted To Allow Runway Expansion". Engineering News-Record. 3 January 2005. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
3. Staff. "INDOT Roadway Referencing System" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 15, 2012.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Indiana Highway Ends: Interstate 70