U.S. Route 31 in Indiana

U.S. Route 31
Route information
Maintained by INDOT
Length:	266.02 mi (428.12 km)
Existed:	1926 – present
Major junctions
South end:	US 31 at Kentucky state line
	I-65 near Jeffersonville I-265 near Clarksville I-65 near Crothersville US 50 near Seymour I-65 near Edinburgh I-465 / I-69 / I-74 / I-70 at Indianapolis US 35 at Kokomo US 24 near Peru US 30 near Plymouth I-80 / I-90 / Indiana Toll Road near South Bend
North end:	US 31 at Michigan state line
Location
Counties:	Clark, Scott, Jackson, Bartholomew, Johnson, Marion, Hamilton, Tipton, Howard, Miami, Fulton, Marshall, St. Joseph
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced Indiana State Roads Interstate US State Former ← US 30 SR 32 →

U.S. Route 31 (US 31) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Spanish Fort, Alabama, to the Mackinaw City, Michigan. In the U.S. state of Indiana, it is a State Road that enters the state via the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge between Louisville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Indiana. The 266.02 miles (428.12 km) of US 31 that lie within Indiana serve as a major conduit. Some of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are rural two-lane highway and urbanized four-lane divided expressway. The northernmost community along the highway is South Bend near the Michigan state line.

US 31 was first designated as a US Highway in 1926. A northern (from Rochester to South Bend) and very far south section (on old US 31 W into Louisville on the K&I Bridge) of the highway originally served as part of the Dixie Highway. US 31 was the Jackson Highway from Indianapolis to Seymour. US 31 replaced the original State Road 1 (SR 1) designation of the highway which dated back to the formation of the Indiana State Road system. SR 1 ran from Clarksville through Indianapolis to South Bend and ended at the Michigan state line.

Route description

Only the segment of US 31 that is north of Indianapolis is included as a part of the National Highway System (NHS).^[1] The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.^[2] The highway is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) like all other U.S. Routes in the state. The department tracks the traffic volumes along all state highways as a part of its maintenance responsibilities using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). This measurement is a calculation of the traffic level along a segment of roadway for any average day of the year. In 2010, INDOT figured that lowest traffic levels were the 3,690 personal vehicles and 160 commercial vehicles that used the highway daily near Memphis. The peak traffic volume was 168,770 personal vehicles and 18,090 commercial vehicles along the section of US 31 concurrent with Interstate 465 (I–465).^[3]

Jeffersonville to Columbus

US 31 overlaps I-65 in Jeffersonville, after crossing the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge from Kentucky. It then diverges as the access frontage lanes before splitting off north of Jeffersonville at Clarksville and proceeding to Indianapolis. US 31 was widened to two lanes in both directions for its length through Columbus in the early 2000s.

Columbus to Indianapolis

At I-465 on the south side of Indianapolis, US 31 is routed onto I-465 to the east of the city. This is the closest approach the highway makes to downtown Indianapolis. (Previously the route of the highway through Indianapolis going northbound was on East St., Madison Ave, Delaware St., North St., and onto Meridian St. (Southbound was on Meridian St., North St., Pennsylvania St., Madison Ave.,and onto East St.)

Indianapolis to Michigan

US 31 exits I-465 (coincidentally at Exit 31) in southern Hamilton County, and continues northward, primarily as a divided highway. US 31 then passes through or near Carmel, Kokomo, Rochester, Plymouth, and Lakeville. As US 31 approaches South Bend, the route converges with US 20/St. Joseph Valley Parkway and proceeds west and then north, bypassing South Bend and proceeding into Michigan. (See U.S. Route 31 in Michigan.)

History

US 31 was signed into law by the Governor on March 7 of 1917, as Main Market Highway 1, and signs were installed on June 1 of the that year.^[4][5] The name was changed to Indiana State Road 1 within a year when Indiana began the state road system.^[5][6] By 1924, most of the route was paved, leaving only from Columbus to Franklin and from Peru to Plymouth that was unpaved.^[7] In 1926, US 31 signs were installed along what was SR 1 at the time.^[8][9] By 1927 the whole route through Indiana was paved.^[9][10]

Freeway upgrades for northern sections

Three sections of US 31 in Northern Indiana between I-465 and US 20 have been or are being relocated or upgraded, part of the INDOT Major Moves Project designed to convert US 31 to Interstate-grade freeway from South Bend to Indianapolis. Funding has yet to be approved for the 78 miles of US 31 between these three segments^[11] except for an interchange at SR 28 in Tipton County, whose construction is expected to begin in 2015.^[12]

Hamilton County

The New US 31 Hamilton County project has upgraded US 31 to freeway standards from Interstate 465 near the Marion County line and Indianapolis to a point near SR 38 north of Westfield.

Kokomo

The Kokomo Corridor Project covered 14 miles (23 km) of new highway primarily in Howard County. The limited-access highway was built east of Kokomo and has five interchanges at SR 26, E. Boulevard (CR 100S), US 35/SR 22 (Markland Avenue), Touby Pike and US 35 north of Kokomo. Groundbreaking for the project occurred in the afternoon of September 17, 2008.^[13][14] This section of highway had been scheduled to be completed in December 2013^[15][16][17] but it opened ahead of schedule with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 26, 2013.^[18][19] The former section of US 31 was redesignated as State Road 931.

Plymouth to South Bend

The US 31 Plymouth to South Bend project relocated US 31 on primarily new alignment from US 30 near Plymouth to US 20/St. Joseph Valley Parkway south of South Bend. Groundbreaking for the project occurred on September 17, 2008,^[13][20][21] only hours before the groundbreaking for the Kokomo stretch, and initial construction was in northern Marshall County.^[22] This section of highway opened on August 21, 2014,^[23][24] and a portion was dedicated as the Richard W. Mangus Memorial Highway, in honor of the local state representative who supported the freeway's construction, at the ribbon-cutting ceremony on August 27.^[25][26] As of the time of the freeway opening a designation for the state-maintained portion of the former route had not been decided.^[27]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[28]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Ohio River		0.00	0.00	Clark Memorial Bridge US 31 south continues into Kentucky
Clark	Clarksville	1.51	2.43		Old SR 62 – New Albany, Clarksville, Indiana	Former SR 62
		1.59	2.56	1	I-65 south – Louisville	Southern end of I-65 concurrency
		3.71	5.97	2	I-65 north – Indianapolis	Northern end of I-65 concurrency; US 31 serves as collector-distributor lane for I-65 until exit 4
	Jeffersonville Township	6.16	9.91		SR 60 west – Salem	Eastern end of SR 60
	Sellersburg	9.28	14.93		Old SR 311	Former SR 311
		10.02– 10.05	16.13– 16.17		Old SR 403	Former SR 403
	Henryville	19.58	31.51		SR 160 – Salem, Charlestown
Scott	Vienna Township	27.19	43.76		SR 356 east – Lexington	Western end of SR 356
	Scottsburg	29.76	47.89		SR 56 – Salem, Hanover
	Austin	34.25	55.12		SR 256 – Madison
Jackson	Crothersville	37.14– 37.30	59.77– 60.03		I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville	Exit 36 on I-65
		42.07	67.71		SR 250 – Brownstown
	Seymour	50.42	81.14		US 50 – Seymour, North Vernon
Bartholomew	Columbus	64.86	104.38		SR 7 – Columbus, North Vernon
		65.28	105.06		SR 46 – Columbus, Greensburg
	Taylorsville	77.13– 77.60	124.13– 124.89		I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville	Exit 76 on I-65
Johnson	Edinburgh	81.39	130.98		SR 252 east – Edinburgh	Southern end of SR 252 concurrency
	Blue River Township	85.11	136.97		SR 252 west – Martinsville	Northern end of SR 252 concurrency
	Franklin	91.24	146.84		SR 44 / SR 144 west – Martinsville, Shelbyville
Marion	Indianapolis			Southern end of Freeway
		107.17	172.47	2	I-74 / I-465 US 36 / US 40 / US 52 SR 37 / SR 67	Southern and western end of I-465, I-74, US 36, US 40, US 52, SR 37, SR 67 concurrencies
				53	I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville
				49	I-74 east / US 421 south (Southeastern Avenue) - Cincinnati	Northern end of I-74 concurrency; southern end of US 421 concurrency
				47	US 52 east (Brookville Road) - Cincinnati	Southern end of US 52 concurrency
				46	US 40 east (Washington Street) - Dayton	Northern end of US 40 concurrency
				44	I-70 – Indianapolis, Dayton
	Lawrence			42	US 36 east / SR 67 north (Pendleton Pike) – Pendleton	Northern end of US 36/SR 67 concurrency
	Indianapolis			37	I-69 north / SR 37 north (Binford Boulevard) – Fort Wayne	Northern end of SR 37 concurrency; southern end of I-69
				33	Keystone Avenue – Carmel	Former SR 431
Hamilton	Carmel			123	I-465 west / US 52 west / US 421 north – Indianapolis	Western and northern end of I-465, US 52, and US 421 concurrency
				124	106th Street	Roundabout exit
				125	116th Street	Roundabout exit
				126	Old Meridian Street	northbound exit only
				127	W Main Street	Roundabout exit
				128	136th Street	Roundabout exit
		137.60	221.45	129	146th Street;– Carmel, Indianapolis	Signed as exits 129A(146th St) and 129B(Keystone Pkwy) Southbound; (Keystone Pkwy) southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Westfield			131	161st Street	Roundabout exit
		140.65	226.35	132	SR 32 (Main Street) – Lebanon, Noblesville
				134	191st Street
		144.26	232.16	136	SR 38 (Sheridan Road) – Sheridan, Noblesville
				Northern end of Freeway
Tipton	Jefferson Township	156.72	252.22		SR 28 – Frankfort, Tipton, Elwood	Interchange Construction to begin in Spring 2015
	Sharpsville			Southern end of Freeway
				156	SR 931 north	Southern terminus of SR 931; northbound exit and southbound entrance
Howard	Kokomo	166.58	268.08	158	SR 26 (CR 400S) – Lafayette
				161	CR 100S
		170.91	275.05	162	US 35 south (Markland Avenue) / SR 22 – Kokomo, Gas City	Southern end of US 35 concurrency
				165	Touby Pike
		175.52	282.47	166	US 35 north – Logansport, La Porte, Michigan City	Northern end of US 35 concurrency; northbound exit and southbound entrance
				167	SR 931 south	Northern terminus of SR 931; southbound exit and northbound entrance
				Northern end of Freeway
Miami	Deer Creek Township	178.50	287.27		SR 18 – Galveston, Marion
	Pipe Creek Township	183.73	295.68		SR 218 east – Bunker Hill	Southern end of SR 218 concurrency
		184.83	297.46		SR 218 west – Walton	Northern end of SR 218 concurrency
	Peru	190.96– 191.71	307.32– 308.53		US 24 – Logansport, Fort Wayne
	Denver	197.88	318.46		SR 16 (CR 700 North) – Denver
Fulton	Rochester	211.58– 212.36	340.51– 341.76		SR 25 (Main Street) – Rochester, Logansport
		213.18	343.08		SR 14 (West 18th Street) – Rochester, Winamac	No access due to grade separation
	Richland Township	221.37	356.26		SR 110 – Mentone	Fulton–Marshall county line
Marshall	Argos	226.08	363.84		SR 10 (Indiana Avenue) – Culver, Argos
	Plymouth				Lincoln Highway (Old US 30)
				Southern end of Freeway
		233.67– 234.17	376.06– 376.86	225	US 30 – Valparaiso, Warsaw, Fort Wayne	Signed as Exits 225A(US 30 East to Warsaw) and 225B(US 30 West to Valparaiso)
				228	7th Road
	La Paz	241.27	388.29	233	US 6 – Walkerton, Bremen
St. Joseph	Lakeville	247.66	398.57	239	SR 4 west (Pierce Road) – La Porte	Eastern end of the western section SR 4
	South Bend			253	Kern Road
		262.27	422.08	254	US 20 east – Mishawaka, Elkhart	Southern end of US 20 concurrency; Signed as Exits 254A(US 20 East to Elkhart) and 254B(US 31 North to Niles/US 20 West to Michigan City) Northbound; Signed as Exit 79 Southbound
				76	SR 23 – North Liberty, South Bend
				74	Mayflower Road	No northbound exit to southbound Mayflower Road or southbound entrance from northbound Mayflower Road
				73	SR 2 west (Western Avenue) – La Porte, South Bend	Eastern terminus of SR 2; signed as 73A (west) and 73B (east)
		262.24	422.03	263	US 20 west (Lincolnway West) – Michigan City, South Bend	Northern end of US 20 concurrency; signed as 263A (east) and 263B (west)
				264A	Nimtz Parkway	Signed as Exit 264B southbound
		263.43– 263.60	423.95– 424.22	264B	I-80 / I-90 / Indiana Toll Road – Elkhart, Chicago, Toledo	Signed as exit 264A southbound; exit 72 on the Indiana Toll Road
				265	Cleveland Road, Brick Road
		266.02	428.12		US 31 north – Niles, Benton Harbor	Michigan state line; St. Joseph Valley Parkway continues into Michigan
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Supplemental routes

See also

• Indiana State Road 331
• Indiana State Road 431
• Indiana State Road 931
• Indiana State Road 933

References

1. National Highway System: Indiana (PDF) (Map). Federal Highway Administration. December 2003. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
2. "National Highway System". Federal Highway Administration. August 26, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
3. "INDOT Traffic Zones". Indiana Department of Transportation. 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
4. 1917 Indiana State Highway Map and State Highway Commission (Map). Indiana State Highway Commission. 1917.
5. Indiana Transportation Map (jpg) (Map). Indiana State Highway Commission. 1917. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
6. Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Indiana State Highway Commission. 1918.
7. Indiana Transportation Map (pdf) (Map). Indiana State Highway Commission. 1924. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
8. Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Indiana State Highway Commission. 1925.
9. Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Indiana State Highway Commission. 1926.
10. Indiana Transportation Map (pdf) (Map). Indiana State Highway Commission. 1927. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
11. "U.S. 31 bypass around Kokomo is running 2 years early". The Elkhart Truth. 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
12. "New U.S. 31 Interchange Planned at S.R. 28" (Press release). Indiana Department of Transportation. May 14, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
13. Platt, Sarah (September 17, 2008). "Governor Daniels breaks ground on new U.S. 31 in Lakeville". WNDU-TV. Retrieved September 18, 2008.
14. Smith, Scott (September 17, 2008). "Ceremony for new U.S. 31 corridor draws crowd". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
15. Smith, Scott (April 10, 2012). "Coalition Planners Look to Remaining U.S. 31 Areas". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
16. Smith, Scott (January 12, 2010). "U.S. 31 bypass work moving along". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
17. Smith, Scott (August 6, 2013). "Bypass or Boulevard?". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
18. McFeely, Dan (November 26, 2013). "Kokomo U.S. 31 bypass should cut commutes". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
19. Smith, Scott (November 27, 2013). "On Cruise Control". Kokomo Tribune. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
20. Jackson, Adam (September 18, 2008). "Ground Breaks on U.S. 31 Work". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
21. Grove, Dustin (September 17, 2008). "New U.S. 31 Project Underway". WSBT-TV. Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
22. Sulok, Nancy J. (January 27, 2008). "Bridges to signal start of new U.S. 31 freeway". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2008.
23. Indiana Department of Transportation Northwest District [INDOTNorthwest] (August 21, 2014). "And we have liftoff!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 19, 2016.
24. Gray, Amanda (August 22, 2014). "Driving the New U.S. 31 Is Smooth Sailing". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
25. "Governor Pence Officially Opens New U.S. 31 Plymouth to South Bend" (Press release). Indiana Department of Transportation. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
26. Meenan, Jim (August 28, 2014). "Pence Officially Opens new U.S. 31". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
27. New US 31 Already Impacting Business (Video). WSBT-TV. August 21, 2014. Event occurs at 3:02. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
28. "INDOT Roadway Referencing System" (PDF). staff.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• http://highwayexplorer.com/EndsPage.php?id=2031&section=1