U.S. Route 12 in Indiana
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| U.S. Route 12 |
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| Length: | ? |
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| Formed: | ? |
| Direction: | East-west |
| From: |   U.S. Routes 20/41 in Chicago, Illinois at the Illinois state line, beneath  Interstate 90 |
| To: | Michigan state line |
| Major cities: | Gary, Michigan City |
| System: | U.S. Highway System |
- This article is about U.S. Route 12 in the state of Indiana. For the main article on U.S. 12, see U.S. Route 12.
In the U.S. state of Indiana, U.S. Route 12 is a historical east-west arterial highway that runs along the Lake Michigan shoreline. In the early 1920s, it was the most important route between Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. Most of the route has since been supplanted by Interstate 94 and the Indiana Toll Road.
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[edit] Route description
U.S. Route 12 can be characterized in the following sections:
[edit] Whiting to Gary
This portion of U.S. 12 largely consists of industrialized sections of Whiting. It begins multiplexed with U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 41. In Whiting, U.S. 41 branches south, following the eastern side of Wolf Lake. U.S. 12/20 continues southeast through a field of Amoco oil storage tanks. South of the storage tanks, U.S. 20 continues south and turns east south of Interstate 90 (Indiana Toll Road), while U.S. 12 runs east, and then southeast towards the Gary/Chicago International Airport.
U.S. 12 then runs below the Toll Road at the Little Calumet River. It closely parallels U.S. 20 on the west side of Gary, then joins with it at Bridge Street. Through Gary, U.S. 12/20 runs westbound on 4th Avenue, and eastbound on 5th Avenue. It also has intersections with the Toll Road at Buchanan Street and State Road 53 (Broadway).
East of Gary, U.S. 12/20 has a signalized intersection with the northern terminus of Interstate 65.
Through this part of northwest Indiana, U.S. 12 consists of four lanes (two westbound, two eastbound), and widens to six lanes when multiplexed with U.S. 20.
[edit] Gary to Michiana Shores
- See also: Dunes Highway
About 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Gary, U.S. 12/20 split for the final time, although U.S. 20 closely parallels U.S. 12 for the next 20 miles (32 km). U.S. 20 follows a slightly more southerly route to Michigan City (via Portage and Porter) while U.S. 12 forms the southern border to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and becomes the Dunes Highway. U.S. 12 at this point has only two lanes, one westbound and one eastbound. It intersects State Road 249 and State Road 149 near a steel mill.
At Indiana Dunes State Park, U.S. 12 has an interchange with State Road 49. In the Town of Pines, U.S. 12 intersects with State Road 520, which is the final connecting route to U.S. 20 before the two separate regionally.
In Michigan City, U.S. 12 intersects with the northern terminus of U.S. Route 35. Before exiting Indiana, U.S. 12 intersects State Road 212, an eastern bypass of Michigan City, and then travels through Michiana Shores.
