U.S. Route 20 in Indiana

U.S. Route 20
Route information
Maintained by INDOT
Length: 155.50 mi[1] (250.25 km)
Existed: 1926 – present
Major junctions
West end: US 12 / US 20 / US 41 at Illinois state line
  US 41 at Whiting
US 12 at Gary
I-65 / I-90 / Ind. Toll Rd. at Gary
US 421 at Michigan City
I-94 near Michigan City
US 35 near Michigan City
US 31 at South Bend
US 33 at Elkhart
I-69 near Angola
East end: US 20 at Ohio state line
Location
Counties: Lake, Porter, LaPorte, St. Joseph, Elkhart, La Grange, Steuben
Highway system

United States Numbered Highways
List • Bannered • Divided • Replaced

Indiana roads
Interstates • U.S. Routes • State Roads • Former

← SR 19 SR 22 →

U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in Indiana is a main east–west highway that is parallel to the Indiana Toll Road. The western terminus of US 20 is at the Illinois state line and the eastern terminus is at the Ohio state line. US 20 through Whiting, East Chicago, and Gary is concurrent with US 12 twice. US 20 varies between one-way streets, two-lane streets, and four-lane streets, in northwestern Indiana. East of Gary to Michigan City, US 20 is a two-lane highway. From Michigan City to west of South Bend, US 20 is a four-lane undivided highway and two-lane rural highway. US 20 heads around the west and south sides of South Bend and Elkhart. East of Elkhart County Road 17 (CR 17), US 20 is two-lane rural highway.

US 20 was part of the Dunes Highway from the Illinois state line to Michigan City, concurrent with US 12. US 20 went through downtown South Bend and Elkhart, before the St. Joseph Valley Parkway was built. Before the parkway was completed, the route that was open to traffic was called Bypass US 20. A small realignment in LaGrange County was done in 2005, in which the roadway was straightened. Other small realignments included the route through Michigan City, which followed US 35 from US 12 to I-94.

Contents

Route description

Only the segment of US 20 that is concurrent with the St. Joseph Valley Parkway are included as a part of the National Highway System (NHS).[2] The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.[3]

Illinois to South Bend

US 20 enters Indiana with US 12 and US 41, underneath the Indiana Toll Road. US 12, US 20, and US 41 are concurrent until US 41 turns south on Calumet Avenue, a distance of 2.24 miles (3.60 km). US 12 and US 20 head southeast toward East Chicago; in East Chicago, US 12 turns east and US 20 continues south. After US 12, US 20 meets State Road 312 (SR 312). After SR 312, US 20 passes under the Indiana Toll Road. Then US 20 turns left onto Michigan Street and heads west to Gary. On the way to Gary, US 20 has an interchange with SR 912; at the interchange, the road name changes to 5th Avenue. Just west of Gary, US 12 and US 20 have a concurrency. [4]

US 12 and US 20 are concurrent through most of Gary. From Bridge Street to Vermont Street, the eastbound traffic of US 12/US 20 is on 5th Avenue and westbound traffic is on 4th Avenue. East of downtown Gary, the eastbound and westbound lanes merge to form the Dunes Highway. Before reaching the neighborhoods of northeastern Gary, the Dunes Highway has an interchange with Interstate 65 (I-65) and I-90/Indiana Toll Road.

Shortly thereafter, US 12 leaves to the northeast toward Michigan City and US 20 heads east then northeast, forming a major retail corridor through the neighborhoods of Aetna and Miller Beach.[5] After US 12, US 20 meets SR 51 at the northern terminus of SR 51, near the boundary between Lake Station and Gary. Just west of Portage, US 20 passes under I-94. In Portage, US 20 has intersections with both SR 249 and SR 149. Then US 20 enters Burns Harbor and has interchanges with I-94 and SR 49. US 20 heads northeast until Town of Pines, where it intersects with SR 520. After Pines, US 20 heads due east to US 421 in Michigan City. [6]

From US 421, US 20 heads east and then northeast around Michigan City. On the east side of Michigan City US 20 has an interchange with SR 212. Soon after SR 212, US 20 has an interchange with I-94 followed by an intersection with the northern terminus of US 35. After US 35, US 20 is a four-lane undivided highway until Rolling Prairie, passing SR 39 at Springville. East of Rolling Prairie US 20 meets SR 2. US 20 heads northeast and then east and SR 2 heads due east. US 20 passes through Hudson Lake and New Carlisle before South Bend. [7]

South Bend to Ohio

On the west side of South Bend, US 20 enters the St. Joseph Valley Parkway heading due south. US 20 runs along the west side of South Bend. US 20 turns due east having an interchange with US 31, just south of downtown South Bend. On the south side of Mishawaka, US 20 has a 2.09 miles (3.36 km) concurrency with SR 331. US 20 then has an interchange with US 33 near Dunlap. The interchange with Old US 20 is incomplete with no access to westbound Old US 20 from eastbound US 20. Soon after the interchange with Old US 20 is an interchange with CR 17. This exit is also the end of the St. Joseph Valley Parkway. [8]

US 20 heads east from Elkhart towards Middlebury, passing through an intersection with SR 15 south of Bristol. At this intersection US 20 is a four-lane undivided highway, and soon after the intersection US 20 becomes a two-lane highway. US 20 passes through the southwest side of Middlebury. On the south side of Middlebury US 20 has an intersection with SR 13. US 20 passes through is intersection as a four-lane divided highway, and soon after the intersection US 20 becomes a two-lane highway. From Middlebury US 20 heads west towards Lagrange, passing through rural eastern Elkhart County and western Lagrang County. On the way to Lagrange US 20 passes through an intersection with SR 5 just south of Shipshewana. US 20 passes through downtown Lagrange, having an intersection with SR 9. US 20 heads east passing through rural eastern LaGrange County and western Steuben County. Then US 20 enters Angola and has an interchange with I-69. US 20 then enters downtown Angola, passing through a roundabout with SR 127 and Old US 27. After passing through the east side of Angola, US 20 leaves Angola heading east towards Ohio. In rural eastern Steuben County, US 20 has an intersection with SR 1. Just west of the Ohio state line US 20 passes under the Indiana Toll Road (I-80/I-90). [9]

History

US 20 was part of the first alignment of the Lincoln Highway in 1913. From current SR 2 to Elkhart, where the Lincoln Highway turned southeast on to current US 33. In 1926, the Lincoln highway was rerouted to US 30. [10][11]

Between 1917 and 1926 the route from Illinois state Line to Michigan City was SR 43 this route was named Dunes Highway. At this time US 20 from Michigan City to Ohio state line was SR 25. [12][13] Being in 1926, US 20 from Illinois state line to Michigan City was concurrent with US 12 (Dunes Highway). [14][15] In the early 1930s US 20 from Illinois state line to Michigan City was moved to its current route.[16][17] In the mid 1970s Bypass US 20 (BYP US 20) went from US 31 to US 20, on the southwest side of South Bend. Until 1998, US 20 went through downtown Elkhart and South Bend. When the State of Indiana built Bypass 20, New US 20, or the St. Joseph Valley Parkway, the route downtown was decommissioned.[18][19]

In 2005 a series of sharp curves around Rainbow Lake were removed; the curves were located six miles west of Lagrange. A new straight roadway was built, from just east of SR 5 to just east of Lagrange County Road 600 West. [20]

Dunes Highway

Main article: U.S. Route 12 in Indiana

"One important project was the 1900 to 1910 macadamizing of part of the Old Chicago Road, Northwest Indiana's major auto route between Gary and Michigan City before the Dunes Highway."[21][22] Dunes Highway Association engineers envisioned the Dunes Highway a "state of the art" 40-foot-wide (12 m) concrete highway with a 100-foot (30 m) right-of-way. In August 1919, Commission director H.L. Wright tentatively designated the Dunes Highway as State Road 43, to be 20 feet (6.1 m) wide. Narrower than anticipated, the new concrete highway was still superior to most Indiana roads, which in the mid-1920s were gravel or dirt with paved sections only between the larger towns. Dunes Highway construction began in 1922 under the guidance of Gary contractor Ingwald Moe and construction engineer Ezra Sensibar.[23]

Future

The Indiana Department of Transportation plans to make US 20 a four-lane highway with a center turn lane from the east end of the St. Joseph Valley Parkway to SR 13. The project will be done in three different phases. Phase one will be from Elkhart County Road 17 to SR 15, phase two will be from SR 15 to Elkhart County Road 35, and phase three will be from CR 35 to SR 13. [20][24]

Major intersections

County Location Mile[1] Exit[1] Destinations Notes
Lake
 Whiting 0.00   US 12 west / US 20 west / US 41 north – Chicago Illinois state line
0.96   I-90 east / Ind. Toll Rd. – South Bend, Toledo
2.24   US 41 south – Hammond Eastern end of US 41 concurrency
East Chicago 4.41   Riley Road To SR 912
5.16   US 12 east – Michigan City Western end of US 12 concurrency
5.86   SR 312  
7.19   SR 152 south – Hammond  
Gary 9.63–
10.01		   SR 912 – Griffith, East Chicago, Highland  
12.99   US 12 west – East Chicago Western end of US 12 concurrency; eastbound US 12/US 20 is on 5th Avenue, westbound US 12/US 20 is on 4th Avenue
14.64   SR 53 south (Broadway Street) – Merrillville  
16.22   I-65 south – Indianapolis Northern terminus of I-65
16.27   I-90 / Ind. Toll Rd. – South Bend – Chicago, Toledo  
17.76   US 12 east – Michigan City Eastern end of US 12 concurrency
Lake Station 19.98   SR 51 south – Lake Station, Hobart  
Porter
 Portage 23.63   SR 249 north (Crisman Road) Southern terminus of SR 249
Burns Harbor 26.19   SR 149 (Max Mochal) – South Haven
27.07–
27.23		   I-94 – Chicago, Detroit
30.23   SR 49 – Valparaiso, Porter
Town of Pines 36.49   SR 520 north (Maple Street) Southern terminus of SR 520
La Porte
 Michigan City 40.02   US 421 south (Franklin Street) – Michigan City, Westville Northern terminus of US 421
43.95   SR 212 north to US 12 Southern end of SR 212
44.76–
45.18		   I-94 – Chicago, Detroit
45.22   US 35 south – La Porte Northern terminus of US 35
Springville 48.79   SR 39 – La Porte , New Buffalo
Rolling Prairie 56.53   SR 2 – La Porte, South Bend
St. Joseph
 South Bend 73.53 71 US 31 north  Benton Harbor Western end of US 31 concurrency; US 20 joins the St. Joseph Valley Parkway
72.88 73 SR 2 west Eastern end of SR 2
76.08 76 SR 23 south – Walkerton
78.83 79 US 31 south Eastern end of US 31 concurrency
Mishawaka 82.30–
83.21		 84 SR 331 south – Bremen Western end of SR 331 concurrency
84.48–
85.20		 86 SR 331 north – Mishawaka Eastern end of SR 331 concurrency
Elkhart
 Elkhart 91.57–
92.05		 92 SR 19 (Nappanee Street) – Nappanee, Elkhart
94.99–
95.53		 96 US 33 south (Elkhart Road) – Dunlap, Goshen, Elkhart Northern terminus of US 33
98.05 99N Old US 20 Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
98.93 99 CR 17 Eastern terminus of the St. Joseph Valley Parkway
Goshen 102.11   SR 15 – Goshen, Bristol
Middlebury 108.39   SR 13 – Millersburg, Middlebury
Lagrange
 Shipshewana 114.90   SR 5 – Ligonier, Shipshewana
Lagrange 124.32   SR 9 (Detroit Street) – Rome City, Lagrange
Springfield Township 131.58   SR 3 (CR 775 E) – Kendallville, Mongo
Steuben
 Jackson Township 136.99   SR 327 – Garrett, Orland
143.81–
143.92		   I-69 – Fort Wayne, Lansing Exit 148 on I-69
Angola 146.42   SR 127 north to SR 827 (Wayne Street) – Fremont Roundabout; southern terminus of SR 127
150.50   SR 1 south – Hamilton Northern terminus of SR 1
York Township 155.50   US 20 east – Toledo Ohio state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
     Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

See also


References

  1. ^ a b c Staff. "INDOT Roadway Referencing System" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation. http://www.in.gov/indot/files/StateWide_2004.pdf. Retrieved November 9, 2009. 
  2. ^ Federal Highway Administration (December 2003) (PDF). National Highway System: Indiana (Map). http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/nhs/maps/in/in_Indiana.pdf. Retrieved May 2, 2011. 
  3. ^ "National Highway System". Federal Highway Administration. August 26, 2010. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/nhs/. Retrieved December 19, 2011. 
  4. ^ Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Maps – Overview map of US 20 from Illinois to Gary (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=41.60141&lon=-87.376883&zoom=16&q1=41.704529%2C-87.526432&w0=41.61692620796602%2C-87.48074054718017%3B41.634882499236326%2C-87.48086929321289&q2=41.601927%2C-87.371905. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
  5. ^ City of Gary (December 17, 2007). "District 1 Commercial Corridors" (PDF). Gary, Indiana Comprehensive Plan. City of Gary. p. 33. http://www.gary.in.us/planning/pdfs/Comp/2007-12-17%20District%201.pdf. Retrieved June 25, 2011. 
  6. ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – Overview map of US 20 from Gary to Michigan City (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=W+5th+Ave&daddr=US-20+E&hl=en&geocode=FYrLegIdZs_K-g%3BFaL9ewIdLhnS-g&mra=mift&mrsp=0&sz=15&sll=41.600393,-87.37165&sspn=0.014762,0.0421&ie=UTF8&ll=41.622116,-87.127762&spn=0.236116,0.673599&z=11. Retrieved January 22, 2011. 
  7. ^ Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Maps – Overview map of US 20 from Michigan City to South Bend (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=41.694425&lon=-86.65129&zoom=12&q1=41.680164%2C-86.893332&w0=41.711879781934556%2C-86.39854431152344&q2=41.70858%2C-86.346527. Retrieved January 27, 2011. 
  8. ^ Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Maps – Overview map of US 20 from South Bend to Elkhart (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=41.680148&lon=-86.055496&zoom=12&q1=41.70858%2C-86.346527&q2=41.666917%2C-85.872505. Retrieved January 27, 2011. 
  9. ^ Yahoo! Inc. Yahoo! Maps – Overview map of US 20 from Elkhart to Ohio (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. http://maps.yahoo.com/#mvt=m&lat=41.724893&lon=-85.389439&zoom=11&q1=41.666945%2C-85.872076&w0=41.640078384678915%2C-85.47088623046875&q2=41.631282%2C-84.805834. Retrieved January 27, 2011. 
  10. ^ Shupert-Arick, Jan (2009). The Lincoln Highway Across Indiana. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing. p. 155-159, 191-192. ISBN 9781439621219. 
  11. ^ Lincoln Highway Association. Lincoln Highway Across Indiana Map (Map). http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~jlin/lincoln/maps/1924/in.gif. Retrieved December 23, 2011. 
  12. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1916). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Section A1–R1. 
  13. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1917). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Section A1–R1. 
  14. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1926). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Section A1–H1. 
  15. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1927). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Section A1–H1. 
  16. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1930). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Section B1–H1. 
  17. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (1931). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Section B1–H1. 
  18. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation (1997). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Section K1–L1. 
  19. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation (1998). Indiana Transportation Map (Map). Section K1–L1. 
  20. ^ a b "Master List" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation. December 21, 2004. p. 8. http://www.in.gov/indot/files/FortWayne_04list.pdf. Retrieved June 24, 2011. 
  21. ^ *Nelson, C.W. (February 1957). "On the Old Chicago Road". Duneland Historical Society Newsletter: 1–7. 
    • Fischer, Suzanne Hayes (1994). Facilities For Motorists, 1900–1940, Historic Context & Property Type Analysis (Masters essay). Indianapolis: Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis. p. 12. 
    • Jakle, John A. (1985). The Tourist, Travel in Twentieth-Century North America. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. pp. 130–132. 
    • Sanford, Dena; Williams, Brenda (1996). Historic Properties Summary, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Omaha: National Park Service. p. 3. 
  22. ^ Staff (August 2005). Development of US 12/US 20: 'The Dunes Highway'. National Park Service. 
  23. ^ *The Gary Post-Tribune. November 16, 1923. 
    • Rose, Albert C. (1953). Historic American Highways: Significant Incidents in the Development of Highway Transportation in Colonial America and the United States During More Than Four Centuries. Washington: American Association of State Highway Officials. p. 88. 
    • Fischer, Suzanne Hayes (1994). Facilities for Motorists, 1900–1940, Historic Context Study & Property Type Analysis (Masters essay). Indianapolis: Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis. p. 12. 
  24. ^ "US 20 Document" (PDF). Indiana Department of Transportation. October 21, 2011. http://www.in.gov/indot/files/Attachment_Three-U.S._20_CE_Document(1).pdf. Retrieved December 23, 2011. 
U.S. Route 20
Previous state:
Illinois		 Indiana Next state:
Ohio
North–south
East–west
Former