List of numbered roads in Indiana
Encyclopedia
The Indiana Department of Transportation
(INDOT) is responsible for the establishment and classification of a state highway
network which includes Interstate Highways
, U.S. Highways
, and State Roads. There is no rule preventing the same numbering between state roads, U.S. routes, and Interstate highways, although traditionally, INDOT has avoided state road numbers which are the same as those on U.S. routes within the state.
Indiana has a mileage cap of 12,000 miles for its highway system.
s, but by law they are maintained by local governments, not INDOT.
and longitude
on the globe, where numbering begins at the Equator
and Greenwich Prime Meridian
, respectively.
Typically, the north-south road that divides the county into east and west parts is named "Meridian Road", and the east-west road that divides the county into north and south parts is named "Division Road", just as the north-south street that divides Indianapolis
between "east" and "west" is named Meridian Street
. However, roads along the baselines are given a variety of names in different counties. For example, Rush County
designates them both as Base Road. Howard County
designates the east-west baseline road as 00 NS. Some Counties, like Gibson
, use state roads or other highways as baselines. Gibson County uses US 41 and most of Indiana 64's route in the county as base roads.
Other roads in the county are identified by the distance (in miles) from the baseline, multiplied by 100, followed by the compass direction from the baseline. For example, road "200 E" would be a north-south road located 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the meridian line, and road "350 N" would be an east-west road located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of the division line. Roads along a county line may be given a grid designation or may be referred to as County Line Road.
Some county roads still run diagonally, or do not run in straight lines, even in gridded counties; these roads are usually given names rather than numbers. Such roads may also be given an arbitrary numeric designation: an example is NE 80 in Decatur County
.
Roads in gridded counties also change names due to jogs in the road, although a small jog (less than 0.05 mile (0.080467 km), and sometimes larger) is usually neglected. Road numbers using the ordinary system are seldom seen with digits other than 0 or 5 in the units place (hundredths of a mile); indeed, roads whose numeric designation is not divisible by 25 (one-quarter mile) are not common. Some counties, such as Hendricks
end a county road's number with the digit of 1 if the road dead ends or has no outlet.
One reason for implementing this grid-based numbering system related to the 9-1-1
emergency system. The grid system allows a location to be identified much more quickly and accurately than the old system of road names and rural routes. (This interpretation may seem somewhat flawed, since there can be several of the same road numbers within a few miles of each other. But while it is possible to find several different 'E100N' roads, for example, the coordinate system of road naming does enable a location to be pinpointed on a map very quickly.)
Alternate grid systems are used in some counties, including systems starting at the edges of the county rather than bisecting lines. For example, Hamilton County
continues the street numbering system of Indianapolis all the way across the county from south to north. 96th Street runs east-west along the Marion/Hamilton county line, and the grid continues with 10 "streets" to the mile up to 296th Street in the rural area at the Hamilton/Tipton line. North-south roads in Hamilton County have unsystematic names, although many road signs will indicate the distance east or west of the baseline along with the road name. Marshall County
uses a grid that starts at the northern and eastern county lines. East-west roads are given an ordinal number (First Road, Second Road, etc.) or number and letter (1A, 3B, etc.) to indicate their distance south of the northern border, while north-south roads follow its northerly neighbor St. Joseph County's pattern and are named with tree names whose initial letter indicates the distance west of the eastern border (Apple, Beech, etc.) and with the last names of notable local people whose initial letter indicates the distance south of the northern border, although the subsequent letters are not systematic (Hawthorn is west of Hickory). Elkhart County
uses a grid system like that of the state route system, except that the numbers for north-south odd-numbered roads increase west-to-east.
Some counties are not gridded. Due to the geography of counties such as Dearborn and Ohio
Counties, this grid system is not practical to implement. The southern third of the state, which was not covered by glaciers during the Illinoian Stage
and therefore retains an unglaciated landscape similar to central Kentucky, is too hilly for this. Gridding is also difficult or impossible in counties laid out under other quadranglular mapping systems such as the Vincennes Quadrangular, an older style of mapping system using a river for reference. This is the case in parts of Clark
, Gibson
, Knox
, and Vanderburgh
Counties. A similar system is used in parts of White
County, where some roads around Lake Shafer
indicate mileage from Norway Dam, which itself lies at mile 30.2 of the Tippecanoe River
. For example, the road called 4.3 lies 4.3 miles from the dam.
Indiana Department of Transportation
The Indiana Department of Transportation is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, state highways and state owned canals or railroads.-Districts:INDOT is...
(INDOT) is responsible for the establishment and classification of a state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
network which includes Interstate Highways
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
, U.S. Highways
United States Numbered Highways
The system of United States Numbered Highways is an integrated system of roads and highways in the United States numbered within a nationwide grid...
, and State Roads. There is no rule preventing the same numbering between state roads, U.S. routes, and Interstate highways, although traditionally, INDOT has avoided state road numbers which are the same as those on U.S. routes within the state.
Indiana has a mileage cap of 12,000 miles for its highway system.
Business Routes in Indiana
Many Indiana cities have business routeBusiness route
A business route in the United States and Canada is a short special route connected to a parent numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or town, and finally reconnecting with the same parent numbered highway again at its...
s, but by law they are maintained by local governments, not INDOT.
County Roads in Indiana
Most Indiana counties use a numbering system for designating county roads based on a grid (similar to how streets are designated in Salt Lake City). The system is similar to latitudeLatitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
and longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
on the globe, where numbering begins at the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
and Greenwich Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
, respectively.
Typically, the north-south road that divides the county into east and west parts is named "Meridian Road", and the east-west road that divides the county into north and south parts is named "Division Road", just as the north-south street that divides Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
between "east" and "west" is named Meridian Street
Meridian Street (Indianapolis)
Meridian Street is the primary north-south street in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.Meridian Street was formerly aligned with US 31 for much of its length in the city of Indianapolis, before being re-routed to a segment of Interstate 465. The street delineates east addresses from west...
. However, roads along the baselines are given a variety of names in different counties. For example, Rush County
Rush County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,261 people, 6,923 households, and 5,046 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 7,337 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile...
designates them both as Base Road. Howard County
Howard County, Indiana
Howard County is one of 92 counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is part of the Kokomo, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Howard and Tipton counties. Originally named Richardville County, it was rechristened in 1844 to commemorate General Tilghman Ashurst Howard. As of...
designates the east-west baseline road as 00 NS. Some Counties, like Gibson
Gibson County, Indiana
Gibson County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana and is included in the Evansville, Indiana–Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 33,503. The county seat is Princeton.-Geography:...
, use state roads or other highways as baselines. Gibson County uses US 41 and most of Indiana 64's route in the county as base roads.
Other roads in the county are identified by the distance (in miles) from the baseline, multiplied by 100, followed by the compass direction from the baseline. For example, road "200 E" would be a north-south road located 2 miles (3.2 km) east of the meridian line, and road "350 N" would be an east-west road located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of the division line. Roads along a county line may be given a grid designation or may be referred to as County Line Road.
Some county roads still run diagonally, or do not run in straight lines, even in gridded counties; these roads are usually given names rather than numbers. Such roads may also be given an arbitrary numeric designation: an example is NE 80 in Decatur County
Decatur County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 24,555 people, 9,389 households, and 6,882 families residing in the county. The population density was 66 people per square mile . There were 9,992 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile...
.
Roads in gridded counties also change names due to jogs in the road, although a small jog (less than 0.05 mile (0.080467 km), and sometimes larger) is usually neglected. Road numbers using the ordinary system are seldom seen with digits other than 0 or 5 in the units place (hundredths of a mile); indeed, roads whose numeric designation is not divisible by 25 (one-quarter mile) are not common. Some counties, such as Hendricks
Hendricks County, Indiana
- Towns :*Amo*Avon*Brownsburg*Clayton*Coatesville*Danville*Lizton*North Salem*Pittsboro*Plainfield*Stilesville-Townships:*Brown*Center*Clay*Eel River*Franklin*Guilford*Liberty*Lincoln*Marion*Middle*Union*Washington-Further reading:...
end a county road's number with the digit of 1 if the road dead ends or has no outlet.
One reason for implementing this grid-based numbering system related to the 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
emergency system. The grid system allows a location to be identified much more quickly and accurately than the old system of road names and rural routes. (This interpretation may seem somewhat flawed, since there can be several of the same road numbers within a few miles of each other. But while it is possible to find several different 'E100N' roads, for example, the coordinate system of road naming does enable a location to be pinpointed on a map very quickly.)
Alternate grid systems are used in some counties, including systems starting at the edges of the county rather than bisecting lines. For example, Hamilton County
Hamilton County, Indiana
Hamilton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. Census 2010 recorded a population of 274,569. The county seat is Noblesville....
continues the street numbering system of Indianapolis all the way across the county from south to north. 96th Street runs east-west along the Marion/Hamilton county line, and the grid continues with 10 "streets" to the mile up to 296th Street in the rural area at the Hamilton/Tipton line. North-south roads in Hamilton County have unsystematic names, although many road signs will indicate the distance east or west of the baseline along with the road name. Marshall County
Marshall County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 45,128 people, 16,519 households, and 12,191 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 18,099 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile...
uses a grid that starts at the northern and eastern county lines. East-west roads are given an ordinal number (First Road, Second Road, etc.) or number and letter (1A, 3B, etc.) to indicate their distance south of the northern border, while north-south roads follow its northerly neighbor St. Joseph County's pattern and are named with tree names whose initial letter indicates the distance west of the eastern border (Apple, Beech, etc.) and with the last names of notable local people whose initial letter indicates the distance south of the northern border, although the subsequent letters are not systematic (Hawthorn is west of Hickory). Elkhart County
Elkhart County, Indiana
Elkhart County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. Much of the county is in the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka Combined Statistical Area...
uses a grid system like that of the state route system, except that the numbers for north-south odd-numbered roads increase west-to-east.
Some counties are not gridded. Due to the geography of counties such as Dearborn and Ohio
Ohio County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,623 people, 2,201 households, and 1,586 families residing in the county. The population density was 65 people per square mile . There were 2,424 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
Counties, this grid system is not practical to implement. The southern third of the state, which was not covered by glaciers during the Illinoian Stage
Illinoian Stage
The Illinoian Stage is the name used by Quaternary geologists in North America to designate the period of geologic time of ~300,000—130,000 years ago, a period of ~ during the middle Pleistocene when sediments comprising the Illinoian Glacial Lobe were deposited. It precedes the Sangamonian stage...
and therefore retains an unglaciated landscape similar to central Kentucky, is too hilly for this. Gridding is also difficult or impossible in counties laid out under other quadranglular mapping systems such as the Vincennes Quadrangular, an older style of mapping system using a river for reference. This is the case in parts of Clark
Clark County, Indiana
Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana, located directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. At the 2010 Census, the population was 110,232. The county seat is Jeffersonville. Clarksville is also a major city in the county...
, Gibson
Gibson County, Indiana
Gibson County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana and is included in the Evansville, Indiana–Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 33,503. The county seat is Princeton.-Geography:...
, Knox
Knox County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 39,256 people, 15,552 households, and 10,139 families residing in the county. The population density was 76 people per square mile . There were 17,305 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile...
, and Vanderburgh
Vanderburgh County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 171,922 people, 70,623 households, and 44,421 families residing in the county. The population density was 733 people per square mile . There were 76,300 housing units at an average density of 325 per square mile...
Counties. A similar system is used in parts of White
White County, Indiana
As of the census of 2000, there were 25,267 people, 9,727 households, and 7,090 families residing in the county. The population density was 50 people per square mile . There were 12,083 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...
County, where some roads around Lake Shafer
Lake Shafer
Lake Shafer is one of two reservoirs located in the Twin Lakes area of Monticello, Indiana. It was created along with Lake Freeman in the 1920s when two dams were built outside of Monticello on the Tippecanoe River...
indicate mileage from Norway Dam, which itself lies at mile 30.2 of the Tippecanoe River
Tippecanoe River
The Tippecanoe River is a gentle, river in northern Indiana that flows from Big Lake in Noble County to the Wabash River near Battle Ground, about northeast of Lafayette. The name "Tippecanoe" comes from a Miami-Illinois word for buffalo fish, reconstructed as */kiteepihkwana/.The Tippecanoe...
. For example, the road called 4.3 lies 4.3 miles from the dam.
See also
- List of state highways in the United States
- Indiana Toll RoadIndiana Toll RoadThe Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line...
- St. Joseph Valley ParkwaySt. Joseph Valley ParkwayThe St. Joseph Valley Parkway is a freeway in the U.S. states of Indiana and Michigan, serving as a bypass route around Elkhart, Mishawaka, and South Bend in Indiana and Niles in Michigan. The freeway runs to the south and west of Elkhart and South Bend and Niles and consists of segments of U.S...