Indiana State Road 37

Infobox road
state=IN
type=IN
route=37
alternate_name=
length_mi=
length_round=
length_ref=
established=
direction_a=
starting_terminus=
direction_b=
ending_terminus=
counties=
previous_type=IN
previous_route=32
next_type=IN
next_route=38

State Road 37 (SR 37) in the U.S. State of Indiana at one time ran from the northeast of the state to the south end. In the pre-Interstate Highway era, Indiana 37 was the most direct route between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, although Interstate 69 has supplanted it and some other highways as through routes. It remains as the principal link between Indianapolis and Bloomington.

While State Road 37 physically exists in two discontinuous segments, it is actually a continuous route in the state's route logs. The mileposts along the northeastern segment start at 222 just northeast of the intersection with I-469. The mileage for the "decommissioned" segment follows State Road 9 to Huntington, then turns follows US-24 northeast to I-69 on the southwest side of Fort Wayne. It then follows I-69 south to I-469, then I-469 east then north to the interchange with the northern segment.

De-signing a state road where it overlaps another state road, interstate or US highway is quite common in Indiana,Fact|date=September 2007 since state law sets a maximum limit to Indiana's state highway mileage as 12,000 miles. However, for continuity purposes, the entire route--signed and unsigned portions--are retained in the state's route logs.

The Indiana Department of Transportation has removed State Road 37 signs where it coincided with existing highways and inside the freeway loops surrounding Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. It now consists of two discontinuous segments:

*A northern section begins at the Ohio state line near Harlan, where it continues east as State Route 2. Indiana 37 runs southwest approximately 20 miles to end at a junction with Interstate 469 on the northeast side of Fort Wayne.
*A southern section has its northern terminus just south of Marion at a junction with State Road 9. It runs south and southwest, passing near Elwood and Noblesville. It merges with Interstate 69 near Fishers, joining Interstate 465 northeast of Indianapolis, running along the portion of I-465 concurrent with US-31, US-36, US-40, US-52, US-421, and IN-67 (from exits 42 to 46) and departing Interstate 465 on the south side of Indianapolis at Exit 4. It runs south and southwest through Martinsville, Bloomington, Bedford, Mitchell and Paoli. It then continues south through the Hoosier National Forest and merges with Interstate 64 for about 7 miles west before continuing southwest to its southern terminus at the junction with State Road 66 on the Ohio River in Tell City.

Its original route through Indianapolis started with Binford Boulevard, which continues southwestward from I-69 at the interchange with I-465. Binford Blvd. then ends and traffic merges onto East Fall Creek Parkway North Drive. State Road 37's traffic followed this route still southwestward, then turned to the west onto East 38th Street. SR 37 followed this to North Meridian Street, and turned south, joining with the traffic from U.S. Highway 31 before it too was routed onto I-465. The route continued south to East North Street for one block and then southward onto North Pennsylvania Street for southbound traffic, and northbound traffic was one block to the east on North Delaware Street. The traffic then joined together on Madison Avenue, south of downtown, headed in a south-southeast direction. State Road 37's old route then continued directly south on South East Street to I-465 west to its current exit, #4, Harding Street.

Bluff Road, a south-southwest-bound street on the south side of Indianapolis was sometimes shown on some road maps as "37A", due to the fact that State Road 37 used to follow this route, but does not interchange with I-465/SR 37, nor does it have an intersection with State Road 37 south of that; it stops just short of the road in a dead end (though there is access to 37 via nearby Wicker Road immediately before that dead end). Allisonville Road, a north-northeast bound street on the opposite side of Indianapolis, was also shown as State Road 37A, but the road does terminate at State Road 37 north of the city and at Binford Blvd. at its south end.

SR 37 will be upgraded on the spot to become Interstate 69 from north of Victor Pike in Bloomington to the curve south of Epler Avenue in Indianapolis, where I-69 will run straight north to Interstate 465. [ [http://www.in.gov/dot/projects/I69/index.html I-69 Evansville to Indianapolis Preferred Route] ]

Frank O'Bannon Highway

In recent years, Indiana's official state highway maps have shown the 10-mile extension of the Frank O'Bannon Highway (named for the late former governor) between Interstate 64 at St. Croix and Indiana 64 at Eckerty numbered as Indiana 145. However, when the extension opened in November 2007, the signs proved that the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) had a change of heart.

At I-64 Exit 79, where Indiana 37 once turned east and ran concurrent with the interstate for eight miles before continuing its northern journey, the route now continues north approximately 10 miles to Eckerty. At Eckerty, westbound Indiana 64 continues the new route to the northwest for a short distance (less than a mile) before meeting the existing Indiana 145, which continues north across Patoka Lake to French Lick. The new roadway thus creates a "straight shot" from Indiana 37's southern terminus at Tell City to French Lick, West Baden and the new casino. It also will reduce travel time for those traveling to Indianapolis.

For its part, Indiana 37 now turns to the east and is concurrent with Indiana 64 from Eckerty to English, where it exits the eastbound highway and rejoins the old route. The old, winding stretch of 37 from I-64 at Exit 86 north to English has been renumbered as Indiana 237.

References

"New highway marks milestone for association," [http://tmnews.com/stories/2007/11/21/news.nw-661881.tms] Bedford "Times-Mail", November 21, 2007

References

External links

* [http://illi-indi.com/EndsPage.php?id=1037&section=1 Indiana Highway Ends - State Road 37]