Benjamin Lanka has a story in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette about the beginning of improvements to US 24 from Fort Wayne to Toledo. This is a project that really needs to happen. Currently, there isn’t a very good, direct route from Fort Wayne to Toledo which is ridiculous considering how close the cities are and how big they are.
From Fort Wayne, US 24 is in good shape all the way to Logansport. Construction is underway to improve SR 25 from Logansport to Lafayette so that eventually there will be four lane highway from Lafayette to Toledo. I’m wondering if, eventually, there ought to be a four lane improvement on the other side of Lafayette, at least extending south to Crawfordsville and I-74 which heads to points west or possibly west to I-57 somewhere in Illinois. Though, given the rate of increase in gas prices, by the time such a construction project was completed, we might not be using cars for regular travel anymore.
You are right that 231 needs to be improved, but the improvement needs to go all the way to I-70 to be effective.
I’d be happy if it was improved down to I-70, but I’m not sure how much you lose if it stops at Crawfordsville. To get to St. Louis, I don’t think it’s much more effort to take I-74 to Champaign and I-57 to Effingham then St. Louis.
But, maybe that gives you a better north/south route on the western edge of Indiana which is worth something. Is there pretty good driving from Terre Haute to Evansville?
If you could get rid of Terre Haute…then yes. (Which reminds me of a Steve Martin movie whre he is able to stop a bomb from destroying the US, but not before it gets Terre Haute!) In fact that is one of the arguments that people are using to curtail building I-69 through Bloomington southward.
At least the speed limit on most of US 41 is now 60; so I only go about 15-20 over the speed limit!
It isn’t Terre Haute, per se, but the infernal number of replicating traffic lights along US41 south of I-70. The 64i Bypass will alleviate that for most non-local traffic, but that has some ways to go yet before it is completed.
How about funding a commuter rail line or fast rail system? Making room for more cars is not sustainable. Our goal MUST be to drive less.
When I first started driving in the late 50s-60s highway 41 was the main Chicago-Miami,or Chicago-Nashville road,depending on destination. Everyone took it for points south..I still use 41(63) when I drive up from Fl because Evansville south and west is connected to the interstate highway system all the way to Florida.It’sa much less attractive chocie heading south because the bad stretch through Terre Haute comes immediately. I can understand why Evansville area residents defended CTZ,because that’s where all their interstates lead,and where access is easiest. Going into Indiana is actually a tougher commute.Evansville to Chattanooga is CTZ.
Everything is fast and smooth until we get to Terre Haute! As someone mentioned ,it’s a long,slow series of stop lights with left turning lights and shopping centers on each side of the road,and there’s no way around it. I either go to Champaign-Urbana where my family lives,or to Chicago.Anything to improve the drive from Evansville to Chicago would be greatly appreciated,and that would also divert through traffic from the Indianapolis bypass .
Just a bypass around Terre Haute would save loads of time and tarffic aggravation;otherwise the road is very serviceable.
For the 641 Terre Haute bypass. It’s only good for avoiding T.H. when going to/from Indy to/from Evansville. Still in the bureaucracy stage, I think.
http://www.in.gov/indot/div/projects/sr641/maps.html