US 52 in Indiana

According to citypopulationreview.com, US 52 is a US Highway in the US state of Indiana. The road forms a diagonal east-west route in a southeasterly direction in the center of the state. The road runs from the Illinois border at Kentland through Lafayette and Indianapolis to the Ohio border at West Harrison, mostly parallel to Interstate 74, also at a greater distance. The road is 315 kilometers long.

Travel directions

US 52 through Lafayette.

West of Kentland, US 52 in Illinois from Joliet joins US 24 into Indiana. In Kentland, US 52 turns south and merges with US 41. US 24 continues straight there towards Fort Wayne in the east. About 15 miles south of Kentland, US 41 and US 52 split, with US 41 to Terre Haute in the south and US 52 to Lafayette in the southeast, as a 2×2 divided highway. The road to Lafayette is about 50 kilometers long and passes through flat farmland with few trees. Just before Lafayette, the US 231from Rensselaer and both roads are double numbered until Lafayette. There, US 231 exits through downtown toward Crawfordsville and US 52 bypasss Lafayette, then parallels Interstate 65 toward Indianapolis, which is another 75 miles away.

After 50 kilometers, US 52 merges with I-65 at Lebanon. US 52 then follows the highway structure around the city of Indianapolis and continues via I-65, Interstate 865, and Interstate 465 around the north and east sides of the city. One crosses several radial roads of the city. On the east side of the city, US 52 then exits southeast.

The southeast portion of Indianapolis also passes through farmland, although the area becomes more hilly as you progress southeast. The route to Cincinnati is then about 160 kilometers long and US 52 runs parallel to Interstate 74 at a distance. The road passes through Rushville, then curves slowly toward I-74 and merges into I-74 just before the Ohio border. US 52 in Ohio then continues to Cincinnati.

History

US 52 was created in 1926. The western terminus was then US 41 at Fowler. In 1934 the route was extended further northwest through Illinois to Minnesota. US 52 has historically been a fairly important route, and has largely been replaced by Interstate Highways in Indiana, namely I-65 northwest of Indianapolis and I-74 between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. At some points, US 52 no longer forms an individual route at all, but is double-numbered with Interstates. The portion northwest of Indianapolis is largely 4 lanes.

Traffic intensities

About 4,000 vehicles cross the Illinois border every day, increasing slightly to 5,500 vehicles on the double-numbered US 41. Towards Lafayette, the intensity first drops to 1,800 vehicles and then increases to 30,000 around Lafayette. The 2×2 section parallel to I-65 has about 5,000 vehicles per day. The US 52 highway route around the city of Indianapolis has 62,000 vehicles on I-65, 26,000 vehicles on I-865, and between 91,000 and 158,000 vehicles on I-465. Outside of Indianapolis, the intensity drops rapidly from 20,000 to 4,000 vehicles, after Rushville as low as 1,500 vehicles. 31,000 vehicles cross the Ohio border daily on the double-numbered I-74.

Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges

The Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges, also known as the Twin Bridges are two truss bridges in the United States, located on the border of the states of Indiana and Kentucky. The bridges span the Ohio River at Evansville.

Characteristics

The bridges have somewhat identical dimensions with a total length of 1,644 meters per bridge. Both bridges have three main spans, of which the northern span is the longest with a length of 219 meters. Both bridges are a truss bridge that resemble each other in width, height and length. The bridges have a different design, the bridges of the eastern bridge have a truss construction under the bridge deck, while the bridges of the western bridge are a girder bridge. The bridges are 34 meters apart. The bridges each have two lanes without emergency lanes. US 41. runs across the bridge, north of the bridge is the town of Evansville, south of the town is the smaller town of Henderson. Interstate 69 in Indiana ends shortly before the bridge.

History

The first bridge was built in the early 1930s and opened to traffic in 1932. The bridge was then called the John James Audubon Bridge and was designed by the famous bridge designer Ralph Modjeski. Construction cost $2.4 million at the time. This is the current eastern span. Due to the increased traffic, a second bridge was built next to it in the mid-1960s. It opened to traffic in December 1966 and was designed to resemble the existing bridge.

Initially, a toll was levied on the original bridge. In 1941 the bridge became toll-free. In 1983 the bridge from 1932 was renovated. A $22 million renovation was completed in 2007-2008.

The bridge is actually entirely in Kentucky, as the state boundary has been established as the course of the Ohio River as it was at the time of Kentucky’s accession in 1792. Because of the New Madrid earthquake of 1812, the course of the Ohio River changed, and the river came to lie entirely in Kentucky. The state line is located nearly a mile north of the bridge.

Future

With the planning of the construction of Interstate 69 between Indiana and Kentucky, a new connection over the Ohio River is necessary. A new bridge will likely be built east of the existing Twin Bridges because US 41 in Kentucky runs through Henderson’s built-up area and cannot be easily upgraded to freeway.

Traffic intensities

Approximately 40,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day, which is therefore used fairly intensively, given that it is not a freeway.