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U.S. Route 33 in Indiana

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This article is about the section of U.S. Route 33 in Indiana. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 33.
U.S. Route 33 marker
U.S. Route 33
Map
US 33 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by INDOT
Length106.217 mi[1] (170.940 km)
Major junctions
South end US 33 at Ohio State line
Major intersections
North end US 20 in Elkhart
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIndiana
CountiesAdams, Allen, Whitley, Noble, Elkhart
Highway system
  • Indiana State Highway System
← SR 32→ US 35

U.S. Route 33 (US 33) is part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Richmond, Virginia, to Elkhart of the US state of Indiana. In Indiana, it is a state road that enters the state at the Ohio state line between Willshire, Ohio, and Pleasant Mills, Indiana. The 106.217 miles (170.940 km) of US 33 that lie within Indiana serve as a major conduit. All of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Various sections are rural two-lane highway, urbanized four-lane divided expressway and the Lincoln Highway. The northernmost community along the highway is Elkhart. The highway ends at an interchange in southern Elkhart after serving the northeastern region of Indiana. US 33 passes through farm fields and urban areas.

US 33 was first designated as a U.S. Highway in 1937. A section of the highway originally served as part of the Lincoln Highway, a connection between Fort Wayne and South Bend. US 41 replaced some the original State Road 2 (SR 2) designation of the highway which dated back to the formation of the Indiana State Road system. SR 2 ran from Illinois state line through South Bend to Elkhart and ended at the Ohio state line. Realignments and construction projects have expanded the highway to four lanes.

Route description

[edit]

US 33 enters Indiana from Ohio heading northwest towards Decatur, as a rural two-lane highway, passing through farmland with a few houses. Along the way passing through a short concurrency with State Road 101 (SR 101), in Pleasant Mills. The highway enters Decatur by curving due west. The road begins a concurrency with US 27, heading due north as a four-lane highway with a center turn lane. The concurrency passes through mostly commercial before heading into downtown Decatur. In downtown Decatur the two routes have an intersection with US 224, this is the southern end of the US 224 concurrency. The three routes head north having an intersection at the northern end of the US 224 concurrency, US 224 turns due west. After the concurrency with US 224, US 27 and US 33 head north and then northwest towards Fort Wayne and the road becomes a four-lane divided highway. On the south side of Fort Wayne is a diamond interchange with Interstate 469 (I-469), this interchange is the north end of the concurrency with US 27.[2][3][4]

US 33 heads west on I-469, which is concurrent with US 24. All three routes have an interchange with the northern terminus of the southern section of SR 1; this interchange has access to the Fort Wayne International Airport. After the interchange at SR 1, the interstate passes south of the airport. West of the airport is the terminus of I-469, both US 24 and US 33 turns north onto I-69, passing through rural areas with farmland as a four-lane interstate. Then, the interstate has an interchange with Airport Expressway/Lower Huntington Road. North of the Airport Expressway interchange, the roadway becomes a six-lane interstate, passing through urban areas with a mix of commercial and industrial properties. The highway enters the southwest side of Fort Wayne and US 24 leaves the concurrency, heading southwest. After the interchange with US 24, the interstate has an interchange with the eastern terminus SR 14, on the west side of Fort Wayne. After the interchange with SR 14, the highway turn northeast curving around Fort Wayne. On the northwest side of Fort Wayne, US 33 leaves I-69 heading northwest concurrent with US 30. The concurrency is a six-lane expressway, passing through woodlands with some commercial properties. Shortly after the concurrency with US 30 begins, it ends, with US 33 heading north and US 30 heading west. The highway becomes a four-lane highway with a center turn lane as it begins to leave Fort Wayne, passing through a mix of commercial and residential areas.[2][3][4]

US 33 South of SR 9

The roadway leaves Fort Wayne heading northwest as a two-lane mainly rural highway, passing through farmland with some woods. In Churubusco, the route has a traffic light with SR 205. Then the road heads towards Ligonier, passing through a four-stop intersection with SR 9 in Merriam. Then in Wolf Lake the road has an intersection with SR 109 at the main intersection in town. Then south of Ligonier the road passes through Kimmell and the route begins a concurrency with SR 5. The concurrency with SR 5 ends at the intersection with US 6 in Ligonier. Both US 6 and US 33 head west away from Ligonier as a two-lane highway passing through farmland with some houses, for 5.75 miles (9.25 km). Then US 33 turns north, now concurrent with SR 13, the concurrency with SR 13 last for 2 miles (3.2 km), with SR 13 turning east and US 33 turning northwest. Now the road heads towards Goshen passing through Benton on the way.[2][3][4]

The road enters Goshen on the southeast side of the city as a two-lane highway with a center turn lane, passing commercial properties. As the road gets closer to downtown Goshen the road narrows to a two-lane street without turn lanes and passes Goshen High School. After the high school the road has a traffic light with the old alignment of US 33, before curving northwest and parallel to the Norfolk Southern Chicago Line. While parallel to the rail tracks US 33 is a limited access roadway and passes over another rail track. The road and rail tacks separate as they enter downtown Goshen. US 33 enters downtown Goshen on Pike Street as a four-lane city street and has a traffic light at SR 15. The route leaves downtown Goshen as a four-lane undivided highway, passing through a commercial district and residential area. After crossing the Elkhart River the highway widens to a four-lane highway with a center turn lane. The route heads towards Elkhart, paralleling the Norfolk Southern railroad and passing through Midway and Dunlap. On the south side of Elkhart, US 33 has an interchange with US 20; this interchange is the northern terminus for US 33.[2][3][4]

The entire length of US 33 in Indiana is included as a part of the National Highway System (NHS).[5] The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.[6] The highway is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) like all other U.S. Highways in the state. The department tracks the traffic volumes along all state highways as a part of its maintenance responsibilities using a metric called average annual daily traffic (AADT). This measurement is a calculation of the traffic level along a segment of roadway for any average day of the year. In 2010, INDOT figured that lowest traffic levels were 3,290 vehicles and 650 commercial vehicles used the highway daily at the Noble-Whitley County area. The peak traffic volumes were 79,520 vehicles and 11,060 commercial vehicles AADT along the section of US 33 at is concurrent with I-69, between the SR 14 and US 30 exits in Fort Wayne.[7]

History

[edit]
The Old Lincoln Highway (also old US 33) on the south side of Ligonier

The Lincoln Highway was planned from Illinois state line to South Bend to Fort Wayne and the Ohio state line in 1913. In 1915, the highway opened and passed through downtown Fort Wayne on its route through Indiana.[8] In 1917, Main Market route number 2 was the given number to the Lincoln Highway in Indiana.[9][10] In the early 1920s, the Lincoln Highway was moved farther south between Valparaiso and Fort Wayne, to what is now known mostly as Old US 30, passing through Plymouth and Warsaw.[11] The route became SR 2 from Ohio state line to South Bend, SR 1 from South Bend to Michigan state line. Then in 1924, the sections of the road that was part of the original Lincoln Highway was paved.[12][13] The next few years the rest of the route was paved across Indiana, then in 1937 US 33 was created.

Prior to its 1998 rerouting, US 33 followed a route through Fort Wayne. Entering from the south with US 27, the routes continued north along Decatur Road/Lafayette Street, before entering a one-way system of Lafayette Street (northbound) and Clinton Street (southbound). In downtown Fort Wayne, US 33 departed to the west on another one-way pair, with Washington Boulevard handling westbound (north US 33) traffic and Jefferson Boulevard handling eastbound (south US 33) traffic. After following these streets, the route departed to the north on a third one-way pair, with Ewing Street handling northbound traffic and Fairfield Avenue handling southbound traffic. These streets met at Superior Street, where US 33 turned to the east, before turning north on Van Buren Street and crossing the St. Mary's River to exit downtown Fort Wayne on Sherman Boulevard. The route continued north on Sherman until it met Goshen Avenue, which carried the route northwest out of the city.[14]

In the 1980s, US 33 was rerouted to continue following the Lafayette/Clinton one-way pair through downtown towards the north, where the one-way pair ended at Spy Run Avenue. North of that intersection, US 33 departed to the northwest on Lima Road, before turning west on Coliseum Boulevard. After following Coliseum Boulevard, the route turned to the northeast at Goshen Road, and continued on its present-day route.[15]

In 1998, INDOT rerouted most of its maintained routes onto interstate highways around Fort Wayne, so US 33 was routed onto I-469 and I-69 around the south side of the city. In the same year, INDOT removed US 33 north of US 20 and the St. Joseph County portion became SR 933.[16] In 2004, INDOT tried to return SR 933 to the local communities but they did not accept.[17]

In 2018 a new alignment of US 33 bypassing downtown Goshen to the northeast opened.[18]

Major intersections

[edit]
CountyLocationmi[1]kmExitDestinationsNotes
AdamsSt. Marys Township0.0000.000
 US 33 east – St. Marys, Wapakoneta, Columbus		Ohio state line
2.7034.350
 SR 101 south		Eastern end of SR 101 concurrency
2.8764.628
 SR 101 north (Monroe Street) – Monroeville		Western end of SR 101 concurrency
Decatur8.50513.687
 US 27 south – Portland		Southern end of US 27 concurrency
10.29816.573
 US 224 east – Van Wert		Southern end of US 224 concurrency
10.50616.908
 US 224 west – Huntington		Northern end of US 224 concurrency
AllenMarion Township23.92838.50811

 I-469 east / US 27 north		Northern end of US 27 concurrency
Pleasant Township26.28742.3059Winchester Road
28.87346.4676
 SR 1 south / Bluffton Road – Fort Wayne, Bluffton, Fort Wayne International Airport		Northern terminus of the southern section of SR 1
Lafayette Township33.64854.1512Indianapolis Roadformer SR 3
34.51255.5421Lafayette Center Road east
35.50057.132296
0
 I-69 south – Indianapolis		Southern end of I-69 concurrency and western terminus of I-469; Exit 296 on I-69 and Exit 0 on I-469
38.03461.210299 Airport Expressway – Lower Huntington RoadTo Fort Wayne International Airport
Fort Wayne41.04566.056302
 US 24 west / Jefferson Road – Huntington, Fort Wayne		Southern end of US 24 concurrency
44.28271.265305
 SR 14 west / Illinois Road – South Whitley, Fort Wayne		Eastern terminus of SR 14
48.23877.632309


 I-69 north / US 24 east / US 30 east

 SR 930 east / Lincoln Highway / Goshen Road – Fort Wayne		Northern end of I-69 concurrency and eastern end of US 30 concurrency; northern end of US 24 concurrency; western terminus of SR 930
48.23877.632—
 US 30 west – Columbia City, Warsaw, Chicago		Western end of US 30 concurrency; trumpet interchange
WhitleyChurubusco58.88694.768 SR 205 (Whitley Street) – Columbia City, Garrett
NobleMerriam66.382106.831 SR 9 – Columbia City, Albion
66.400106.860 Lincoln Highway (50 West)
67.096107.981 Lincoln Highway (Oak Street)
Wolflake70.905114.111
 SR 109 south – Columbia City		Northern terminus of SR 109
Kimmell75.967122.257 Lincoln Highway (Clark Street)
77.196124.235 Lincoln Highway (Clark Street)
Ligonier79.399127.780
 SR 5 south – Cromwell		Southern end of SR 5 concurrency
81.076130.479

 US 6 east / SR 5 north / Lincoln Highway – Kendallville, Shipshewana		Eastern end of US 6 concurrency and northern end of SR 5 concurrency
ElkhartBenton Township86.833139.744

 US 6 west / SR 13 south – Nappanee, Wabash		Western end of US 6 concurrency and southern end of SR 13 concurrency
87.870141.413
 SR 13 north / Lincoln Highway – Millersburg, Middlebury		Northern end of SR 13 concurrency
Goshen95.970154.449 CR 38 – Wakarusa, Topeka
98.962159.264 Lincoln Highway (Madison Street)
98.972159.280 Lincoln Highway (Main Street)
99.044159.396 SR 15 (3rd Street)
99.395159.961 Lincoln Highway (Chicago Avenue)
101.823163.868 Lincoln Highway (Peddlers Village Road)
102.796165.434 CR 17 – Elkhart, GoshenGrade separation; indirect access via Rieth Boulevard
Elkhart105.166169.248 Lincoln Highway (Sunnyside Avenue)
106.110–
106.217		170.767–
170.940		 US 20 – South Bend, AngolaNorthern terminus of US 33
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Indiana Department of Transportation (July 2016). Reference Post Book (PDF). Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Overview of US 33 in Indiana" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d Indiana Department of Transportation (2011). Indiana Transportation Map (PDF) (Map) (2011–2012 ed.). Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Indiana Department of Transportation (August 23, 2011). Indiana Railroad Map (PDF) (Map). Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  5. ^ Federal Highway Administration (December 2003). National Highway System: Indiana (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 17, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  6. ^ "National Highway System". Federal Highway Administration. August 26, 2010. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  7. ^ "INDOT Traffic Zones". Indiana Department of Transportation. 2010. Archived from the original on May 5, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  8. ^ Leininger, Kevin (May 5, 2009). "Road 's hidden past could be route to future - Lincoln Highway". The News-Sentinel. Fort Wayne, Indiana. p. 1A. OCLC 8807796. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  9. ^ "1917 Indiana State Highway Map and State Highway Commission". Indiana University Bloomington Libraries. Archived from the original on September 29, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  10. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (June 1, 1917). Indiana Main Market Highway Map (Map). Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  11. ^ Zorn, Tim (October 19, 2001). "You don't have to look hard, old route through Northwest Indiana still exists". Post-Tribune. Gary, Indiana. p. LH4. OCLC 2266386. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  12. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (September 30, 1923). Indiana Transportation Map of 1923 (Map). Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  13. ^ Indiana State Highway Commission (September 30, 1924). Indiana Transportation Map of 1924 (PDF) (Map). Indianapolis: Indiana State Highway Commission. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  14. ^ United States Geological Survey (1956). Fort Wayne West, Ind (Topographic map). 1:24,000. 7.5-minute. Reston, Virginia: United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 24, 2024 – via Indiana University Bloomington Libraries.
  15. ^ United States Geological Survey (1982). Fort Wayne West, Ind (Topographic map). 1:24,000. 7.5-minute. Reston, Virginia: United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 24, 2024 – via Indiana University Bloomington Libraries.
  16. ^ "Portion of U.S. 33 is now Indiana 933". South Bend Tribune. April 18, 1998. p. A6. OCLC 8793233. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  17. ^ "Handover of road opposed: Osceola leader calls state proposal costly". The Journal Gazette. Fort Wayne, Indiana. Associated Press. November 21, 2004. p. 5C. OCLC 7368210. Retrieved August 31, 2012.
  18. ^ Fort Wayne District. "U.S. 33 Realignment In Goshen". Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 26, 2018. The realignment of U.S. 33 through Goshen opened to traffic in June 2018.
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U.S. Route 33
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