Indiana State Road 46
State Road 46 in the U.S. state of Indiana is an east–west state highway in the southern half of Indiana.
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by INDOT | ||||
| Length | 156.72 mi[1] (252.22 km) | |||
| Existed | October 1, 1926[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   I-70 / US 40 at Terre Haute
 US 31 at Columbus | |||
| East end |  US 52 | |||
| Location | ||||
| Counties | Bartholomew, Brown, Clay, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Monroe, Owen, Ripley, Vigo | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
The western terminus of SR 46 is at I-70 east of Terre Haute at an interchange before becoming a heavily traveled modernized 2-lane highway through Spencer where it intersects SR 67 and US 231. It then proceeds to Ellettsville where it becomes a 4-lane expressway until an Interchange with I 69. It then goes directly through the college town of Bloomington. It multiplexes with SR 45 on a road known as "The Bypass" just north of Indiana University where it passes by the athletic complex. It then goes by the College Mall in Bloomington where it makes a left turn and winds towards the artist colony of Nashville passing by SR 446 and Lake Monroe. After making a right turn at SR 135 in Nashville it proceeds to Columbus where it goes under I-65 at an interchange. It then heads to Greensburg where it multiplexes with SR 3 and again becomes a 4-lane expressway.
At this point it makes a right turn and becomes a minor 2-lane highway as it closely follows I-74 until its eastern terminus at US 52 in northeastern Dearborn County.
History
Until 1936, SR 46's western terminus was at the Illinois–Indiana state line and when U.S. Route 150 (US 150) was commissioned on that route.[3] The eastern terminus was at the Ohio–Indiana border when US 52 was commissioned along this route.
Until recently "The Bypass" portion in Bloomington had congestion. However, a major construction project completed in Nov. 2012 widened the road to 4 lanes and alleviated the issue on this part of the roadway. SR 46 as a result of this project is now four lanes from Elletsville until the intersection with SR 446.[4]
Recently, Route 46 has been truncated from U.S. Route 40 to Interstate 70 because U.S Route 40 was moved to Interstate 70.
Major intersections
| County | Location | mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vigo | Terre Haute | 0.00 | 0.00 |  I-70 / US 40 / SR 641 south – Terre Haute, Indianapolis | Exit 11 on I-70 - New Western terminus of SR 46; Northern end of SR 641 and concurrency |
| 1.50 | 2.41 | SR 641 south | Southern End of SR 641 concurrency | ||
| Riley | 3.92 | 6.31 |  SR 159 south – Jasonville | Northern terminus of SR 159 | |
| Clay | Sugar Ridge Township | 11.83 | 19.04 |  SR 59 – Linton, Brazil | |
| Owen | Vandalia | 32.01 | 51.52 |  SR 246 west – Clay City | Eastern terminus of SR 246 |
| Spencer | 37.59 | 60.50 |   US 231 south / SR 67 south – Worthington | Western end of US 231 and SR 67 concurrences | |
| 38.42 | 61.83 | US 231 north / SR 67 north – Greencastle, Mooresville | Eastern end of US 231 and SR 67 concurrences | ||
| Washington Township | 40.32 | 64.89 |  SR 43 south | Northern terminus of SR 43 | |
| Monroe | Bloomington | 52.43 | 84.38 |    I-69 / SR 37 / SR 45 south – Bedford, Bloomington, Martinsville | Western end of SR 45 concurrency |
| 55.78 | 89.77 | SR 45 north | Eastern end of SR 45 concurrency | ||
| 57.75 | 92.94 |  SR 446 south | Northern terminus of SR 446 | ||
| Brown | Nashville | 73.02 | 117.51 |  SR 135 north – Nashville | Western end of SR 135 concurrency |
| Washington Township | 76.10 | 122.47 | SR 135 south – Brownstown | Eastern end of SR 135 concurrency | |
| Bartholomew | Columbus | 89.00 | 143.23 |  I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville | Exit 58 on I-65 |
| 90.58 | 145.77 |  SR 11 south – Seymour | Northern terminus of SR 11 | ||
| Columbus Township | 95.39 | 153.52 |  SR 7 south – North Vernon | Northern terminus of SR 7 | |
| 96.52 | 155.33 | US 31 – Columbus, Seymour | |||
| Clifty Township |  SR 9 north – Shelbyville | Southern terminus of SR 9 | |||
| Decatur | Greensburg | 116.48 | 187.46 |  SR 3 south – North Vernon | Western end of SR 3 concurrency |
| 119.78 | 192.77 | SR 3 north – Rushville | Eastern end of SR 3 concurrency | ||
| 121.61 | 195.71 |  US 421 north – Indianapolis | Western end of US 421 concurrency | ||
| 122.02 | 196.37 | US 421 south – Madison, Versailles | Eastern end of US 421 concurrency | ||
| Ripley | Batesville | 136.52 | 219.71 |  SR 229 – Batesville, Oldenburg | |
| 138.00 | 222.09 |  SR 129 south – Versailles | Northern terminus of SR 129 | ||
| Adams Township | 143.82 | 231.46 |  SR 101 – Sunman | ||
| Dearborn | St. Leon | 151.43 | 243.70 |  SR 1 – Lawrenceburg, Brookville | |
| Harrison Township | 156.72 | 252.22 |  US 52 to I-74 - Cincinnati | Eastern terminus of SR 46 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- "INDOT Roadway Referencing System" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-15.
- "Road Numbers to Be Changed". The Hancock-Democrat. The Indianapolis News. September 30, 1926. Retrieved June 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- Illinois Secretary of State; Rand McNally (1936). Road Map Illinois (Map). [c. 1:950,000 and c. 1:1,110,000]. Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State. Retrieved October 12, 2020 – via Illinois Digital Archives.
- staff. "45/46 Bypass Construction Updates". Retrieved August 6, 2011.