Indiana State Road 53

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State Road 53 (SR 53) is a part of the Indiana State Road that runs between Crown Point and Gary in the US state of Indiana. The 14.07 miles (22.64 km) of SR 53 that lie within Indiana is also known as Broadway. No part of the highway is listed on the National Highway System. Most of the road is an urban four-lane undivided highway, passing through residential and commercial properties.

State Road 53 marker
State Road 53
Broadway
Map
SR 53 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by INDOT
Length14.019 mi[1] (22.561 km)
ExistedOctober 1, 1926[2]–present
Major junctions
South end US 231 in Crown Point
Major intersections US 30 in Merrillville,
I-80 / I-94 / US 6 Gary
US 12 / US 20 in Gary
North end
I-90 Toll / Indiana Toll Road in Gary
Location
CountryUnited States
StateIndiana
CountiesLake
Highway system
  • Indiana State Highway System
US 52 SR 54

Route description

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Looking north on State Road 53 in the Glen Park neighborhood of Gary.

SR 53 heads north from the southern terminus at U.S. Route 231 (US 231), concurrent with Broadway. The road is two-lane highway passing through a farmland with residential house. The highway becomes a four-lane divided highway, still passing through a mix of farmland and residential, at 93rd Avenue. As the route enters Merrillville the farmland and residential turns into commercial properties. In Merrillville the road has a traffic light at US 30. North of US 30 the road becomes a for-lane undivided highway with a center turn lane as it passes through commercial properties. At 73rd Street the route begins to enter a more residential area with few commercial properties. The highway crosses a set of railroad tracks on the north side of Merrillville. North of Merrillville the road enters Gary and passes through a mix of residential and commercial properties, staying as a four-lane undivided highway with a center turn lane. The road crosses a signal railroad track and has a traffic light at Ridge Road (old US 6). North of 33rd Avenue the road becomes a four-lane undivided highway without a center turn lane, as the road passes through a mostly wooded area. The route has an interchange with Borman Expressway (Interstate 80 (I–80) and I–94). The highway heads north towards downtown Gary passing three single track railroad crossings. In downtown Gary the route has an intersection with the one-way streets of Fifth Avenue, eastbound US 12/US 20 and Fourth Avenue, westbound US 12/US 20. North of Fourth Avenue the road passes under the Shore Shore line, a Commuter rail line. After passing the South Shore line the highway has an interchange with the I–90/Indiana Toll Road. This interchange is the north terminus of SR 53, but Broadway continues north passing under three sets of railroad tacks. Broadway ends at a security gate for the main entrance of Gary Works owned by U.S. Steel.[3][4][5]

No part of SR 53 is included as a part of the National Highway System (NHS).[6] The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.[7] The highway is maintained by the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) like all other state roads 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 the 10,470 vehicles and 490 commercial vehicles used the highway daily on a section between US 231 and 113th Avenue south of Merrillville. The peak traffic volumes were 29,200 vehicles and 1,460 commercial vehicles AADT along a section of SR 53 between 35th Avenue and Borman Expressway in Gary.[8]

History

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SR 53 used to terminate at US 52 in Montmorenci where it followed the current routing of US 231 to Crown Point.

In 1952, when US 231 was commissioned in Indiana, SR 53 became concurrent with US 231 to Crown Point. The routing stayed the same until SR 53's southern terminus was truncated to Crown Point in 1973 in favor of US 231.

Major intersections

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The entire route is in Lake County.

Locationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
Center Township0.0000.000  US 231 – Crown Point, LafayetteSouthern terminus of SR 53
Merrillville4.8777.849   US 30 / Lincoln Highway – Valparaiso, Fort Wayne, Chicago
Gary11.263–
11.621
18.126–
18.702
    I-80 / I-94 / US 6 (Borman Expressway) – Detroit, ChicagoExit number 10 on I-80/I-94
13.90422.376 
 
 
 
  US 12 east / US 20 east / LMCT / 5th Avenue
14.01922.561 
 
 
 
  US 12 west / US 20 west / LMCT / 4th Avenue
Broadway
Northern terminus of SR 53; roadway continues north as Broadway towards I-90/Indiana Toll Road
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 February 6, 2017.
  2. ^ "Road Numbers to Be Changed". The Hancock-Democrat. The Indianapolis News. September 30, 1926. Retrieved June 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ "Indiana State Road 53" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation (2012). Indiana Transportation Map (PDF) (Map) (2011–2012 ed.). 1:550,000. Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. OCLC 765461296. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  5. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation (August 23, 2011). Indiana Railroad Map (PDF) (Map). 1:633,600. Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  6. ^ Federal Highway Administration (December 2003). National Highway System: Indiana (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  7. ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike; Adderly, Kevin (September 26, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  8. ^ Indiana Department of Transportation (2010). "Indiana Traffic Counts". Indianapolis: Indiana Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
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