Meridian Street holds north-side together

Patrick McPherson, Executive Editor

Meridian street is the primary north-south system in the city of Indianapolis. It was formally aligned with US-31 for much of its length in the city of Indianapolis, before being re-routed to a segment of Interstate-465.

Meridian Street delineates east addresses from the opposing west addresses, while also intersecting Monument Circle downtown at Market Street.

North of downtown, Meridian street continues all the way through several prominent city neighborhoods, like Meridian-Kessler and Williams Creek. On the north end of Meridian Street, it is considered to be the most prestigious residential street in the state of Indiana. Also on the north end, is the governor’s mansion, which the governor resides in, as well as the old Governor’s Mansion.

In 1919, it was proposed by the property owners from Monument Circle to the Central Canal to change the street into a boulevard. Along with this, it would be put under the jurisdiction of the parks along the street to preserve the residential and nice character of the street. The increasing property price for the plots of land caused this proposal to be denied. However, in the 1920s the portion of the street from Fall Creek to the canal was transferred to the parks board, and a 25 foot new construction setback was put into place. 

Finally, an unsuccessful attempt to rename the road to Lincoln Boulevard, in order to honor Abraham Lincoln was denied. This would have been in place the same way Washington Street honors George Washington.

I-69 connects Indianapolis to the north

I-69 allows easy access to many places up north. I used I-69 a lot when going to baseball games, or when going anywhere in Michigan.

I-69 runs continuously from Indianapolis, Indiana to the Canadian-United States border in Port Huron, Michigan. This continuous segment of I-69 stretches for about 355.8 miles. Although it stretches continuously north of Indianapolis, it still has ten more unconnected segments. These unconnected segments reach all the way down to the Mexico border in Texas. These extensions gave I-69 the nickname the North American Free Trade Network (NAFTA) Superhighway because it allows for easier trade between Canada and Mexico. 

The original segment, from Indianapolis to Port Huron, was constructed in stages between 1956 and 1992. The other segments are still going through construction today to ultimately allow easy access from the farthest south to the farthest north parts of the country.

Kentucky and Indiana announced a preferred plan for a new toll bridge to be built across the Ohio River as a part of I-69, which ultimately allows easier access between Indiana and Kentucky. Tennessee announced that they are reviving the plan to link I-69 to I-55, on the west side of the Mississippi River. This will provide a direct freeway link to Memphis from Northwest Tennessee that will bypass the suspended segment 8, which means that it will finally be completed to take I-69 even more directly into Memphis.

I-69 stretches through 6 different states, consisting of Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan. This allows for easy transportation throughout all of these states. 

I-465 connects the city – September 30, 2022

Interstate 465, which wraps around all of Indianapolis, allows for easy access to the whole city. Interstate 465, also known as just 465, has a very famous nickname of USS Indianapolis Memorial Highway.

465 is a rectangular shape and approximately stretches 53 miles. All 53 miles lie within the Marion County lines, except for a tiny bit stretching in both Boone and Hamilton County. This allows for easy access to almost the whole county. Highways I-65, I-69, I-70, and I-74 all connect to 465 which allows for travel to the whole state, north and south, to be a lot easier.

465 began construction in early 1959, which means that the interstate has been around for almost 75 years, and has been making travel much easier. 465 was finally finished in 1970, after 11 years of construction. The first section to be completed was the west leg near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Today, 465 is under a lot of construction. Construction started on August 5, where they closed the on-ramp from Allisonville to I-465 eastbound. This on-ramp will be closed until 2024. Also on 465, they added an express lane stretching from Binford Blvd. all the way to Keystone. This lane allows for people to drive one way without worrying about people getting on and off. The one downside to going into the expresslane is that if you’re on it, you cannot get off it.

465 allows for easy access to almost all of Indianapolis and more. I am excited to see it after the construction is finished.

Keystone Avenue provides easy access to food and Carmel – September 29

Keystone, one of the most popular roads in the state, is also one of my favorites. Not only does it have many of my favorite food places on it, it also is very efficient and easy to drive on. 

Keystone has many of my favorite things to do on it and many of my favorite fast food places! It has multiple places I enjoy like Chick-fil-A, McDonald’s and Dairy Queen. Keystone is also getting a new favorite restaurant of mine, Culver’s. Culver’s will be a great addition to the already amazing fast food selection on Keystone. I cannot wait to get a Culver’s mint malt on Keystone. Keystone connects to Clay Terrace in Carmel, and I work in that mall. Keystone allows me easy access to work.

Keystone has been around for many years, with the construction being completed in 1967. This allows for many generations to have easy access from north to south all over the state. Keystone is a 20-mile-long avenue that connects parts of Carmel all the way down to Beech Grove. 

The north end of Keystone connects to the highway US-31, allowing easy access to the highway as well. To get here, you go through Carmel, which recently updated their part of Keystone into Keystone Parkway. Keystone Parkway is very different, with no stop lights, and instead tunnels and round-abouts on top. This allows for one to get all the way to Clay Terrace from NC with few traffic lights. 

One bit of criticism I have about Keystone is the slow speed limit for no reason. 40 in Indianapolis, even down to 35 past 71st Street. It speeds up a little when it turns into Keystone Parkway, up to 50, but this still feels slow for a two or three lane road like Keystone. Keystone is still one of my favorite roads!