State Road 56 in the U.S. state of Indiana is a route that travels the south central part of the state from west to east.
 State Road 56 | ||||
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 SR 56 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by INDOT | ||||
| Length | 193.43 mi[1] (311.30 km) | |||
| Existed | October 1, 1926[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  US 41 at Hazleton | |||
| East end |   US 50 / SR 350 at Aurora | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Indiana | |||
| Counties | Dearborn, Dubois, Gibson, Jefferson, Ohio, Orange, Pike, Scott, Switzerland, Washington | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
edit
The western terminus of SR 56 is near Hazleton at U.S. Route 41. SR 56 heads northeast to Hazleton. After Hazleton SR 56 turns southeast then back northeast, until State Road 65 (SR 65). Where SR 56 heads east towards Petersburg, in Petersburg SR 56 is Concurrent with State Road 57 (SR 57), until the intersection with State Road 61 (SR 61). SR 56 leaves Petersburg concurrent with SR 61 heading south, until SR 56 turns east. South of Otwell SR 56 has an intersection with State Road 257. SR 56 enters Jasper on the west side and then has an intersection with U.S. Route 231, the two routes are concurrent until they leave Jasper on the north side of town. North of Jasper SR 56 turns east towards Paoli passing through French Lick. East of Paoli SR 56 heads towards Salem passing through an intersection with State Road 337 before passing by the entrance to Salem Speedway. SR 56 and State Road 60 have a concurrency from the west side of Salem to downtown Salem. SR 56 leaves Salem heading northeast, then turning east near the southern terminus of State Road 39 (SR 39). After SR 39, SR 56 passing over Interstate 65 (I-65). Then SR 56 enters Scottsburg where SR 56 has an intersection with U.S. Route 31. After leaving Scottsburg, SR 56 has a concurrency with State Road 203 and State Road 3. Then SR 56 heads toward Hanover where SR 56 and State Road 62 (SR 62) has a concurrency. East of Hanover SR 62 turns north and SR 56 heads east. East of the intersection with SR 62, SR 56 has an intersection with State Road 256 (SR 256). Then SR 56 enters Madison where SR 56 has an intersection with the southern terminus of State Road 7 and a concurrency with U.S. Route 421. East of Madison SR 56 parallels the Ohio River. Then in Vevay SR 56 has an intersection with the southern terminus of State Road 129 and the western terminus of State Road 156 (SR 156). After Vevay SR 56 heads north-northeast toward Aurora passing through intersection with State Road 250, SR 156, and State Road 262, passing through the town of Rising Sun. The northern terminus SR 56 is at an intersection with U.S. Route 50 and State Road 350.[3]
History
editIn the western part of Indiana SR 56 originally followed the same routing at current State Road 64 takes. In 1930 the east terminus of SR 56 was Lawrenceburg at U.S. Route 52, this route is now part of State Road 1.[4]
East of US 231 in northeastern Dubois County, SR 56 approximates part of the course of the Buffalo Trace (road), a migration route for buffalo that provided a major avenue for travel by Native Americans and Europeans in what is now Southern Indiana.[5][6]
Major intersections
edit| County | Location | mi[1][page needed] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike | Hazleton | 0.00 | 0.00 | US 41 – Evansville, Vincennes | Western terminus of SR 56 |
| Clay Township | 12.11 | 19.49 |   SR 65 south – Princeton | Northern terminus of SR 65 | |
| Petersburg | 18.78 | 30.22 |  SR 57 south – Evansville | Western end of SR 57 concurrency | |
| 19.20 | 30.90 |   SR 57 north / SR 61 north – Vincennes, Washington | Eastern end of SR 57 concurrency; northern end of SR 61 concurrency | ||
 I-69 – Evansville, Indianapolis | |||||
| Washington Township | 23.73 | 38.19 | SR 61 south – Boonville | Southern end of SR 61 concurrency | |
| Jefferson Township | 32.14 | 51.72 |  SR 257 – Velpen, Otwell, Washington | ||
| Dubois | Jasper | 41.23 | 66.35 |  US 231 south – Dale, Huntingburg | Southern end of US 231 concurrency |
    SR 164 east to SR 162 – Ferdinand | Western terminus of SR 164 | ||||
| Harbison Township | 48.46 | 77.99 | US 231 north – Loogootee | Northern end of US 231 concurrency | |
| 54.36 | 87.48 |  SR 545 south – Dubois | Northern terminus of SR 545 | ||
| Orange | French Lick | 66.92 | 107.70 |  SR 145 south | Northern terminus of SR 145 |
| West Baden Springs | 68.80 | 110.72 |   US 150 west – Loogootee | Western end of US 150 concurrency | |
| Paoli |  SR 37 south – Tell City | Western end of SR 37 concurrency | |||
| SR 37 north – Orleans, Mitchell, Bedford | Eastern end of SR 37 concurrency | ||||
| 77.80 | 125.21 | US 150 east – Fredericksburg | Eastern end of US 150 concurrency | ||
| Washington | Livonia | 87.84 | 141.36 |  SR 337 north – Orleans | Southern terminus of SR 337 |
| Salem | 97.58 | 157.04 |  SR 60 west – Mitchell | Western terminus of SR 60 concurrency | |
| 99.04 | 159.39 |  SR 60 east / SR 135 – Sellersburg, Corydon, Brownstown | Eastern terminus of SR 60 concurrency | ||
| Gibson Township | 111.95 | 180.17 |  SR 39 north – Little York | Southern terminus of SR 39 | |
| Scott | Scottsburg | 117.47 | 189.05 |  I-65 – Indianapolis, Louisville | Exit 29 on I-65 |
| 118.00 | 189.90 |  US 31 – Jeffersonville, Columbus | |||
| Lexington Township | 121.70 | 195.86 |  SR 203 north | Western terminus of SR 203 concurrency | |
| 122.68 | 197.43 |  SR 3 south – Charlestown | Western terminus of SR 3 concurrency | ||
| 124.40 | 200.20 | SR 203 south – Lexington | Eastern end of SR 203 concurrency | ||
| 125.70 | 202.29 | SR 3 north – Vernon | Eastern end of SR 3 concurrency | ||
| Jefferson | Hanover Township | 132.75 | 213.64 |  SR 62 west – New Washington, Jeffersonville | Western end of SR 62 concurrency |
| Hanover | 137.99 | 222.07 |  SR 256 west – Austin | Eastern terminus of SR 256 | |
| Madison | 141.02 | 226.95 |  SR 7 north – Vernon | ||
| 141.90 | 228.37 |  US 421 north / SR 62 east – Versailles, Dillsboro | Roundabout; Eastern end of SR 62 concurrency and northern end of US 421 concurrency | ||
| 142.18 | 228.82 | US 421 south - Frankfort | Southern end of US 421 concurrency | ||
| Switzerland | Vevay | 160.37 | 258.09 |  SR 129 north – Versailles | Southern terminus of SR 129 |
 SR 156 east – Florence | Western terminus of SR 156 | ||||
| Cotton Township | 173.22 | 278.77 |  SR 250 | ||
| Ohio | Randolph Township | 182.18 | 293.19 | SR 156 west – Florence | Eastern terminus of SR 156 |
| Rising Sun | 184.78 | 297.37 |  SR 262 west – Dillsboro | Eastern terminus of SR 262 | |
| Dearborn | Aurora | 193.43 | 311.30 | US 50 / SR 350 west – Dillsboro, Milan, Lawrenceburg | Eastern terminus of SR 56 |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
edit- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "overview map of SR 56" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ Indiana Highway Ends - SR 56 Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Wilson, George R., Early Indiana Trails and Surveys, Indiana Historical Society Press (Indianapolis: 1919), reprinted 2002: plates 4 and 5.
- ^ Indiana's Historic Pathways, http://usi.edu/ihp/maps.aspx (accessed 2014-03-29).