U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a part of the
United States Numbered Highway System
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
that runs from
West Sacramento, California
West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...
, to
Ocean City, Maryland
Ocean City, officially the Town of Ocean City, is an Atlantic resort town in Worcester County, Maryland along the East Coast of the United States. The population was 6,844 at the 2020 U.S. census, although during summer weekends the city hosts b ...
. In the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, it is part of the
state road system. US 50 enters the state in
Vincennes
Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...
. The of US 50 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 undivided highway and
one-way streets. The easternmost community along the highway is
Lawrenceburg at the
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
state line. US 50 passes through urban areas, farmland and woodland.
Route description
US 50 enters Indiana over the
Wabash River
The Wabash River (French: Ouabache) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 river that drains most of the state of Indiana in the United States. It flows from ...
and a
CSX railroad track as a four-lane, divided highway passing through rural farmland north of
Vincennes
Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...
. The highway heads east, turning southeast, having a
cloverleaf interchange with
US 41
U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...
and
US 150
U.S. Route 150 (US 150) is a 571-mile (919 km) long northwest-southeast United States highway, signed as east–west. It runs from U.S. Route 6 outside of Moline, Illinois to U.S. Route 25 in Mount Vernon, Kentucky.
Route description
I ...
. The three routes head southeast; the concurrency ends when US 41 keeps heading south and US 50 and US 150 turn east. The two routes head east towards
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, as a four-lane divided highway passing through rural farmland. In
Wheatland, the highway has an intersection with both
SR 550 and
SR 241. The road bypasses Washington around the south side of town, intersecting
SR 57 and
SR 257. On the east side of Washington, the highway has an interchange with
Interstate 69 (I–69). After the interchange with I–69, the highway narrows to a two-lane highway and heads east towards
Loogootee.
In Loogootee, the highway begins a concurrency with
US 231
U.S. Route 231 (US 231) is a north-south U.S highway that is a parallel route of US 31. It runs for from St. John, Indiana, at US 41 to south of US 98 in downtown Panama City, Florida.
One of its most notable landmarks is ...
. The concurrency heads north through the downtown area of Loogootee as a two-lane highway, passing commercial and residential properties. The concurrency ends when US 50 and US 150 turn east and with US 231 heading north. The highway heads east from Loogootee towards
Shoals
In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. I ...
; in Shoals US 150 heads southeast towards
Paoli and
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
, and US 50 heads northeast towards
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
. The highway passes through the
Hoosier National Forest
The Hoosier National Forest is a property managed by the United States Forest Service in the hills of southern
Indiana. Composed of four separate sections, it has a total area of . Hoosier National Forest's headquarters are located in Bedford, wi ...
and an intersection with
SR 650. Southwest of Bedford US 50 begins a concurrency with
SR 37. The two routes head north, turning northeast crossing the east folk of the
White River. After the river the concurrency turns northwest, then ends at an intersection with
SR 450. SR 37 heads north and US 50 heads east, concurrent with SR 450, towards downtown Bedford. The concurrency heads towards downtown Bedford, passing through commercial and residential properties, as a four-lane highway with a center turn lane. Downtown the highway divides into one-way streets at an intersection with M Street, with eastbound on Sixteenth Street and westbound on Fifteenth Street. This intersection is also the eastern terminus of SR 450. The streets head through downtown and have the
Lawrence County Court House between them. A block after the court house the one-way streets end at an intersection with H Street. The highway leaves downtown as a two-lane highway passing through mostly residential properties.
US 50 heads east-northeast from Bedford towards
Brownstown, passing through farmland and woodland as a two-lane highway. The route has an intersection with
SR 446 and
SR 235. After SR 235 the road passes through mostly farmland with a few houses. The highway passes through a concurrency with
SR 135, before entering Brownstown. In Brownstown the routes have an intersection with
SR 250. From Brownstown the route heads northeast towards
Seymour, passing through rural farmland with a few houses. US 50 enters Seymour and becomes a four-lane undivided highway, passing through commercial and residential properties, parallel to a CSX Railroad track. In downtown Seymour, the highway becomes a four-lane highway with a center turn lane and it has a short concurrency with
SR 11. The route leaves downtown Seymour heading east passing through commercial properties and having an interchange with
I–65 (coincidentally also numbered Exit 50). East of the interchange the road has an intersection with
US 31
U.S. Route 31 or U.S. Highway 31 (US 31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US 90/ US 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. It ...
and the roadway narrows to a two-lane highway.
The highway leaves Seymour and heads northeast towards
North Vernon, as a two-lane highway passing through farmland. The route bypasses North Vernon to the north on a road built in two sections in the 2010s. The road leaves the North Vernon area heading northeast towards
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
, passing through farmland. The route passes just north of the
Jefferson Proving Ground
The Jefferson Proving Ground (or JPG), located near Madison, Indiana, is a former munitions testing facility of Test and Evaluation Command of the United States Army Materiel Development and Readiness Command. The grounds of JPG serve as a wildl ...
. West of Versailles, the highway begins a concurrency with
US 421
U.S. Route 421 (also U.S. Highway 421, US 421) is a diagonal northwest–southeast United States Numbered Highway in the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. The highway runs for from Fort Fisher, North Caro ...
. The concurrency enters Versailles, heading southeast passing residential properties. US 421 turns south ending the concurrency, while a concurrency with
SR 129 begins. The two routes head east leaving Versailles and entering the
Versailles State Park
Versailles State Park (pronounced locally as ''ver-SAYLES'') is an Indiana state park, near the town of Versailles, Indiana in Ripley County. The land was given by the National Park Service for use as a state park to Indiana's Department of Con ...
. East of the state park the concurrency with SR 129 ends when SR 129 heads due north and US 50 heads southeast.
The route heads south east toward
Dillsboro, passing through an intersection with
State Road 101. At the intersection with SR 101, US 50 becomes a four-lane divided highway passing through woodland and farmland. In Dillsboro the road passes north of town and it has an intersection with
SR 262, with access to
SR 62 a tenth of amile south of the junction. After Dillsboro the highway heads northeast towards
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
, passing through woodlands. On the way to Aurora the highway becomes a four-lane undivided, before becoming a divided highway again. In Aurora the road has an intersection with
SR 56 and
SR 350. The highway heads northeast towards
Lawrenceburg as a four-lane highway with a center turn lane, passing through commercial properties. In Lawrenceburg the route has an intersection with
SR 48, followed by an intersection with
SR 1, SR 1 provides access to
I–275. The route leaves Lawrenceburg heading northeast as a four-lane undivided highway passing through woodland. US 50 enters Ohio as a four-lane undivided highway west of an underpass of I–275.
The entire length of US 50 in Indiana is included as a part of the
National Highway System (NHS).
The NHS is a network of highways that are identified as being most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the nation.
The highway is maintained by the
Indiana Department of Transportation
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, state highways a ...
(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
Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...
(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 2,690 vehicles and 480 commercial vehicles used the highway daily between SR 446 and Lawrence–Jackson county line. The peak traffic volumes were 31,720 vehicles and 1,920 commercial vehicles AADT along the section of US 50 between SR 148 and SR 48.
History
US 50 was first signed 1917 as Main to Market Highway number Five, from Illinois state line to
Mitchell. East of Mitchell to the Ohio state line it was Main Market Highway number Four.
The number US 50 was given to this route when the United States Numbered Highway System began in 1926.
INDOT built a bypass routing of US 50 around
North Vernon in the 2010s, splitting it into two projects, North Vernon West and North Vernon East. North Vernon West opened December 10, 2013, carrying a temporary State Road 750 designation intended to exist until North Vernon East was completed and US 50 could be routed over the entire bypass; in actuality, although Mount Vernon East opened December 20, 2017, the SR 750 designation was retained until 2018 when the project contract expired.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=50, state=Indiana, statebefore=Illinois, stateafter=Ohio
Indiana
50
Transportation in Knox County, Indiana
Transportation in Daviess County, Indiana
Transportation in Martin County, Indiana
Transportation in Lawrence County, Indiana
Transportation in Jackson County, Indiana
Transportation in Jennings County, Indiana
Transportation in Ripley County, Indiana
Transportation in Dearborn County, Indiana