Borman Expressway
 | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by INDOT | |
| Length | 15.46 mi[1] (24.88 km) |
| Major junctions | |
 I-65 in Gary | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| Counties | Lake |
| Highway system | |
| |
The Frank Borman Expressway is an east-west highway in northwest portion of the U.S. state of Indiana, carrying Interstate 80, Interstate 94, and U.S. Highway 6, as well as a short section of U.S. Highway 41. The designation begins from the Illinois state line east to the Lake/Porter County Line, just east of the junction with the Indiana Toll Road. Interstate 94 continues east toward Michigan City, Indiana, and into Michigan to Detroit, which is the control city for the eastbound Borman. The Borman Expressway has been identified in federal transportation legislation as part of High Priority Corridor 18, Segment 27, making current and future construction projects on I-94 eligible for federal funding in association with extending Interstate 69 to the Texas/Mexico border.
The Borman Expressway is a major truck thoroughfare, providing a free alternative to the Indiana Toll Road/Chicago Skyway combination (Interstate 90) to the north. Originally constructed in segments starting in the 1950s, with its Illinois counterpart, the Kingery Expressway, reconstruction of the expressway began in 2004.[2]
The Borman Expressway is named after Frank Borman, commander of the Apollo 8 space mission from Gary.[3]
Route description
The designation of the expressway begins at the state line, where the Kingery Expressway becomes the Borman. It has interchanges with 11 roads, such as U.S. Route 41, Cline Avenue, and Interstate 65. As the expressway is fairly short, the expressway designation ends at the Indiana Toll Road, where Interstate 80 turns eastward there. The road after the Toll Road, now designated solely as Interstate 94, continues eastward towards Michigan City and Detroit.[1]
History
The expressway now known as the Borman was originally known as the Tri-State Highway, and construction of the expressway began in 1949.[4] The designation went through the Kingery Expressway, and eventually linked with the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois.[5] It was originally considered to be Indiana 420.[6] U.S. 6 diverged at Calumet Avenue south, and ran on Calumet Avenue and Ridge Road.[7]
At various times, the expressway was extended from Indianapolis Boulevard to Burr Street, then to Georgia Street east of Broadway, and eventually to the Toll Road.[5] Some time after the enactment of the Interstate Highway System, the expressway was designated as I-80, 90, and 294, and the I-94 designation was applied to the Toll Road west of where the current interchange with the Borman was eventually built.[7][8] The expressways were renumbered around 1965, to avoid the implication that through drivers must change roads to stay on I-90 or I-94, resulting in the Borman becoming I-80/94. U.S. 6 was extended to Ripley Street at that time, and I-294 was cut back to the Tri-State Tollway.
Reconstruction
Reconstruction of the Borman commenced in 2004.[2] The reconstruction of both the Kingery and the Borman aim to significantly reduce the amounts of delays encountered on the highway. The reconstructed portion of the Borman is 8 lanes wide, with additional collector-distributor lanes between interchanges.[9]
Exit list
There are eleven exits on the Borman Expressway. These interchanges (except for Central Avenue) are full interchanges, but the intersection with Interstate 65 is spread out over the course of a mile and a half.[1]
| County | Location | Mile[10] | # | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake | Hammond | 0.77 | 1 |   US 41 North (Calumet Avenue)
|
Exits to north and south Calumet Avenue. Southbound U.S. 41 joins I-80/94 and U.S. 6 EB. Hammond and Munster |
| 2.28 | 2 |  US 41 South  SR 152 North (Indianapolis Boulevard)
|
Exits to north and south Indianapolis Boulevard. Northbound U.S. 41 joins I-80/94 and U.S. 6 WB. Southern terminus of Indiana 152. Hammond and Highland Purdue University Calumet | ||
| 3.24 | 3 | Kennedy Avenue | Visitors' Center | ||
| 4.82 | 5 |  SR 912 (Cline Avenue)
|
East Chicago Gary/Chicago International Airport Southbound to Griffith | ||
| Gary | |||||
| 6.84 | 6 | Burr Street | |||
| 8.79 | 9 | Grant Street | |||
| 9.81 | 10 |  SR 53 (Broadway)
|
Indiana University Northwest | ||
| 10.63 | 11 |  I-65 South — Indianapolis
|
Eastbound exit, westbound entrance | ||
| 11.72 | 12 | I-65 — Indianapolis, Toll Road
|
Westbound exits to both directions of I-65. Eastbound exit to I-65 NB only. | ||
| Lake Station | 12.27 | 13 | Central Avenue | Eastbound exit, westbound entrance. | |
| 14.90 | 15 |      US 6 East/SR 51/To US 20 (Ripley Street)
|
Westbound U.S. 6 joins with I-80/94 westbound. | ||
| 15.46 | 16 |    I-80 East, 90 — Chicago, Ohio
|
Westbound I-80 joins with I-94 westbound. Interstate 94 continues east towards Detroit, Michigan. |
References
- ^ a b c "Length & location of Borman Expressway". Google. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ a b "Time Line of the Borman Expressway Reconstruction Project" (HTML). INDOT. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "Frank Borman". INDOT. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
- ^ "City of Hammond History" (HTML). City of Hammond, Indiana. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ a b "Region's first free expressway built in "another time"". The Times of Northwest Indiana. 2007-04-01. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
- ^ Calumet River Valley Photos:The Borman Expressway; Indiana Road Ends: Historic Indiana 420.
- ^ a b Official Indiana State Map (Map) (1963-64 ed.). INDOT. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ Dimapco Indiana State Map (Map) (1960s ed.). DX Oil. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ "About the Borman Expressway Reconstruction Project" (HTML). INDOT. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
- ^ Street Atlas USA measuring tool (Map) (2007 ed.). DeLorme.
{{cite map}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help)