1933: Public Works Road Projects of Marion County, Part II

This is a continuation of yesterday’s post.

Five Points Road from SR 29 to the Belt. SR 29 being Southeastern Avenue now, this project would start at the town of Five Points, traveling two miles south to what is now Thompson Road, which was to become part of a belt road around the city of Indianapolis.

Southport Road from Southport to Fort Road. As best as I can tell, the Fort Road mentioned here would have to be what is now Franklin Road, since the Fort (now Post) never even made it much past the line of Hanna Avenue, some three miles north of Southport Road.

McFarland Road from Southport to the Belt. Again, the belt, at this point, being Thompson Road. This road is still in existence.

Keystone Avenue from Troy Ave. to Shelbyville Road. Keystone Avenue on the southside of Marion County was built in sections. This section mentioned would connect Keystone to a road along the same line that stretched from Shelbyville to Thompson Roads. Shelbyville Road mentioned is now Carson Ave.

Churchman Avenue from Keystone Avenue to Minnesota Street. This project is basically paving Churchman Avenue in the subject area. It had been improved from Keystone Avenue to Beech Grove at this point, so this was moving the improvments closer to Indianapolis.

Sumner Avenue from US 31 to Harding Street. US 31, at this time, was Madison Avenue.

Rockville Road from US 40 to US 36. Confused? This is the “new” section of Rockville Road, connecting Washington Street at Eagle Creek to Rockville Avenue (originally Rockville Road) northwest of Holt Road and Washington Street.

Cossel Drive from Tibbs Avenue to SR 34. Cossel Drive, now Cossel Road, connected Tibbs Avenue at the Mount Jackson Cemetery to Crawfordsville Road at Winton Avenue in Speedway. This route is now cut in two by Holt Road just south of Michigan Street.

Myers Road from Emrichsville bridge to US 52. The Emrichsville bridge was ultimately replaced with the current 16th St. bridge in 1948.

73rd Street from SR 29 to Spring Mill Road. The section from SR 29 (Michigan Road) to Ditch Road is now called Westlane Road. The entire section listed would be SR 434 for a few decades.

High School Road from SR 34 to West 10th St. If this project was built, it has long since disappeared.

High School Road bridge over Pennsylvania Railroad. This is the old railroad tracks forming the northern boundary of Indianapolis International Airport.

West 56th Street from Belt Road to County Line. Basically, this is from what is now Dandy Trail west to the Hendricks-Marion County line. Even with the creation of Eagle Creek Reservoir, this route remains today.

According to the Star, as listed to the right, 16th Street would be widened across the city, and connected between SR 29 (Northwestern Avenue) and US 52/SR 34 (Lafayette Road and 16th Street).

The article also mentions that the proposed Bely Highway would include the Thompson Road bridge over White River. I am not quite sure where the Indian Creek bridge mentioned is. There are numerous places in Marion County that have had the name Indian Creek over the years. And, as mentioned before, the Sherman Drive bridge, to the best of my knowledge, was never built.

The last section of this article mentions the concept of connecting the northwest part of the county, along 86th Street, to Fort Harrison. This would connect US 52 to SR 29, US 31 and SR 13. As mentioned, this would also become part of the SR 534/SR 100 complex in the 1940s.

Mentioned is the “deathtrap” at the Pennsylvania RR crossing at Morris Street. Again, if the current situation was an improvement, the old crossing must have been absolutely horrible.

The last paragraph mentions the routes that would be included in the proposed Belt Highway that would never completely come into being.