Frank O'Bannon Highway
| Frank O'Bannon Highway | |
|---|---|
| Major junctions | |
| South end: |
 I-64 at St. Croix
|
| North end: |
 US 50 near Bedford
|
| Location | |
| Counties: | Perry, Crawford, Orange, Lawrence |
| Highway system | |
The Frank O'Bannon Highway is a series of highways in the state of Indiana. The highway follows existing segments, from south to north, of State Road 37 (SR 37} from Tell City to Eckerty, SR 64 at Eckerty, SR 145 from Eckerty to French Lick, SR 56 from French Lick to Prospect, U.S. Route 150 (US 150, concurrent with SR 56) from Prospect to Paoli, and SR 37 once again from Paoli to Bedford. With the exception of the four-lane Mitchell-to-Bedford segment (SR 37), the majority of the highway is two lanes.
The highway is named for former Indiana governor Frank O'Bannon, who died after suffering a stroke in 2003 with 16 months remaining in his second and final term. O'Bannon, a Corydon Democrat, who was first elected to the Indiana General Assembly as a State Senator in 1970, had long supported an improved highway linking to Interstate 64 (I-64). This position greatly endeared him to his constituents, who had long dealt with narrow, winding and somewhat dangerous two-lane highways connecting them to the rest of the state.
The SR 37/145 Association, which is made up of community and government leaders from Perry, Crawford, Orange and Lawrence counties, considered O'Bannon a strong ally in getting better and faster access to I-64 for their communities. Following his death, the association lobbied the state of Indiana to name the highway in his memory.
On November 21, 2007, the last unfinished segment of the highway opened between St. Croix and Eckerty. The new portion, a 10-mile (16 km) stretch of highway numbered as SR 37, was built as a "super-two" roadway, matching the existing stretch of SR 37 to which it connects at I-64, as well as that of SR 64 and SR 145 which continue the route from Eckerty to French Lick.
From Bedford to Indianapolis, SR 37 had been upgraded to four lanes by the early 1980s. South of Bedford, the road remained two lanes. This changed when the state widened an additional seven miles (11 km) of the highway from just south of Mitchell to the west junction with US 50 south of Bedford to four lanes.
...
Wikipedia