Crossroads of America

The Crossroads of America is a nickname given to the state of Indiana as it, and, more specifically, the city of Indianapolis is the hub for several major Interstate highways that criss-cross the state, connecting Hoosiers to the rest of the United States.

First Crossroads

In the early days of cross-country travel by horse and wagon, Terre Haute, Indiana, benefited by its location on the old National Road between Indianapolis and Vandalia, Illinois. The National Road was later named U.S. Highway 40 when it was made a U.S. highway in 1926.

At about the same time, U.S. Highway 41 was commissioned between Chicago, Illinois, and Miami, Florida. This north-south highway through downtown Terre Haute followed Seventh Street at the time, and met U.S. 40, which followed Wabash Avenue, the main east-west street in town. The Seventh and Wabash intersection thus became known as the "Crossroads of America," an appellation now memorialized with a historical marker at that corner.^[1]

Vandalia, Ohio, has also been called, at one time, the Crossroads of America due to U.S. Highway 40 and the eastern division of the Dixie Highway crossing in the middle of the town. I-75 and I-70 cross in Vandalia as well.

Interstates

The Interstates that make up the Crossroads and intersect the Indianapolis beltway, Interstate 465, are as follows:

• Interstate 65
• Interstate 69
• Interstate 70
• Interstate 74
• Interstate 865

References