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The Bypass
From Bloomingpedia
The Bypass is a commonly used moniker for the SR 45 and SR 46 bypass through the north east side of Bloomington.
It is a road carrying Indiana State Road 46 north of 3rd Street, and also carrying Indiana State Road 45 north of 10th Street. It makes a curve around Bloomington and the IU campus on the north side of town. It is two-laned east of Walnut Street, but becomes a 4-laned divided highway west of Walnut.
At an interchange with SR 37, SR 45 leaves the road and travels south with 37. What is referred to as "The Bypass" unofficially ends here. Highway 46 continues on in a northwesterly direction, passing Curry Pike and Arlington Road--the old SR 46--until it reaches Ellettsville and continues on into western Indiana.
Until a major construction operation in the late 1990s/early 2000s, the Bypass did officially end at SR 37 with a traffic light at the intersection. It had an off-ramp leading to the northbound lanes of 37 and an on-ramp from 37 North to the eastbound lanes of the Bypass. Highway 46 continued north on 37 for just over 2,000 feet to a former off-on ramp from 37 to Arlington Road. The project's results were that the Arlington Road ramp was removed and that 46 went west on its present-day course. The two ramps were kept, with more being added to ease the passage from highway to highway.
The Bypass has always been a useful tool for a driver coming from Indianapolis or further north who wants to get to the east side of Bloomington fairly quickly. It can hold traffic headaches for local residents who use it to travel to work, school, etc. There are several intersections that have had traffic problems for a long while.
Major Intersections:
