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early European fur traders in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Early pioneers and traders established trading posts along the trail. These posts began to support permanent communities of settlers as they bought land to farm in the surrounding area in the 1830s. As more and more settlement occurred and the Indian population dwindled, the trail developed into a road. The road now known as US 31 did not become a major artery of transport until the automobile became a widely used mode of transportation. Prior to that development, the railroad had been the most efficient form of transit available in the 1850s to the earl 1900s. In the early decades of the 20`h century, a shift occurred in people's tastes as they bought more personal automobiles and used the railroad less and less. In response to the growing number of cars and the need for more drivable roadways, the government eventually transformed the Michigan Road into a federal route in 1926. The road has been studied for upgrade since the 1940s.1 With the creation of the new road, some portions of US 31 were shifted from its old path. For the most part, it seems that the current route has followed this historic trail and roadway. Today, one can travel from Mobile, Alabama to Mackinaw, Michigan without turning off US 31. The current environmental impact study for the improvement of US 31 has its base in studies that were completed between 1995 and 2000. INDOT's reports dating from 1995 and 1997 on US 31 traversing Kokomo, Indiana and Hamilton County suggested that it should be expanded and transformed into a limited access freeway. The construction of a limited access freeway would remove stoplights from US 31 and disallow "at -grade" roads and driveways from interfering with US 31's traffic flow. These improvements would mitigate traffic, congestion and safety woes created by the stoplights and roads cutting across US 31. It is thought that a decrease the amount of travel time spent on roads connecting South Bend and Indianapolis would enhance the business opportunities available to these cities. Access ramps located at yet to be determined places would maintain a high speed of travel on the roadway. Local city governments, such as Kokomo and Michiana Area Council Of Governance (MACOG), whose cities will be affected by US 31 changes also completed studies of possible routes and hoped for improvements. The Kokomo report suggested the creation of a bypass to the east of Kokomo that will retain city infrastructure and current commercial corridor along US 31. The reports from Kokomo and MACOG both support the need for the adaptation of US 31 into a limited access freeway. In 2000, INDOT began contracting several engineering firms to collect information for the environmental impact studies of areas affected by future construction. Three major corridors became the focus of the studies: Hamilton County, Kokomo, Indiana, and the stretch of US 31 from Plymouth, Indiana to South Bend, Indiana. INDOT contracted the environmental impact study of ten possible routes for the improved US 31 in Madison and St. Joseph Counties to Bernadin, Lockmueller & Associates. Wientraut & Associates has handled the survey of historical sites and structures in the large area of the county traversed by the various options. The firms and INDOT hope to complete and publish their studies of various route options by Fall 2004 so that community members could review the proposals before the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issues a final decision on the proposed route in Summer 2005. INDOT plans to begin construction on the new US 31 facility in 2011-2015. Construction upon highways and others besides have lead some to quip that only two seasons exist in some parts of the nation: winter and the season of the orange barrel. The Historic Preservation Commission of South Bend and St. Joseph County now has a chance to provide some input on where those barrels will be placed for the new US 31. 1 Maps in the archive of the Library of Congress reveal the importance of the railroad between 1850 and 1900, for many of these maps only plot the crisscrossing of the railroad lines to Midwest cities. They notably do not include main roads and trails. Z At -grade roads are those that intersect with US 31 rather than roads that may cross over US 31 on a bridge or under. The latter two examples are not "at -grade" roads.