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STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE/ HISTORIC CONTEXT US 31 has a long history as a route for human travel, one that predates the proposal and naming of the federal road in 1926. Portions of the road may follow Native American tribes that had been traversed prior to European pioneering excursions and settlement. It is possible that this trail was used by early European fur traders in the late 1700s and early 1800s. More permanent settlers established trading posts that grew into towns and 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 this development, the railroad had been the most efficient and popular form of transit available in the 1850s to the early 1900s. The marks of the widespread use and success of the railroad can still be seen in St. Joseph County as many old railroad beds cut across county roads and farmland. In the early decades of the 201h century, a shift occurred in people's tastes as they bought more automobiles and used the railroad less and less. In response to the growing number of cars and the need for more paved and drivable roadways, the government eventually transformed the Michigan Road into a federal route in 1926. With the construction of the road in the 1920s and 1930s, some portions of US 31 were shifted from its old path. For the most part, the current route has followed this historic trail and roadway. The road has been studied for upgrade since the 1940s.1 Today, one can travel from Mobile, Alabama to Mackinaw, Michigan. 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.2 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 changes made to US 31 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 the 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 the possible 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 eleven 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 2003 in order for community review before the Federal Highway 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. 2 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.