Sam Jones Expressway (formerly the Airport Expressway and casually the Raymond Street Expressway) is a 4-lane divided highway with partial access control (urban expressway) in the city of Indianapolis. Renamed in 2007 to honor Indianapolis Urban League founder/president Sam H. Jones, Sr., it is approximately in length and connects Raymond Street (at Holt Road) to High School Road just west of I-465 at the former site of the 1957–2008 passenger terminal at

Indianapolis International Airport Indianapolis International Airport is an international airport located seven miles (11 km) southwest of downtown Indianapolis in Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is owned and operated by the Indianapolis Airport Authority. Th ...

. Since November 11, 2008, the new passenger terminal is accessed via exit 68 on

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

much further south.

Routing

The eastern end of the Sam Jones Expressway is at the signalized intersection of South Tibbs Avenue and Raymond Street. East of that intersection the road is named Raymond Street. The western endpoint is a signalized "T" intersection on the grounds of the Indianapolis International Airport, at what was the main entrance to the now-demolished former passenger terminal. Between these two points are traffic interchanges with

(partial), Lynhurst Drive (full), Executive Drive (partial), and I-465/

I-74 } Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchang ...

(full). There is also a grade separation at Roena Street. The road serves pre-move airport hotels based by the old terminal site that remain open and use I-465 and I-70 or High School/Perimeter Road to provide private shuttle service to the new terminal.

Legal status

The Sam Jones Expressway is not an Interstate Highway, nor is it signed as a U.S. or state highway. It exists as a sub-standard

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

only between I-465 and I-70. It is properly named and classified as an expressway because it contains stoplights east of I-70 and west of Executive Drive; as well as a now-removed at-grade railroad crossing just east of its interchange with I-70.

Renaming

The opening of the Col. H. Weir Cook Terminal at the

on November 11, 2008, meant the Sam Jones Expressway would no longer be a direct route for reaching the airport terminal. This prompted the city to rename the Airport Expressway as the Sam Jones Expressway in June 2007, in honor of

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...

leader Sam Jones, the founder and president of the city's

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

from 1966 until 2002.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist

External links

Map (via Google Maps) showing the Sam Jones Expressway and the Indianapolis International Airport
Freeways in the United States Streets in Indianapolis