So you’re sitting somewhere outside of Chicago, Illinois cruising along the Indiana Toll Road. Most people know that Chicago and all of its nearby Indiana suburbs follow Central Time. On the other hand, much of the rest of Indiana follows Eastern Time. You just want to know when to change your watch, right? Let’s cut to the chase. You’ll need to do that somewhere between Mile Markers 61 and 62.
- If you’re driving westbound, going from Eastern Time into Central Time, set your coordinates to: 41.742147°, -86.524579°
- If you’re driving eastbound, going from Central Time into Eastern Time, set your coordinates to: 41.741943°, -86.524584°
That sure was easy. And now you know everything you need to know to figure it out. Enjoy the rest of your trip
But you say you want a more comprehensive explanation in excruciating detail? Actually nobody every said that and likely nobody ever will. Nonetheless I’m going to provide it anyway because that’s what I do. I won’t be offended if you stop reading right about now and return to your drive.
The Setup
OK, are the rest of us still here? Good. Let’s dive in.
Frequently time zone changes happen at state borders and it’s easy to figure out. Leave the state and change the time. That’s true even for much of the border between Illinois and Indiana. However, Chicago serves as a spoiler in the northwestern corner of Indiana. The metropolitan area is so large and its economic impact is so massive that adjacent Indiana simply has to follow Chicago’s lead.
Time in Indiana has endured a complicated set of circumstances over its history. The state sits within an interesting intersection of powerful cities, both east and west. Consequently, portions of Indiana sometimes switch between the Eastern and Central Time Zones as the economic fortunes of its neighbors wax and wane.
Apropos to the situation along the Indiana Toll Road, six Indiana counties outside of Chicago currently observe Central Time: Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter and Starke.
Westbound (going from Eastern to Central Time)
There’s one more interesting twist going on here. The Indiana Toll Road covering this section has two Interstate Highway numbers: Interstate 80 and Interstate 90.
Interstate 80 runs from San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey. Interstate 90 runs from Seattle, Washington to Weston, Massachusetts. However, they share a single stretch of asphalt east of Chicago and it’s cosigned I-80 / I-90. That’s why I’ve elected to stick with Indiana Toll Road as the description. It’s less complicated.
For those driving along The Indiana Toll Road (or Interstate 80 or Interstate 90 or whatever you want to call it), the time switches when a driver crosses from St. Joseph County into LaPorte County. So when you’re heading to Chicago, that’s where you need to change the time on your watch or the clock on your dashboard to Central Time. A mobile phone will adjust automatically at some point when it grabs the next cell tower.
Eastbound (going from Central to Eastern Time)
It’s really thoughtful of the Indiana Toll Road to post those big blue signs letting people know about the time change. We owe them a big thanks. Too bad the signs are wrong for much of the year. The “S.T.” on the signs stand for “Standard Time”. Consider, however, that Indiana also observes Daylight Saving Time. So, anytime D.S.T. is in effect, the signs are technically wrong.
Also I wondered, does everyone truly understand the acronyms C.S.T and E.S.T? I think most people do, but then again there are probably many people that do not. The Toll Road should change its signs to read “Entering Eastern Time Zone” and “Entering Central Time Zone” respectively. That makes them both technically correct and removes the ambiguity of the acronym. Other states make it clear! But I’m probably the only person who cares about that.
Leaving Chicago, heading east into Indiana, the time change happens once again at the same county border referenced above. A driver crosses from LaPorte County into St. Joseph County and it’s time to change everything to Eastern Time.
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