It is entirely an undivided four-lane surface road that passes east of Michigan City.

SR 212 begins at an interchange with US 20, on the east side of Michigan City, as a four-lane undivided roadway.

The road bridges over the South Shore Line and has an at grade crossing with another railroad track, before passing through a mixture of woodland and industrial properties.

[1][2][3] In 2016, traffic surveys from the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) showed that on average, 15,912 vehicles used the highway daily near the southern end and 6,669 vehicles did so each day near the northern end, the highest and lowest counts along the highway, respectively.

[11] The construction of the new bridge was completed and the roadway reopened to traffic on June 12, 2008.