Cities: Jenkins, Pikeville, Coal Run, Catlettsburg, Ashland, Russell, Flatwoods, Raceland, Wurtland, Greenup, S Shore

Names:

US 23, which runs through Eastern Kentucky's Appalachian Mountains, has been heavily upgraded since the 1960s. Almost all (if not all) of Kentucky's US 23 is now a 4-lane divided highway, and it bypasses many small towns (Prestonsburg, for instance). Some of the upgrades are new roads several miles from the old roads, or are built along minor roads like the previously gravel Jennys Creek Road. Parts of US 23 - or older roads that parallel it - are called Mayo Trail. I have no idea how it got this name.

One of the biggest engineering feats ever - second only to the Panama Canal - is the Pikeville Cut Thru, which cut into Peach Orchard Mountain and rechanneled the Levisa Fork River there. Construction of the Cut Thru lasted from 1973-87. At the Cut Thru, US 23 uses a newer road with freeway-style exits, bypassing the old crescent-shaped route that used city streets.

US 23 leaves Kentucky at the Ohio River and enters Ohio. The old U.S. Grant Bridge there, which opened in the 1920s, was torn down in 2001, so US 23 was then detoured onto the Carl Perkins Bridge, pending completion of a new bridge at this site maintained by the state of Ohio. The new bridge opened in 2006. A 2-year delay in opening the bridge caused local business owners to request that Ohio reimburse them for lost revenues.

In all, US 23 runs from US 1 in Jacksonville, FL, to I-75 in Mackinaw City, MI.

The Carl Perkins Bridge, which is Spur KY 8, is rumored to also be Truck US 23, though this designation doesn't appear on the official log.

BIZ US 23 - Pike 1988/Johnson 1996 - Paintsville's Biz US 23 became parts of KY 40 and Biz KY 321. There was also a Biz US 23 in Pikeville, which I assume is what the official log lists as US 23BR.

SPUR US 23 - Pike 1988 - Dropped in Pikeville following the opening of the Cut Thru road.

TRUCK US 23 - Boyd 1988 - Appears to have run concurrent with what was also then US 60 in Catlettsburg and paralleled US 23 to the east. Became part of KY 3294.

BIZ 23

Begin: US 23 & 33rd St, Ashland
End: US 23 & 7th St, Ashland

1.796 mi, all Boyd

Uses: US 60

Cities: Ashland

Names: Winchester Av

Runs through downtown Ashland, only one block over from mainline US 23.

SPUR 23

North     South

Begin: Biz US 23 & US 60, Ashland
End: US 52, .083 mi past OH state line (Ohio River), Coal Gr OH

.483 mi, all Boyd+

Cities: Ashland

Names:

Major bridges:

A pair of one-way bridges - carrying 13th and Martin Luther King Boulevard (the old 12th) - over the Ohio River from downtown Ashland to Ohio. Kentucky owns even the parts of the bridges in Ohio, apparently all the way to the end at US 52.

25E

Begin KY maint: TN state line, .8 mi E of Middlesboro city line
End: I-75 & KY 770, 2.1 mi NW of N Corbin

46.878 mi in KY:

Cities: Middlesboro, Pineville, Barbourville

Names:

Tunnels: Cumberland Gap Tnl (Bell Co)

US 25 splits into 25E and 25W in Newport, TN. Most (if not all) of US 25E in Kentucky is a divided highway. US 25E enters Kentucky using the Cumberland Gap Tunnel, which opened in 1996. The tunnel bypasses an old routing that entered the corner of Virginia for less than a mile. US 25E also runs along the Cumberland River floodwall in Pineville. US 25E bypasses Corbin, and US 25 resumes north of Corbin at the merger of 25E and 25W - although US 25E continues past the merger to I-75.

US 25E was US 25 in the 1930s.

25W

Most of US 25W in Kentucky is the east branch of Dixie Highway

Begin KY maint: TN state line, 1.2 mi SW of Fairview [Whitley Co]
End: US 25 & 25E, .8 mi NE of N Corbin

34.799 mi in KY:

Cities: Williamsburg, Corbin

Names:

US 25W was US 129 in the 1930s.

TRUCK US 25W - Whitley 1998 - I'm taking an educated guess at what Truck US 25 in the official log was about. It was in Corbin, and I think it was actually Truck US 25W. I'd hazard a guess that it may have used Lynn Street and Union Street so trucks could avoid the underpass.

25

Most of US 25 in Kentucky is the east branch of Dixie Highway

Begin KY maint: US 25E & 25W, .8 mi NE of N Corbin
End: .127 mi past OH state line (Ohio River), Cincinnati OH (bec US 42)

176.164 mi in KY:

Uses: I-75 (Clays Ferry-Lexington)

Cities: London, Livingston, Mt Vernon, Berea, Richmond, Lexington, Georgetown, Corinth, Williamstown, Dry Ridge, Crittenden, Walton, Florence, Elsmere, Erlanger, Edgewood, Crestview Hills, Lakeside Park, Ft Mitchell, Ft Wright, Park Hills, Covington

Names:

Major bridges: Clay Wade Bailey Br (Ohio River, Covington)

Old: KY 876 (Biz US 25 & KY 876, Richmond-KY 52, Richmond)

In Kentucky, US 25 is generally paralleled by I-75. Kentucky maintains US 25 into Ohio, up to 0.127 mile north of the state line on the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. This would thus exclude the approach north of this point that continues to 3rd Street in Cincinnati. This - since about 1974 - would also be the northern end of the entire length of US 25, but US 42/127 (which is concurrent with US 25 at this point) continues.

The Clay Wade Bailey Bridge - named for a newspaper reporter - opened in 1974, replacing the roadway of what was known as the C&O Bridge, which had been used by cars from about 1930 until its closure in 1968 following the finding of rusted bolts and other structural decay. After the closure of that roadway, one unusual plan called for converting the rail portion of the bridge so cars could travel in the same lanes as trains. Needless to say, this was rejected for safety reasons.

In total, US 25 runs from US 17 in Brunswick, GA, to the end of the Kentucky-run portion in Cincinnati - but it used to run at least to Port Austin, MI. This includes the 25E/25W split from Newport, TN, to north of Corbin.

US 25 in Kentucky mostly uses the east leg of the classic Dixie Highway. Exceptions include where US 25 is routed onto a newer bypass or Interstate. Another exception is in Covington where Dixie Highway continued northeast on Pike Street and used the Roebling Suspension Bridge. Some old maps show US 25 using both the C&O and Suspension Bridge.

BIZ 25

RICHMOND

Begin: US 25 & KY 876, Richmond
End: US 25, .2 mi N of Richmond city line

3.654 mi, all Madison

Cities: Richmond

Names:

Old: US 25 (begin-KY 3087)

DRY RIDGE

Begin: US 25, Williamstown
End: US 25, Dry Ridge

2.239 mi, all Grant

Cities: Williamstown, Dry Ridge

Names:

Old: US 25 (along Arnie Risen Blvd, Dry Ridge-end)

Richmond's Biz US 25 was formed from US 25 in 1999 (though it uses a new road at the north end). It would also appear to be Biz US 421 (seeing how US 421 uses US 25 and all).

Dry Ridge's Biz US 25 was established in 2005 from KY 3025 in Williamstown and an old part of US 25 in Dry Ridge, upon completion of the bypass on Dry Ridge's east side. In 2006, the Helton Road section reverted to KY 3025 and Biz US 25 was moved onto KY 3088 to connect with US 25 on the south end. But for the presence of KY 22, the north end of the new bypass would be a true "Kentucky loop" - the same setup found at the Markland Dam approach and on KY 16 on the north side of Walton. In this arrangement, the road goes over the intersecting road and loops back to meet it.

27

Begin KY maint: TN state line, .2 mi S of Isham
End KY maint: .1 mi past OH state line (Ohio River), Cincinnati OH

199.302 mi in KY:

Cities: Burnside, Somerset, Stanford, Lancaster, Nicholasville, Lexington, Paris, Cynthiana, Falmouth, Alexandria, Cold Spr, Highland Hts, Ft Thomas, Southgate, Newport

Names:

Major bridges:

US 27 is a familiar friend yet personally troubling. It is the main highway of my original hometown of Highland Heights.

The Taylor-Southgate Bridge is maintained by Kentucky even into Cincinnati, to about where it crosses over Mehring Way. (This mileage is officially carried with Campbell County.) In Cincinnati, US 27 goes northeast on Pete Rose Way for a block from the end of the bridge, then southwest on Mehring back under the bridge - making this a rare instance of a U.S. route crossing over itself. Also, Pete Rose Way is one of few roads named after a person sighted blowing bubbles with bubble gum on television (because Martha Quinn doesn't have a road named after her).

The Taylor-Southgate replaced the Central Bridge - known for its distinct hum - in the 1990s (forcing traffic to be detoured onto the L&N Bridge for about 3 years). In all, US 27 runs from US 1 in Miami, FL, to I-69 in Fort Wayne, IN (after being truncated in 2002) and although underrated, there's not enough space here to instill an appreciation of The Big Two-Seven.

I'm told that in the 1920s the road from Paris to Newport was US 25E, and until 1941, US 27 from Alexandria to Cold Spring used what is now East Alexandria Pike. Today, instead of East Alexandria Pike, US 27 uses a modern roadway that was widened to 4 lanes around 1977. In the 1990s the ravages of suburbanism dogged Highland Heights, where it took many years to rebuild a section of US 27, rerouting it onto a new, straighter roadway. This "improvement" did not enhance functionality, however, and was really just a misguided and costly aesthetic change.

Elsewhere in Kentucky, US 27 from Lexington to Paris runs along a roadway that is now divided (with a very wide median in some spots), but is scenic and otherwise unspoiled.

US 27C - Campbell 2007 - The unsigned US 27C branched off US 27 in Newport, using 3rd Street from Monmouth Street to Saratoga Street, then running north on what was once the L&N Bridge to where the span enters Ohio. For the last few years US 27C was commissioned, most of the route was something rare if not unique for the entire nation: a U.S. route that disallowed cars. By then, the L&N Bridge was renamed the Newport Southbank Bridge - though it's commonly called the Purple People Bridge (even on signs). This 2,670-foot span over the Ohio River was once open to auto traffic and had a rail line. It was later closed for several years so crews could add a lavender coat of paint to its rusted framework, but was reopened amid a festive dedication in April 2003 to be used by pedestrians and bicyclists only. The Purple People Bridge acts as an extension of Saratoga Street from Newport to Pete Rose Way in Cincinnati. The bulk of Saratoga, which was unnumbered, was well-known for the railroad track running down the center of the street, before it was replaced by a grassy median in the 1980s.

The Purple People Bridge actually doesn't allow much of anything. Although boosters of the bridge boasted it would be used by skateboarders, a sign prohibits skateboards and many other things, including "shoeless persons." Thus it's been said that the span is reminiscent of a Stalinist police state.

BIZ 27

Begin: US 27, .7 mi SW of Nicholasville city line
End: US 27 & N Plaza Dr, Nicholasville

3.89 mi, all Jessamine

Cities: Nicholasville

Names: Main St

Old: US 27

Established in 1988 when mainline US 27 was moved to the new divided highway bypass west of town.

31E

Begin KY maint: TN state line, 1.7 mi SE of Adolphus
End: US 31 & 31W, downtown Louisville

140.372 mi in KY:

Cities: Scottsville, Glasgow, Hodgenville, New Haven, Bardstown, Mt Washington, Louisville

Names:

Major bridges: Barren River Lk, Allen Co-Barren Co

US 31 falls victim to a split into US 31E and 31W from Nashville to Louisville.

A now-defunct Biz US 31E (different from those that exist now) was formed from a bypassed part of US 31E in Scottsville in 1987. It became parts of KY 100, 98, and 3499 in 1989.

BIZ 31E

GLASGOW

Begin: US 31E, Glasgow
End: US 31E, Glasgow

3.24 mi, all Barren

Cities: Glasgow

Names:

Old: US 31E

MOUNT WASHINGTON

Begin: US 31E, Mt Washington
End: US 31E, .8 mi N of Mt Washington city line

2.487 mi, all Bullitt

Cities: Mt Washington

Names: Main St (Mt Washington)

Old: US 31E

Mount Washington's Biz US 31E cropped up in 1996 when US 31E was rerouted around the town.

31W

Most of US 31W from Bowling Green to Louisville is the west branch of Dixie Highway

Begin KY maint: TN state line, Black Jack
End: US 31 & 31E, downtown Louisville

146.796 mi in KY:

Cities: Franklin, Woodburn, Bowling Green, Park City, Cave City, Horse Cave, Munfordville, Bonnieville, Upton, Sonora, Elizabethtown, Radcliff, Muldraugh, W Point, Shively, Louisville

Names:

US 31W generally uses the west branch of the old Dixie Highway from Bowling Green to Louisville. Exceptions include where US 31W is routed onto a newer road. Another apparent exception is in Louisville where Dixie Highway continues on an unnumbered street to Broadway. Instead of rejoining US 31E in Louisville, US 31W used to cross the K&I Bridge on Louisville's west side with US 150; the merger of US 31E and 31W into US 31 happened in Sellersburg, IN.

For its part, Dixie Highway outside Louisville follows US 431 from the Tennessee state line to Russellville, US 68 to Bowling Green, US 31W to Cave Creek, KY 335 to KY 218, KY 218 to Horse Cave, US 31W to Elizabethtown, Wilson Road and Old Dixie Highway to West Point, and Biz US 31W to US 31W.

BYP US 31W - Warren 1983 - The Bowling Green version of Byp US 31W (a designation that still exists in Elizabethtown) probably used the inner bypass on Laurel Avenue on the south and east before this became part of the mainline.

BYP 31W

Begin: Wendell H Ford W KY Pkwy & KY 1136, Elizabethtown (uses Wendell H Ford W KY Pkwy to reconnect with US 31W)
End: US 31W, Elizabethtown

3.758 mi, all Hardin

Cities: Elizabethtown

Names: Elizabethtown Byp

A divided highway that has some grade separations and even a freeway-style interchange (other than the one to the parkway).

BIZ 31W

Begin: US 31W, W Point
End: US 31W & Main St, W Point

1.988 mi, all Hardin

Cities: W Point

Names: Main St

Redesignated from KY 835 in 1994. Presumably also Biz US 60.

31

Begin KY maint: US 31E & 31W, downtown Louisville
End KY maint: .32 mi past IN state line (Ohio River), Jeffersonville IN

1.122 mi in KY, all Jefferson+

Cities: Louisville

Major bridges: George Rogers Clark Mem Br (Ohio River)

Following the split from Nashville to Louisville, US 31 reappears in downtown Louisville as US 31E and 31W merge. Northbound, the merger happens at 2nd & Main; southbound, the split effectively occurs at 3rd & Main. Most of US 31 in Kentucky is made up of the very long and wide George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge. This is the span where Muhammad Ali threw his Olympic medal into the Ohio River. Kentucky maintains the bridge into Jeffersonville, IN, up to where it meets Court Avenue.

US 31 in total runs from US 90 in Spanish Fort, AL, to I-75 in Mackinaw City, MI.

37

I don't think US 37 was ever signed, but it reportedly appeared on maps in the 1930s and ran from Chattanooga, TN, to Sellersburg, IN. In Kentucky it supposedly used parts of what became US 127, KY 90, US 31E, and US 31.

41

Begin KY maint: TN state line, Guthrie
End KY maint: IN state line, 2.9 mi N of Henderson city line

105.004 mi in KY:

Cities: Guthrie, Trenton, Pembroke, Hopkinsville, Crofton, Nortonville, Mortons Gap, Earlington, Madisonville, Hanson, Sebree, Henderson

Names:

Major bridges: John James Audubon Br (Ohio River, Henderson Co)

US 41 is a most useful and fun road running from FL A1A in Miami Beach, FL, to a state park in Copper Harbor, MI - and includes Chicago's famous Lake Shore Drive (ahem). US 41 from Nashville to Hopkinsville was once US 241, while US 41A (called Alt US 41 by the geniuses who wrote the Rand McNally Road Atlas) was US 43. Also, in the 1930s and '40s, these stretches of US 41 and 41A were US 41E and 41W, respectively.

US 41 used the Pennyrile Parkway from Nortonville to Madisonville until 1995. That stretch of parkway actually was built as a US 41 bypass before the rest of the parkway was.

What is now US 41 from Madisonville to Henderson was built in the 1950s. Before then US 41 followed what is now US 41A.

US 41 becomes a 4-lane divided highway at the end of the Steady Neddy and crosses the Ohio River to an enclave cut off from the rest of the state when the river changed its course and into Evansville, IN.

41A

TENNESSEE STATE LINE to HOPKINSVILLE

Begin KY maint: TN state line (KY 400 & State Line Rd), Oak Gr
End: US 41, Hopkinsville

15.99 mi in KY, all Christian

Cities: Oak Gr, Hopkinsville

Names:

MADISONVILLE to HENDERSON

Begin: US 41 & KY 281, Madisonville
End: US 41 & 60, Henderson

50.332 mi:

Cities: Madisonville, Nebo, Providence, Dixon, Henderson

Names:

42

Begin: US 31E, 1.1 mi E of downtown Louisville
End KY maint: US 25 & Main St, Florence (leaves KY using US 25)

95.593 mi in KY:

Cities: Louisville, Northfield, Hills And Dales, Bedford, Prestonville, Carrollton, Ghent, Union, Warsaw, Florence

Names:

Major bridges: Kentucky River, Prestonville-Carrollton

US 42 runs from Louisville to US 20 in Cleveland, OH. US 42 in Kentucky has scenic value as an alternate to I-71 and was reportedly part of KY 10 back in the 1920s.

43

Still exists in the Deep South but once ran as far north as Hopkinsville, before that stretch became US 41A.

45

Begin KY maint: TN state line (KY 116), Fulton
End KY maint: IL state line (Ohio River), 1.5 mi N of Paducah city line

51.88 mi in KY:

Cities: Fulton, Water Valley, Wingo, Mayfield, Lone Oak, Paducah

Names:

Major bridges: Irvin S Cobb Br (Ohio River, McCracken Co)

This all-American highway serves the far end of Western Kentucky. In all it runs from US 98 in Mobile, AL, to MI 38 in Ontonagon, MI. US 45 splits into US 45E and 45W in Jackson, TN, but the split merges again just south of the state line near the fun capital of Fulton.

Byp US 45 in Fulton became mainline US 45 in 1989, as the Kentucky portions of US 45E and 45W became KY 307 and 116.

BYP 45

(FREEWAY)

Begin: US 45 & Ingersoll Rd, .4 mi SW of Mayfield city line
End: Julian M Carroll Purchase Pkwy, .5 mi S of Mayfield city line (uses Julian M Carroll Purchase Pkwy to reconnect with US 45)

.958 mi, all Graves

Companion surface roads: US 45

Byp US 45 starts at US 45 but quickly joins the Julian M. Carroll Parkway and runs concurrent with the parkway (with no mileage carried) until reconnecting with US 45 - forming a freeway bypass around Mayfield.

BIZ 45

Begin: US 45 & Washington St, Paducah
End: US 45, Paducah

4.378 mi, all McCracken

Cities: Paducah

Names:

51

Begin KY maint: Julian M Carroll Purchase Pkwy & KY 1648, Fulton (enters KY using Julian M Carroll Purchase Pkwy)
End KY maint: IL state line (Ohio River), 2.1 mi S of E Cairo

40.729 mi in KY:

Cities: Fulton, Clinton, Arlington, Bardwell, Wickliffe

Names:

Major bridges: Cairo Ohio River Br (Ohio River, Ballard Co)

US 51 traverses the middle of America, from US 61 in La Place, LA, to US 2 in Hurley, WI. US 51 uses the Julian M. Carroll Parkway around Fulton. Apparently, Byp US 51 used to be designated along the parkway there, but mainline US 51 began using this stretch in 1989.

52

Though still absent from maps and official logs, US 52/119 now makes two extremely brief entries into Pike County on the north end of Williamson, WV. US 52 is not a continuation of KY 52, despite having the same number. In all, US 52 runs from the Canadian border in Portal, ND, where it becomes SK 39, to US 17 in Charleston, SC.

60

Begin KY maint: US 51 & Green St, Wickliffe (enters KY using US 51)
End KY maint: .178 mi past WV state line (Big Sandy River), Kenova WV

434.109 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Wickliffe, Barlow, La Center, Kevil, Paducah, Smithland, Salem, Marion, Sturgis, Morganfield, Waverly, Henderson, Owensboro, Lewisport, Hawesville, Cloverport, Hardinsburg, Irvington, Louisville, St Matthews, Norwood, Middletown, Simpsonville, Shelbyville, Frankfort, Versailles, Lexington, Winchester, Mt Sterling, Owingsville, Salt Lick, Morehead, Olive Hill, Grayson, Ashland, Catlettsburg

Names:

Major bridges:

Over 400 miles of this beedleloggery earns US 60 the undisputed title as the longest designated highway in Kentucky. In all, the road runs from I-10 in Quartzsite, AZ, all the way to the no-swearing metropolis of Virginia Beach, VA, and it used to go at least to Los Angeles on the west before California decertified it.

US 60 is somewhat controversial: According to many maps, mainline US 60 follows the I-264 bypass in Louisville, leaving it farther from downtown than US 60A, which is sort of an inner bypass along city streets. But in fact, mainline US 60 goes downtown on a route that those same maps mark US 60B. Similarly, some maps of Lexington show a fictitious Byp US 60 using the north loop of New Circle Road.

Kentucky maintains US 60 just a bit into West Virginia.

US 60C - McCracken 1982 - Became part of Biz US 60.

BIZ US 60 - Jefferson 1984/Boyd 1986 - In the early 1980s, US 60 in Louisville used a less illustrious route that varies according to the source. At least one source put US 60 along what is now US 60A, placing Biz US 60 along US 31W in Shively and then along Dixie Highway, Broadway, US 31E, and Grinstead Drive. A different Biz US 60 existed at an unknown spot in Boyd County and became part of US 60.

TRUCK US 60 - Jefferson 1984 - It's not known exactly where Truck US 60 split from US 60 or Biz US 60, but it did go from US 42 and along Frankfort Avenue to St. Matthews before being made part of mainline US 60.

SPUR US 60 - Boyd 1988 - This was likely 34th Street in Catlettsburg from US 23 to Oakland Avenue. Thus it would have become KY 1174 upon construction of the current bridge at 35th.

BIZ 60

PADUCAH

Begin: US 60 & Noble Park Dr, Paducah
End: US 60 & KY 1954, Paducah

5.065 mi, all McCracken

Uses: Biz US 45

Cities: Paducah

Names:

CLOVERPORT

Begin: US 60, .4 mi SW of Cloverport city line
End: US 60, .6 mi S of Cloverport city line

2.779 mi, all Breckinridge

Cities: Cloverport

Names:

Old: US 60 (KY 3199-end)

FRANKFORT

Begin: S end of Singing Br, Frankfort
End: N end of Singing Br, Frankfort

.077 mi, all Franklin

Cities: Frankfort

Names: Bridge St

Major bridges: Singing Br (Kentucky River)

VERSAILLES

Begin: US 60, Versailles
End: US 60, Versailles

1.79 mi, all Woodford

Cities: Versailles

Names:

Cloverport's Biz US 60 formed in 1994 from the former US 60. Much more unusual than any other Biz US 60 though is the one in Frankfort: It includes just the Singing Bridge and doesn't touch the parallel part of US 60. Besides that, it's practically redundant, as US 60 goes through the central city anyway. The Singing Bridge generates a neat hum when you drive across it, and as of 2006 it still featured what may be the last old cutout route marker remaining in Kentucky.

BYP 60

MORGANFIELD

Begin: US 60 & KY 3393, Morganfield
End: US 60, Morganfield

2.915 mi, all Union

Cities: Morganfield

Names: Morganfield Byp

OWENSBORO (FREEWAY)

Begin: US 60 & Bon Harbor Hills Dr, .9 mi W of Owensboro city line
End: US 60 & Brown Ct, .1 mi E of Owensboro city line

10.212 mi, all Daviess

Cities: Owensboro

Names: Wendell H Ford Exp

Companion surface roads: US 60

Morganfield's Byp US 60 was established in 2002. Byp US 60 in Owensboro dates from about 1970, though it is a freeway (one of few freeways in Kentucky outside the Interstate and parkway systems).

60A

Begin: US 31W/60 & KY 2049, Shively
End: US 60, .1 mi E of St Matthews city line, Louisville

10.55 mi, all Jefferson

Cities: Shively, Louisville

Names:

US 60A bypasses central Louisville on a moshtosh of surface streets.

62

Begin KY maint: US 51 & 1st St, Bardwell (enters KY using US 51)
End KY maint: OH state line (Ohio River), Maysville

369.202 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Bardwell, Paducah, Calvert City, Kuttawa, Eddyville, Princeton, Dawson Sprs, St Charles, Nortonville, White Plains, Greenville, Powderly, Central City, Rockport, McHenry, Beaver Dam, Caneyville, Leitchfield, Clarkson, Elizabethtown, Bardstown, Bloomfield, Lawrenceburg, Versallies, Midway, Georgetown, Cynthiana, Mt Olivet, Sardis, Maysville

Names:

Major bridges:

Old: KY 3071 (KY 9, Maysville-KY 8, Maysville)

The ever-important US 62 practically links 3 countries - from the Mexican border in El Paso, TX, to the Canadian border in Niagara Falls, NY, where it effectively becomes ON 420.

You'll notice US 62 in Powderly is named for James Best - yes, the same James Best who played Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on The Dukes Of Hazzard.

BIZ 62

Begin: US 62 & KY 9, Maysville
End KY maint: .08 mi past OH state line (Ohio River), Aberdeen OH

3.634 mi in KY, all Mason+

Cities: Maysville

Names: Simon Kenton Hwy

Major bridges: Simon Kenton Mem Br (Ohio River)

Old: US 62

I must loudly assume, as I sit here grinding my jagged incisors, that Biz US 62 is also Biz US 68. (This suspicion is confirmed by an above photo.) This used to be mainline US 62/68 through Maysville and into Ohio, but in 2001 it became the business loop when the mainline was moved to the bypass that includes the William H. Harsha Bridge.

68

Begin: US 62 & Old Calvert City Rd, 1.5 mi E of Reidland
End KY maint: US 62 & KY 1236, Maysville (leaves KY using US 62)

338.686 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Cadiz, Hopkinsville, Elkton, Russellville, Auburn, Bowling Green, Oakland, Glasgow, Edmonton, Greensburg, Campbellsville, Lebanon, Perryville, Harrodsburg, Lexington, Paris, Millersburg, Maysville

Names:

Major bridges:

Up to 1983, US 68 from Campbellsville to near Lebanon ran along what is now KY 289. In all, US 68 runs from Reidland - near Paducah - to I-75 in Findlay, OH.

BIZ 68

CADIZ

Begin: US 68, .3 mi S of Allen Subdivision
End: US 68, Cadiz

4.519 mi, all Trigg

Cities: Cadiz

Names:

Old: US 68 (.1 mi from begin-end)

ELKTON

Begin: US 68, 1.6 mi E of Tress Shop
End: US 68 & City Dump Rd, 1.3 mi E of Elkton city line

4.786 mi, all Todd

Cities: Elkton

Names: Main St (Elkton)

Old: US 68 (.1 mi from begin-.1 from end)

RUSSELLVILLE

Begin: US 68 & 431, Russellville
End: US 68, Russellville

3.375 mi, all Logan

Cities: Russellville

Names:

Old: US 68

AUBURN

Begin: US 68, .5 mi W of Auburn city line
End: US 68, .6 mi NE of Auburn city line

3.035 mi, all Logan

Cities: Auburn

Names:

Old: US 68 (Old Russellville Rd-Old US 68)

BOWLING GREEN

Begin: US 68 & 231, Bowling Green
End: US 68 & KY 234, Bowling Green

3.249 mi, all Warren

Cities: Bowling Green

Names:

Old: US 68

PARIS

Begin: US 27/68, Paris
End: US 68, Paris

2.772 mi, all Bourbon

Cities: Paris

Names:

Cadiz's Biz US 68 formed in 1995 when US 68 was moved to a new bypass. The same happened in Elkton in 2000, Russellville in 1998, and Auburn in '97. A similar event occurred in Bowling Green in 2008 when US 68 was moved to the existing bypass.

BYP 68

Begin: US 68 & KY 1682, 1.6 mi W of Hopkinsville city line
End: US 68, .8 mi E of Hopkinsville city line

11.026 mi, all Christian

Cities: Hopkinsville

Names: Hopkinsville Byp

This is the south side of the Hopkinsville loop. The north side of the bypass includes part of KY 1682. In full, the bypass is mostly a divided highway and forms almost a full circle around the city.

68A

Begin: US 68, 1.4 mi W of Fairview [Christian/Todd Co]
End: US 68, .7 mi E of Fairview [Christian/Todd Co]

2.14 mi:

Names: Russellville Rd (Christian Co)

Old: US 68 (.1 mi from begin-.1 mi from end)

Formed in 2000 from the old US 68, when US 68 moved to a newly built roadbed.

79

Begin KY maint: TN state line, .3 mi SW of Guthrie city line
End: Biz US 68, Russellville

23.532 mi in KY:

Cities: Guthrie, Russellville

Names:

This road holds the distinction of being both a U.S. and a state route.

US/KY 79 was KY 105 until the 1940s or '50s when US 79 - which now begins at I-35 in Round Rock, TX - was extended from West Memphis, AR, to Russellville. The part of KY 105 from Russellville to Brandenburg was later renumbered KY 79, so KY 79 more or less begins where US 79 leaves off - though actually, to get from the end of US 79 to the beginning of KY 79, you must backtrack a few blocks through downtown.

119

Begin: US 25E, .1 mi S of Pineville city line
End KY maint: WV state line (Tug Fork River), .2 mi NW of S Williamson

110.603 mi in KY:

Uses: US 23 (Letcher Co-Pike Co)

Cities: Cumberland, Whitesburg

Names:

US 119 runs from near Pineville (whose city limits it appears not to enter, though it's hard to tell) to US 219 in DuBois, PA, and is said to be one of the most dangerous major roads in America. There is no flat land along US 119, and I've heard that coal trucks being driven without headlights are constantly backing out of mining roads directly onto the highway without stopping for oncoming traffic.

US 119 - much of which is famously known as Kingdom Come Parkway - parallels the Cumberland River and CSX rail line, up the mountains, then along the mighty Poor Fork, then up an incredibly crooked stretch to Whitesburg. US 119 used to run northeast from Pikeville on the current KY 1426 but now bypasses that.

I'm told that US 119 between Harlan and Cumberland was even more treacherous before 1975 when it was rebuilt. Old US 119 must be KY 522 now.

SPUR 119

Begin: US 119, .1 mi SE of S Williamson
End: WV state line (Tug Fork River), .12 mi E of S Williamson

.056 mi, all Pike

Major bridges: Harvey St Br (Tug Fork River)

Old: US 119

Bridge to Williamson, WV.

127

Begin KY maint: TN state line (KY 1076 & Huntersville-Cedar Knob Rd), Static
End KY maint: US 42, .7 mi SW of Sugar Cr (leaves KY using US 42, US 25)

176.809 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Albany, Jamestown, Russell Sprs, Liberty, Hustonville, Junction City, Danville, Harrodsburg, Lawrenceburg, Frankfort, Owenton, Glencoe

Names:

Major bridges: Wolf Cr Dam (Lk Cumberland, Russell Co)

US 127 - which is promoted as a massive annual yard sale that spans Tennessee and Kentucky - enters Kentucky at Static. (Static is about all you can get on the radio in Static.) Until 1958, US 127 was KY 35 from the Tennessee line to the present KY 35 north of Owenton, KY 16 from KY 35 to the present KY 16, and KY 239 from KY 16 to US 42. This includes the possibly unsigned former US 37 south of Albany. Until 1989, US 127 followed US 60 to central Frankfort and used Holmes Street north.

US 127 in Southern Kentucky is also known for the fact that I once saw a discarded toilet laying along the road. In total, US 127 runs from US 27 in Chattanooga, TN, to I-75 near Grayling, MI (including much of what was the Michigan part of US 27 prior to 2002).

A bypassed part of US 127 in Hustonville became Biz US 127 in 1993 but became KY 2141 in 1994.

BYP 127

DANVILLE

Begin: US 127 & Byp US 150, Danville
End: US 127, .5 mi N of Danville city line

5.27 mi, all Boyle

Cities: Danville

Names: Danville Byp

HARRODSBURG

Begin: US 127, .5 mi SE of Harrodsburg city line
End: US 127, .1 mi N of Harrodsburg city line

4.483 mi, all Mercer

Cities: Harrodsburg

LAWRENCEBURG

Begin: US 127, .6 mi NE of McBrayer
End: US 127 & KY 151, 1.1 mi NW of Lawrenceburg city line

6.656 mi, all Anderson

US 127 is 4 lanes divided from Danville to Frankfort, except in most of the places where the divided highway is picked up by Byp US 127. The Danville and Lawrenceburg bypasses appear to be pre-1980, while the Harrodsburg bypass opened around 2001. There is sort of an extension of the bypass on the northwest side of Harrodsburg used by KY 390.

143

Never happened! US 143 was once proposed from Nashville, TN, to Glasgow, KY, but it never came to be!

150

Begin KY maint: I-64, 1.9 mi NW of downtown Louisville (enters KY using I-64)
End: US 25 & KY 1249, Mt Vernon

79.899 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Louisville, Bardstown, Springfield, Perryville, Danville, Stanford, Crab Orchard, Brodhead, Mt Vernon

Names:

In the olden days, US 150 used Main Street in New Albany, IN, and crossed the Ohio River to Louisville via the K&I Bridge. This bridge was unusual because the rail line had one lane of road traffic on each side, so eastbound US 150 used one side of the bridge while westbound used the other side. In 1979 (believe it or not), one of the roadbeds caved in - prompting the road portions of the bridge to be closed ever since. Now the approach roads in Indiana are overgrown with weeds and dotted with signs to keep trespassers out. It's spooky and fun to explore! On the Kentucky side, there were still a few very old, homemade-looking signs directing motorists to the bridge as of 2004. US 150 probably used Northwestern Parkway to the Kentucky approach. Following the closure of the K&I Bridge, US 150 now uses I-64 - a rare but unfortunate instance of a U.S. route using a freeway in Kentucky.

In all, US 150 goes from I-74 near Moline, IL, to its eastern terminus in Kentucky. The Kentucky portion was once US 168.

Byp US 150 peopled Stanford until 2003 when it became part of mainline US 150.

TRUCK 150

Begin: southbound US 31W/150 & Market St, 1.8 mi W of downtown Louisville
End: northbound US 31W/150, 1.8 mi W of downtown Louisville (uses US 31W, US 31E to reconnect with US 150)

.089 mi, all Jefferson

Cities: Louisville

Names: W Market St

An alternate to US 150 through Louisville for commercial drivers, possibly due to low clearances on Broadway (mainline US 150). Truck US 150 is only officially carried for its first eastbound block, since it uses US 31W and 31E to finish the loop.

BIZ 150

Begin: US 150 & KY 55, Springfield
End: US 150, .1 mi E of Springfield city line

2.392 mi, all Washington

Cities: Springfield

Names:

Old: US 150 (begin-.1 from end)

Formed in 2006 when US 150 was moved to what was mostly a bippin' new bypass.

BYP 150

Begin: US 127 & Byp US 127, Danville (uses Byp US 127 to reconnect with US 150)
End: US 150, .1 mi S of Longview Ests

2.272 mi, all Boyle

Cities: Danville

Names: Danville Byp

168

An old memory of the U.S. route system's early days. US 168 ran from Louisville to Mount Vernon and became part of US 150 way back around 1934.

227

The intrastate and entirely nonmetropolitan US 227 ran from Richmond to Paris, then along US 460 to Georgetown, and then to Carrollton. It was decertified in 1972 - a rare loss of a U.S. route in Kentucky. Generally, the old route is now KY 388 and 627 from Richmond to Paris and KY 227 from near Georgetown to Carrollton.

231

Begin KY maint: US 31E & KY 980, Scottsville (enters KY using US 31E)
End KY maint: .249 mi past IN state line (Ohio River), 1.2 mi NE of Rockport IN city line

92.486 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Scottsville, Bowling Green, Morgantown, Beaver Dam, Hartford, Owensboro

Names:

Major bridges:

US 231 includes the 4,505-foot-long William H. Natcher Bridge, which opened in 2002 after many delays. Kentucky maintains this bridge into Indiana, about to where it crosses over IN 66.

US 231 like totally runs from US 98 in Panama City, FL, to US 41 in St. John, IN.

BIZ 231

Begin: US 231 & KY 880, Bowling Green
End: US 231 & KY 880, .2 mi W of Bowling Green city line

3.899 mi, all Warren

Uses:

Cities: Bowling Green

Names:

Old: US 231

Probably not the same as an even earlier Biz US 231 that apparently ran closer to downtown and was killed in 1984. The current Biz US 231, established in 1999, actually uses an inner bypass that seems to have replaced that older business loop. Mainline US 231 was moved to the newer outer bypass that continues as KY 880.

241

Ran only from Nashville to Hopkinsville, and lasted only from 1926 to 1930. Became part of US 41.

421

Begin KY maint: VA state line, 2.9 mi E of Cranks
End KY maint: IN state line (Ohio River), Milton

215.11 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Harlan, Hyden, Manchester, McKee, Lexington, Midway, Frankfort, Pleasureville, New Castle, Campbellsburg, Bedford, Milton

Names:

US 421 runs diagonally across Kentucky and uses the Ohio River bridge from Milton, KY, to Madison, IN. Nonmotorized traffic that needs to cross the bridge is out of luck, because a sign forbids pedestrians from using it and because it's too busy for bicyclists to use. There is no alternate bridge within miles. (How inclusive - not!)

In full, US 421 runs from Kure Beach, NC, to US 20 in Michigan City, IN - ending in a state where much of US 421 is the historic Michigan Road.

431

Begin KY maint: TN state line, 1.1 mi S of Adairville city line
End: US 60 & Frederica St, Owensboro

85.072 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Adairville, Russellville, Lewisburg, Drakesboro, Central City, S Carrollton, Island, Livermore, Owensboro

Names:

Major bridges: Green River, Livermore

US 431 goes from US 231 in Dothan, AL, to its north end in Owensboro.

BIZ 431

Begin: US 79 & Main St, Russellville (uses US 79 to reconnect with US 431)
End: US 68 & KY 3519, Russellville (uses US 68 to reconnect with US 431)

1.793 mi, all Logan

Uses: Biz US 68

Cities: Russellville

Names: Main St

Old: US 431

Established 1999 when US 431 and the new KY 2843 bypass became Biz US 431 and mainline US 431, respectively.

460

Begin: US 60 & 421, Frankfort
End KY maint: VA state line, 1.1 mi SE of Toonerville

169.429 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Frankfort, Georgetown, Paris, N Middletown, Mt Sterling, Camargo, Jeffersonville, Frenchburg, W Liberty, Salyersville, Paintsville

Names:

Until 1977, US 460 continued west to Louisville using US 60. Through at least some of that era, it used the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge to Indiana and went to St. Louis. It now runs only from Frankfort to US 60 in Norfolk, VA. At least into the 1990s, and possibly even now, US 460 had an old rock wall alongside it between Paris and Mount Sterling. Some maps label US 460 as the Mountain Parkway from the end of the actual Bert to where KY 114 continues with this label.

BYP 460

Begin: US 460, Georgetown
End: US 62 & Paynes Depot Rd, .5 mi SW of Georgetown city line (uses US 62 to reconnect with US 460)

1.026 mi, all Scott

Cities: Georgetown

Names: McClelland Cir

A bypass on the south side of Georgetown built in the 1990s.

641

Begin KY maint: TN state line (KY 893 & State St), Hazel
End: US 60 & Gum St, Marion

54.532 mi in KY:

Uses:

Cities: Hazel, Murray, Hardin, Benton, Fredonia, Marion

Names:

US 641 runs from I-40 near Holladay, TN, up to Marion - with the largest city along the entire length of US 641 being the mere 14,000 peeps of Murray. It used to run concurrent with US 60 to Henderson.

BIZ 641

Begin: US 641 & Glendale Rd, Murray
End: US 641, Murray

2.873 mi, all Calloway

Cities: Murray

Names:

SPUR 641

Begin: US 641 & KY 783, .7 mi S of Gladstone
End: Julian M Carroll Purchase Pkwy, .4 mi N of Benton city line

3.519 mi, all Marshall

Cities: Benton

Built to bypass Benton and direct US 641 traffic onto the Purchase Parkway, this was renamed from Truck US 641 in 1992. (I guess the truck route used the parkway and some other road to loop back to US 641.)