US 45 in Kentucky

US 41, 42 and 45 in Kentucky

US 41 in Kentucky

US 41
Get started Guthrie
End Henderson
Length 104 mi
Length 167 km
Route
  • Tennessee
  • Guthrie
  • Hopkinsville
  • Nortonville
  • Madisonville
  • Henderson
  • Indiana

US 41 is a US Highway in the US state of Kentucky. The road forms a north-south route through the west of the state, from the Tennessee border through Hopkinsville and Henderson to the Indiana border. US 41 is 167 kilometers long in Kentucky.

Travel directions

US 41 at Pembroke.

US 41 in Tennessee enters Kentucky at Guthrie and heads northwest for about 15 miles parallel to Interstate 24. Hopkinsville crosses the Pennyrile Parkway, then US 41 branches north and runs parallel to the parkway to Henderson. At Nortonville one crosses the Ford Parkway, after which US 41 runs parallel to Interstate 69. From Henderson, US 41 crosses a bridge over the Ohio River, then US 41 in Indiana continues through Evansville.

History

US 41 was created in 1926. At the time, it was western Kentucky’s primary north-south route, serving the mid-sized towns of Hopkinsville and Henderson. The original US 41 went through Providence, slightly more westerly than the current route. This old route is now US 41 Alternate. The current route between Nortonville and Henderson was still partly unpaved in the late 1930s. The route via Providence was paved.

On July 4, 1932, the first Ohio River bridge opened between Henderson and Evansville. In December 1966, the second bridge opened, after which the bridges were known as the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges and the Twin Bridges. The bridge was briefly a toll bridge, but the toll was lifted in 1941.

  • See BABYINGER for a list of Kentucky public libraries by county.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 4,000 vehicles pass through Guthrie and 1,600 to 1,800 vehicles between Guthrie and Hopkinsville, rising to 8,000 vehicles in Hopkinsville itself. Further north, 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles drove to Nortonville and 20,000 vehicles into Madisonville. Between Madisonville and Henderson, there are 2,000 to 2,500 vehicles and 35,000 vehicles in Henderson itself. The bridge over the Ohio River has 37,500 vehicles.

US 42 in Kentucky

US 42
Get started Louisville
End Covington
Length 106 mi
Length 171 km
Route
  • Louisville
  • Bedford
  • Warsaw
  • union
  • Florence
  • Erlanger
  • Covington
  • Ohio

US 42 is a US Highway in the US state of Kentucky. The road forms an east-west route from Louisville to the Ohio border at Covington in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. US 42 is 171 kilometers long in Kentucky.

Travel directions

US 42/127 near Warsaw.

US 42 follows Interstate 71 in Kentucky and usually isn’t much more than 10 miles from it. Most of the route runs between I-71 and the Ohio River, connecting the villages, but is of no through importance because of the parallel I-71. The route has been called a major city highway in the southern suburbs of Cincinnati. The northernmost part is also double -numbered with US 25 and US 127.

History

US 42 was created in 1926, but then ran entirely in Ohio. In 1932, the route was extended to Louisville. At the end of the 1930s, US 42 was completely paved. US 41 originally ran over the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge, opened in 1866, over the Ohio River between Covington and Cincinnati. The route was then routed over the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, which opened in October 1974, which is slightly to the west.

US 42 lost its through importance with the construction of I-71 between Louisville and Cincinnati. The first part of this opened in the southern suburbs of Cincinnati in the early 1960s. Between 1966 and 1969, I-71 opened further as far as Louisville, eliminating the through-traffic of US 42 early on, which is why the route is single-lane outside the major cities.

Traffic intensities

11,000 to 20,000 vehicles drive daily in eastern Louisville and 25,000 vehicles on I-265. This drops to 3,500 vehicles just outside of Louisville, and intensities further down to the Cincinnati region are between 2,500 and 5,000 vehicles. This rises to 25,000 vehicles in Florence and 24,000 vehicles in the southern suburbs of Cincinnati. 15,000 vehicles cross the Ohio River every day.

US 45 in Kentucky

US 45
Get started Fulton
End Paducah
Length 52 mi
Length 84 km
Route
Tennessee

Fulton

Mayfield

Paducah

Illinois

US 45 is a US Highway in the US state of Kentucky. The road forms a north-south route through the west of the state, from the Tennessee border at Fulton through Mayfield to the Illinois border at Paducah. US 45 is 84 kilometers long in Kentucky.

Travel directions

US 45/60 at Paducah.

US 45 in Tennessee splits further south and converges at Fulton. US 45 then parallels Purchase Parkway to Mayfield and then turns north. Between Mayfield and Paducah, the US 45 is a divided highway with 2×2 lanes. It crosses Interstate 24, after which the route passes through the town of Paducah and crosses the Ohio River. The US 45 in Illinois then continues via Metropolis towards Vienna.

History

US 45 was created in 1926. The Irvin S. Cobb Bridge over the Ohio River opened in 1929 and was the first bridge over the Ohio in western Kentucky, making US 45 vital to north-south traffic at the time. The route was already paved and US 45 was probably widened to 4 lanes between Mayfield and Paducah in the 1960s or 1970s. In 1973, I-24 opened around Paducah, eliminating through traffic through this town. In 1966, the Purchase Parkway between Fulton and Mayfield opened parallel to US 45. Since then, only the four-lane section between Mayfield and Paducah has remained of through importance.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 9,000 vehicles cross the Tennessee border into Fulton, then drop to 1,300 to 2,500 vehicles between Fulton and Mayfield. The Mayfield to Paducah section has some 12,000 vehicles and 4,400 vehicles on the Ohio River bridge.

US 45 in Kentucky