End of US highways 31E and 31W; historic end of US 42 and US 168
(about 64 k)
Photo credits: H.B.
Elkins; J.P.
Nasiatka; Mike
Page; me
The photo below was taken in downtown Louisville KY, looking north on 2nd Street
at Main Street:
me,
July 2007
Ahead is the US 31 bridge over the Ohio River into Jeffersonville IN. Below
is a different perspective (looking west on Main):
me,
July 2007
This intersection was probably the historic endpoint of US
168 from 1926-1934, and of US
42 after 1932. Today this junction marks US 31's north split into US
31E and US 31W. Note the US 31 sign at upper right - that's because Main is
northbound US 31E to this point. Straight ahead is southbound US 31W, and to
the right is northbound US 31. That intersection used to be incorrectly signed
thus:
Nasiatka, Sep. 2003
If you take that right turn over the 2nd Street Bridge, the sign below is posted
on the bridge itself:
Elkins, May 2000
Unless you have a pretty large-scale map, you might be inclined to believe that
there is no US 31 (proper) in Kentucky at all. While it is split into 31E and
31W for nearly the entire length of the state, there is a half-mile long segment
of US 31 itself in KY: it runs from the Indiana state line to the intersection
of 2nd and Main. Here's a map:
KY DoT, 1999
Notice the one-ways and the split. Heading south on US 31 from Indiana, one
encounters the unlikely sign shown below:
Nasiatka, Sep. 2003
2nd (ahead) used to be one-way northbound (towards the camera), so you can
see why both routes had to be directed to the right in the past (see map scan).
But now 2nd goes both ways, so it's unclear why these signs haven't been changed:
US 31E should be directed straight ahead and then left on the next block (Market,
which is the eastbound one-way partner with Main). If you do follow signage
west here on Main, J.P reports the left turn from westbound Main to southbound
3rd is not signed for US 31E traffic... so you'd have difficulty correctly navigating
yourself through town. Assuming you were alert enough to go south on 3rd and
then back east on Market, you'd see the first US 31E trailblazer on Market,
east of 2nd:
Nasiatka, Sep. 2003
Marc Fannin
points out that, later on, there was another junction that marked the split
into 31E and 31W: where today's IN hwy. 311 ends at US 31 (this was in Sellersburg
IN, not far north of Louisville).
These two routes come back together in Nashville TN. The photo below was taken
from northbound US 31, just across the Cumberland River from downtown Nashville:
Page, Sep. 2002
To the left, Spring Street is not only US 31W and US 431, but also US 41. Spring
becomes the Dickerson Pike, serving Goodlettsville. To the right, Ellington
Parkway is a newer freeway, connecting with Briley Parkway (TN 155). But from
there US 31E traffic is directed back to its original routing along the Gallatin
Pike, serving Hendersonville and Gallatin.
(Back to main
US 31 page)
(Back to main
US 42 page)
(Back to main
US 168 page)
Page created 01 November 1999; last updated 17 June 2008.
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