U.S. Route 45
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Image:US45.png U.S. Highway 45 is a north-south United States highway. US 45 is a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as 1,300 miles (2,092 km).
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Recent Activity
Except for short sections near cities, Highway 45 was still almost entirely a two-lane roadway though Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee well into the 1980s. In Mississippi, the highway is entirely divided and four-laned except for a 20 mile stretch on US 45A between Artesia and Brooksville and from south of Waynesboro to the Alabama State Line. The Artesia-Brooksville section is under design by the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the end of divided highway south of Waynesboro is be continued as a new routing for Mississippi State Highway 63 to Lucedale, Mississippi and Pascagoula, Misissippi on the Gulf Coast. US 45 bypasses around Cornith, Tupelo, and Meridian are limited-access highways. Except for two stretches of US 45W, which are currently in a survey-and-design stage, all of US 45 in Tennessee has been converted to or replaced by four-lane, often divided, expressways, most of which since the administration of Governor Ned McWherter, a native of West Tennessee who also launched numerous other highway projects, stiffened penalties for drunk driving, and raised the state speed limit to 65 mph (100 km/h). From Fulton to Mayfield, Kentucky, US 45 is paralleled by the Julian M. Carroll Purchase Parkway, built in the late 1960s. From Mayfield to Paducah, it is a four-lane divided expressway.
Termini
As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus is in Ontonagon, Michigan at an intersection with Michigan State Routes 38 and 64, a few blocks from Lake Superior. Its southern terminus is in Mobile, Alabama at an intersection with U.S. Highway 98.
Historic termini
Until 1934, US 45's northern terminus was in the Chicago, Illinois area.
Prior to the construction of the Interstate Highway system, US 45 was the one of the main routes south out of Chicago toward New Orleans. Much of the traffic left US 45 at Effingham, Illinois, continuing on the Cairo, Illinois along Illinois State Route 37.
Alternate routes
As of 2004, US 45 has two alternate routings.
US 45 splits into US 45E and US 45W in South Fulton, Tennessee, just across the state line from Fulton, Kentucky. The two routes follow parallel paths about 10 miles (16 km) apart, then rejoin just north of Interstate 40 at Three Way, Tennessee, a town so named because of this junction.
The route splits again south of Tupelo, Mississippi. Alternate US 45 takes a direct route to the south through West Point, while the main line of US 45 bears east through Aberdeen and Columbus. The routes rejoin in Brooksville, in rural Noxubee County.
States traversed
The highway passes through the following states:
- Michigan (northern peninsula)
- Wisconsin
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Mississippi
- Alabama. U.S. 45 is co-routed with unsigned Alabama State Route 17 between Mobile and Vinegar Bend in Washington County. From Vinegar Bend until the Mississippi state line, U.S. 45 is paired with unsigned Alabama State Route 57.
Some Cities Along the Route
- Mobile, Alabama
- Meridian, Mississippi
- Columbus, Mississippi
- Tupelo, Mississippi
- Selmer, Tennessee
- Jackson, Tennessee
- Mayfield, Kentucky
- Paducah, Kentucky
- Cairo, Illinois
- Effingham, Illinois
- Champaign, Illinois
- Urbana, Illinois
- Chicago, Illinois
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Oshkosh, Wisconsin
Related US routes
- Despite its length, US 45 has no "child" routes.