U.S. Route 31
From Free net encyclopedia
Current revision
Image:US 31.svg U.S. Highway 31 is a long north-south highway connecting northern Michigan to southern Alabama, with termini at Interstate 75 near Mackinaw City, Michigan, and U.S. Highway 90 and U.S. Highway 98 at Spanish Fort, Alabama. It formerly reached Mackinaw City along the southern approaches of the Mackinac Bridge (Interstate 75) in the north and downtown Mobile, Alabama in the south.
Contents |
States Along the Route
- Michigan
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Alabama. U.S. 31 is paired with unsigned Alabama State Route 3 thoroughout the state.
Split Routes and Alternate Routes
U.S. 31 splits into U.S. Highway 31W and U.S. Highway 31E between downtown Louisville, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee; earlier U.S. 31 split into U.S. 31W and U.S. 31E in Sellersburg, Indiana. Alternate U.S. 31 also exists between Nashville and Lewisburg, Tennessee and existed through Columbus, Indiana and Seymour, Indiana; both sections of Alternate U.S. 31 are or were loops connecting to U.S. 31. Old Alternate U.S. 31 in Indiana is part of Indiana State Highway 11.
History
Before the Interstate era, U.S. 31 was a major north-south highway. Interstate 65 supplants U.S. 31 and either 31W or 31E as a through route between Indianapolis and Mobile. South of Indianapolis, all segments of U.S. 31 not coinciding with Interstate 65 have been reduced to roads largely of local use. Interstate 196 now carries the route of U.S. 31 between Holland, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. All of U.S. 31 between Ludington, Michigan and Indianapolis, Indiana is divided highway; some of it is freeway, including a bypass of South Bend, Indiana; the segment between South Bend and Indianapolis is scheduled for upgrade or replacement with Interstate-standard freeway. Environmental impact studies have shown that the fifth phase of the then-to-be-constructed freeway segment between Napier Avenue (near Benton Harbor, MI) and I-196 (or BL I-94 going into Benton Harbor) may not be completed until 2015.
Overlapped with Interstate 65
There is a disputed gap in U.S. 31 between Athens, Alabama and Ardmore, Tennessee. For 14 miles (from Alabama mile marker 354 to Tennessee mile marker 1), U.S. 31 is multiplexed with Interstate 65. There are no confirmation signs pairing the two routes in either state, aside from the directional signs at the entrance ramps in Athens and Ardmore. The multiplex is shown on official maps of both states.
U.S. 31 is also multiplexed with I-65 between Blount Springs, Alabama (Exit 289) and Hayden, Alabama (Exit 287).
"Parent/Child" Routes
U.S. 31 is the parent route of U.S. Highway 131, almost entirely in Michigan; U.S. Highway 231, which comes within a few miles of connecting Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico; and U.S. Highway 331, connecting Montgomery, Alabama with Santa Rosa Beach, Florida . U.S. Highway 431, connecting Owensboro, Kentucky and Dothan, Alabama has both its northern and southern termini on U.S. 231, so one can argue that U.S. 231 is the real parent of U.S. 431. Although U.S. 31 passes through Montgomery, it never intersects with U.S. 331.
Cities along the route
- Petoskey, Michigan
- Traverse City, Michigan
- Ludington, Michigan
- Muskegon, Michigan
- Kokomo, Indiana
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Columbus, Indiana
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Bardstown, Kentucky: on U.S. 31E
- Glasgow, Kentucky: on U.S. 31E
- Fort Knox, Kentucky: on U.S. 31W
- Elizabethtown, Kentucky: on U.S. 31W
- Bowling Green, Kentucky: on U.S. 31W
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Columbia, Tennessee
- Athens, Alabama
- Decatur, Alabama
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Hoover, Alabama
- Prattville, Alabama
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Brewton, Alabama
- Atmore, Alabama
Within the state of Alabama from Decatur to Montgomery, U.S. 31 is given the name of the city that Route 31 is leading to or from Birmingham. This is part of a "All Roads Lead To Rome" concept taken up by the deeply-southern state. This concept is inspired by Birmingham's seemingly "Mother City"-like way of existing, even though Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in Alabama. From Birmingham north to Decatur, the highway is known as Decatur Highway. From Birmingham south to Montgomery, US 31 is known as Montgomery Highway. North of Decatur, and South of Montgomery, the highway is referred to as Bee-Line Highway or simply "Highway 31".
In downtown Birmingham, the junction with I-20/I-59 serves also as the western terminus of U.S. Highway 280. U.S. 31 and U.S. 280 overlap on the Elton B. Stephens (Red Mountain) Expressway, leading to the city's southern suburbs . There has been speculation that this freeway is the unsigned I-559. Highway officials in Alabama refute this speculation.
Historical Note: In the 1930s, U.S. 31 continued at Saint Ignace across the Straits of Mackinac, and junctioned with U.S. 2 (Mackinac Trail and what later became M-123).