 U.S. Route 127 | |
|---|---|
 US 127 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Auxiliary route ofUS 27 | |
| Length | 758 mi[citation needed] (1,220 km) |
| Existed | 1926–present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |  US 27 atChattanooga, TN |
| Major intersections | |
| North end |  I-75 nearGrayling, MI |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Tennessee,Kentucky,Ohio,Michigan |
| Highway system | |
U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a 758-mile-long (1,220 km) north–southU.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is atUS 27 inChattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is atInterstate 75 (I-75) nearGrayling, Michigan. Since 1987, it has been the core of the annual World's Longest Yard Sale, also known as theHighway 127 Corridor Sale (127 Yard Sale), which now stretches 690 miles (1,110 km) fromAddison, Michigan, toGadsden, Alabama. The sale, held every August, was started to demonstrate that the older U.S. Highway System has something to offer that theInterstate Highway System does not.[1] InMichigan, US 127 tripled in length in 2002, taking mileage from its parent,US 27.
| mi | km | |
|---|---|---|
| TN | 130 | 210 |
| KY | 208 | 335 |
| OH | 194 | 312 |
| MI | 212 | 341 |
| Total | 744 | 1,197 |
InTennessee, US 127 traverses rural areas of theCumberland Plateau in easternMiddle Tennessee and westernEast Tennessee. The route officially begins in the northern Chattanooga suburb ofRed Bank at an interchange with US 27, where it overlapsTennessee State Route 8. From there it runs primarily northwest as it passesSignal Mountain, and laterWalden Ridge before enteringDunlap, where it turns northeast alongTennessee State Route 28. After TN 8 leaves at the interchange withTN 111, US 127/TN 28 follows through theSequatchie Valley, passing through the city ofPikeville, then curves back to the northwest as it entersCrossville, only to return towards the northeast as it entersJamestown. From that point on it returns towards the northwest one more time as it winds through the woods surrounding theSgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park. Finally inStatic, the road runs along the Tennessee-Kentucky border where it makes a sharp turn at the northern terminus of TN 111 before entering Kentucky.
InKentucky, US 127 is cosigned withUS 42 through Cincinnati's Northern Kentucky suburbs until five miles (8.0 km) east ofWarsaw, then passes south throughOwenton. This was the road driven byBuddy Rich when he wrote "Blue Grass makes me Blue" in 1947.[2] At the state capital ofFrankfort, it becomes a four-lane highway, then skirtsLawrenceburg,Harrodsburg, andDanville. It enters the hilly Knobs Region atJunction City, where it becomes a two-lane route, and continues throughHustonville, crossing the drainage divide between the Kentucky and Green river watersheds and roughly following the scenic upper Green River valley throughCasey County, crossing the river atLiberty. South ofDunnville it climbs onto the Eastern Pennyroyal Plateau and cuts throughRussell Springs andJamestown. It crossesWolf Creek Dam, which createsLake Cumberland. It runs very briefly with KY 90 north of Albany and crosses into Tennessee atStatic. The new route through Clinton County includes a bypass west of Albany; the original plan for a more direct eastern route was abandoned because of historic and scenic concerns. In the county US 127 runs through sinkhole plains along the escarpment that marks the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, creating scenic views.
US 127 serves several cities and rural communities along the extreme western edge ofOhio, includingCincinnati,New Miami,Seven Mile,Somerville,Camden,Eaton,Greenville,Celina,Van Wert,Paulding andBryan. In Cincinnati, it shares a short concurrency with its parent route, US 27, along withUS 42. From there, it heads north throughFairfield andHamilton. The highway is a four-lane, dividedbypass around Greenville. US 127 crosses theOhio Turnpike nearWest Unity, but does not intersect with it. It also joins withUS 36 for about 5 miles (8 km). The first city US 127 enters after leaving Kentucky is Cincinnati. The last municipality that US 127 goes through before reaching Michigan is West Unity.
Except forDefiance County, US 127 passes through the county seats of all nine counties in Ohio that share a border with Indiana. It also traverses a portion ofFulton County before entering Michigan.
In total, US 127 traverses 194.2 miles (312.5 km) across Ohio.
InMichigan, US 127 runs from the Ohio border south ofHudson north to the junction withI-75, four miles (6.4 km) south ofGrayling, a distance of 212.12 miles (341.37 km).[3][4]
The highway is the primary route connectingLansing and central Michigan to Northern Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge; it serves the cities ofJackson,Lansing, andClare. From the south side of Jackson northerly, it is mostly a four-lane freeway, except for the notable exception of a 16-mile (26 km) stretch from north of St. Johns to just south of Ithaca, where access to the road is not limited.
Prior to 2002, US 127 ran fromI-69 north ofEast Lansing southerly to the Ohio border nearHudson, a total of 83 miles (134 km).[5][6] From the Ohio border until Jackson, the highway follows the course (with minor deviations) of theMichigan Meridian used tosurvey Michigan in the early 19th century. That stretch is generally named Meridian Road.[7]In the non-freeway sections of the route, it is known as Bagley Road.
A proposedI-73 would incorporate US 127 between Jackson and Grayling.[8] However, Michigan abandoned plans for building I-73 in 2001.
US 127 originally terminated at Toledo when it was commissioned in 1926. At that time, the southern portion ran from Somerset to Toledo along the route of present-dayU.S. Route 223. In 1930 the southern terminus moved to Cincinnati, and in 1958 it was extended to its present southern terminus at Chattanooga.[9]
The northern terminus of US 127 was in or nearLansing, Michigan, from its inception in 1926 to 2002. In 2002, the terminus was moved to an intersection withI-75 south ofGrayling inCrawford County, Michigan, replacing all ofUS 27 north of Lansing.[5][6]
The127 Corridor Sale, established in 1987, is named for U.S. Route 127.[10]
US 27 inChattanooga
US 70 inCrossville
US 70N in Crossville
I-40 in Crossville
US 150 inDanville. The highways travel concurrently through Danville.
US 68 northeast ofHarrodsburg
US 62 inLawrenceburg
I-64 inFrankfort
US 60 in Frankfort
US 421 in Frankfort. The highways travel concurrently through Frankfort.
I-71 inGlencoe
US 42 north-northeast of Glencoe. The highways travel concurrently to .I-71 /I-75 inFlorence
US 25 in Florence. The highways travel concurrently to theOhio state line.
I-275 inCrestview HillsI-71 /I-75 inFort MitchellI-71 /I-75 inCovington
US 27 /US 52 inCincinnati. The highways travel concurrently through Cincinnati.
I-75 /US 50 in CincinnatiI-75 /US 50 in Cincinnati
US 22 in Cincinnati
I-74 in CincinnatiI-75 in CincinnatiI-275 on thePleasant Run–Mount Healthy Heights–Forest Park line.
US 35 inEaton
I-70 exit 10 Eaton, OH (4 miles south)
US 40 west of Lewisburg
US 36 west-northwest ofJaysville. The highways travel concurrently toGreenville.
US 33 southeast ofRockford
US 30 /US 224 inVan Wert. US 127/US 224 travels concurrently to north-northeast of Van Wert.
US 24 east ofCecil
US 6 south ofBryan
US 20 east ofAlvordton. The highways travel concurrently to west ofFayette.
US 223 southeast ofSomerset
US 12 east of Somerset
I-94 northeast ofJackson. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of Jackson.
I-96 /I-496 atMichigan State University south-southeast ofLansing. I-496/US 127 travels concurrently toEast Lansing.
I-69 north-northwest of East Lansing
US 10 inClare. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of Clare.I-75 south ofGrayling| Browse numbered routes | ||||
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← KY 126 | list | → KY 128 | ||
