 U.S. Route 45 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 45 highlighted in red, US 45E in blue, US 45W in magenta | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 1,297 mi[citation needed] (2,087 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926[citation needed]–present | |||
| Southern segment | ||||
| South end |  US 98 atMobile, AL | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end |   US 45W /US 45E inThree Way, TN | |||
| Northern segment | ||||
| South end |  US 45W /US 45E /US 51 inSouth Fulton, TN | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end | Ontonagon and River streets inOntonagon, MI | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| States | Alabama,Mississippi,Tennessee,Kentucky,Illinois,Wisconsin,Michigan | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-southUnited States highway and a border-to-border route, fromLake Superior to theGulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as 1,297 miles (2,087 km).
US 45 is notable for incorporating, in its maiden alignment, the first paved road in the South, a 49-mile (79 km) segment inLee County, Mississippi. Let to contract in July 1914, the concrete highway opened on November 15, 1915.[1]
As of 2006, the highway's northern terminus is inOntonagon, Michigan, at the corner of Ontonagon and River Streets, a few blocks fromLake Superior (M-64 formerly terminated there as well until its rerouting in October 2006 to use the newly built Ontonagon River Bridge). US 45's southern terminus is inMobile, Alabama, at an intersection withU.S. Route 98.
US 45 is concurrent with unsignedSR 17 betweenMobile andVinegar Bend, just north ofDeer Park, inWashington County,Alabama. From Vinegar Bend to theMississippi state line, US 45 is concurrent with unsignedSR 57.
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U.S. Highway 45 is part of a designated hurricane evacuation route in Mississippi.[2] It is entirely four-laned from its point of entry from Alabama, at the town of State Line, to the Tennessee line just north ofCorinth, along the way serving the towns of (from south to north)Waynesboro,Meridian,Columbus andTupelo.[3] U.S. 45 is a freeway in the vicinity of Meridian, from Shannon to Saltillo, and from south of Corinth to the Tennessee state line.
At Brooksville, U.S. 45 splits away fromU.S. 45 Alternate and serves the towns ofColumbus andAberdeen before rejoining U.S. 45 Alternate south ofTupelo. The alternate roadway provides a more direct and entirely four-laned route between Meridian and Tupelo, bypassing Columbus to the west and, more closely,Starkville to the east.
Major junctions of U.S. 45 in Mississippi includeU.S. Route 84 at Waynesboro,Interstate 20/59 at Meridian,U.S. Route 82 at Columbus,Interstate 22/U.S. Route 78 at Tupelo andU.S. Route 72 at Corinth. Each of these junctions is an interchange and, with the exception of Columbus and Waynesboro, each is part of a freeway segment.
The Mississippi section of U.S. 45 is defined at Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.
Southern section
From the Mississippi state line, US 45 extends north past the cities ofGuys,Eastview,Selmer,Bethel Springs,Finger,Henderson,Pinson, andJackson toThree Way, where the highway splits into US 45W and US 45E.
U.S. Route 45W
 U.S. Route 45W | |
|---|---|
| Location | Three Way-South Fulton, Tennessee |
| Length | 62.33 mi (100.31 km) |
US 45W is a 62.33-mile-long (100.31 km) state highway inWest Tennessee, connectingJackson withSouth Fulton viaHumboldt,Trenton,Dyer,Rutherford,Kenton, andUnion City. For the majority of its length, it is concurrent with unsignedState Route 5 (SR 5).
U.S. Route 45E
 U.S. Route 45E | |
|---|---|
| Location | Three Way-South Fulton, Tennessee |
| Length | 61.23 mi (98.54 km) |
US 45E is a 61.23-mile-long (98.54 km) state highway inWest Tennessee, connectingJackson withSouth Fulton viaMedina,Milan,Bradford,Greenfield,Sharon, andMartin. For the majority of its length, it is concurrent with unsignedState Route 43 (SR 43) for most of the route's length except for short segments at Martin and South Fulton, where it is cosigned withSR 216 andSR 215 respectively.
Northern section
Mainline US 45, concurrent with unsignedSR 3, goes northeast and passes through neighborhoods inSouth Fulton along Chickasaw Drive before turning north onto Highland Drive at an intersection withKentucky Route 116 (KY 116/W State Line Street) at the western edge of downtown. US 45 then crosses intoKentucky and the city ofFulton.
U.S. 45 enters Kentucky atFulton then northeast pastMayfield then heads directly north intoPaducah as a four-lane highway. In Paducah, U.S. 45 serves as a major artery, intersecting withInterstate 24 at exit 7, and intersectingUS 60 and62. U.S. 45 leaves Kentucky from Paducah's northern border across the two-lane, metal-grateBrookport Bridge toBrookport, Illinois across theOhio River.
In the state of Illinois, U.S. 45 runs froma bridge across the Ohio River fromPaducah, Kentucky, throughShawnee National Forest and north to the Wisconsin border east ofAntioch, Illinois. With a length of 428.99 miles (690.39 km) in Illinois,[4] U.S. 45 is the longest numbered route in Illinois.
In its progress north from the Ohio River U.S. 45 first joins Interstate 24 as far asVienna then heads northeast throughHarrisburg andEldorado in Saline County and north throughFairfield,Flora,Effingham,Mattoon,Champaign,Urbana,Gilman andKankakee, then straight north through the western suburbs of Chicago inWill County,Cook County andLake County to the Wisconsin border.
U.S. 45 enters the state in southeastWisconsin. It runs concurrent withInterstate 894 andU.S. Route 41 through the west side of metroMilwaukee to form a major artery through the metropolitan area. It runs north toFond du Lac. The highway routes near the western shore ofLake Winnebago throughOshkosh, Wisconsin. U.S. 45 then travels north throughWittenberg,Antigo, andEagle River, as well as the state and national forests, until it leaves the state atLand O' Lakes and entersMichigan.
US 45 enters Michigan south ofWatersmeet. From there, the highway crosses the WesternUpper Peninsula through theOttawa National Forest running north toOntonagon. US 45 ends just south ofLake Superior in downtown Ontonagon. The terminus was not changed in 2006 despite realignment then ofM-38 andM-64 from the terminus to a crossing 0.7 miles (1.1 km) south.[5]
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Until March 1935, US 45's northern terminus was at US 12 inDes Plaines, Illinois nearChicago.[6][7]
Prior to the construction of the Interstate Highway system, US 45 was one of the main routes south out of Chicago towardNew Orleans. Much of the traffic left US 45 atEffingham, Illinois, continuing on throughCairo, Illinois alongIllinois Route 37.
In 2023, an effort began to improve US 45 inTupelo, Mississippi. A $112 million plan to straighten US 45 at McCullough Boulevard, Hilda Avenue and Front Street in a series of interchanges to solve congestion and safety issues in this area.[8] In additions to these improvements, Mississippi SenatorRoger Wicker requested $5 million for the 2023 fiscal year to fund preconstruction activities that would upgrade the existing substandard US 45 freeway to interstate standards between Tupelo andShannon, Mississippi.[9] The potential interstate spur, which would be an auxiliary route of I-22, is currently listed as High Priority Corridor 95.[10]
US 98 inMobile
I-65 inPrichard
US 84 inWaynesboro
I-20 /I-59 inMeridian
US 11 /US 80 in Meridian
US 82 west ofColumbus. The highways travel concurrently to Columbus.
US 278 north-northwest ofNew Wren. The highways travel concurrently to theVerona–Tupelo city line.
I-22 /US 78 in Tupelo
US 72 inCorinth
US 64 inSelmer. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
I-40 /US 412 inJacksonUS 45E /US 45W inThree Way
US 79 inMilan (US 45E)US 79 inHumboldt (US 45W)US 45E /US 45W /US 51 inSouth Fulton. US 45 / US 51 travel concurrently toFulton, Kentucky.
Future I-69 north ofMayfield
I-24 inPaducah
US 62 in Paducah. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 60 /US 62 in Paducah. US 45/US 60 travels concurrently through the city.I-24 inMetropolisI-24 north-northeast ofVienna
I-64 north ofMill Shoals
US 50 east ofFlora. The highways travel concurrently to northwest of Flora.
US 40 inEffingham. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
I-57 /I-70 in EffinghamI-57 northeast ofNeogaI-57 inMattoon
US 36 inTuscola TownshipI-57 inPesotum
US 150 inChampaign. The highways travel concurrently toUrbana.
I-74 in Urbana
US 136 inRantoul
US 24 inGilman. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 52 east ofAshkum. The highways travel concurrently toPeotone Township.I-57 inKankakee
US 30 inFrankfort
I-80 on theMokena–Orland Park–Tinley Park city line
US 6 in Orland Park
US 12 /US 20 west of thePalos Hills–Hickory Hills city line. US 12/US 45 travels concurrently toDes Plaines. US 20/US 45 travels concurrently to theStone Park–Melrose Park city line.
I-294 inWillow Springs
I-55 on theCountryside–Hodgkins city line
US 34 inLa Grange
I-290 on theWestchester–Hillside–Bellwood city line
I-190 west ofRosemont
US 14 in Des Plaines
I-43 inGreenfield. The highways are concurrent for a 1/2 mile.
I-41 /US 41 /I-894 in Greenfield. I-41 and US-41 stay concurrent untilRichfield. I-894 stays concurrent to theMilwaukee-Wauwatosa city line.
I-94 in Milwaukee.
US 18 in Wauwatosa.
US 151 in theTown of Fond du LacI-41 /US 41 inOshkosh
US 10 inWinchester. The highways travel concurrently for 3 miles.
US 8 inMonico. The highways travel concurrently through the town.
US 2 inWatersmeet
Routes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system. |
| Browse numbered routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
← MS 44 | MS | → MS 46 | ||
