 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "U.S. Route 51" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 U.S. Route 51 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 51 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length | 1,277 mi[1] (2,055 km) | |||
| Existed | November 11, 1926 (1926-11-11)[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 61 inLaPlace, LA | |||
| Major intersections |
| |||
| North end |  US 2 nearHurley, WI | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| States | Louisiana,Mississippi,Tennessee,Kentucky,Illinois,Wisconsin | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 51 orU.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south–northUnited States highway that extends 1,277 miles (2,055 km) from the western suburbs ofNew Orleans, Louisiana, to within 150 feet (46 m) of theWisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highways ending with "1", it is a cross-country north–south route extending from theGulf Coast region to theGreat Lakes region. Much of the highway in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin runs parallel to or is cosigned withInterstate 39 (I-39) and much of the route in several states also parallels theIllinois Central Railroad. FromLaPlace, Louisiana,Mississippi, toMemphis, Tennessee, much of that portion of US 51 runs largely parallel or is concurrent withInterstate 55 (I-55). The highway's northern terminus is betweenHurley, Wisconsin, andIronwood, Michigan, where it ends with aroundabout atUS 2. Its southern terminus is in Laplace, Louisiana, ending atUS 61. US 51 is routed through the states ofLouisiana, Mississippi,Tennessee,Kentucky,Illinois, and Wisconsin.
In addition to singing about US 61 on his albumHighway 61 Revisited, musicianBob Dylan also commemorated US 51, covering the folk song "Highway 51 Blues", earlier recorded by bothCurtis Jones andTommy McClennan, on his eponymous albumBob Dylan. TheNorth Mississippi Allstars also paid tribute to the highway in the title track of their album51 Phantom.
In Memphis, Tennessee, all of US 51 south ofSouth Parkway East was renamed from Bellevue Boulevard toElvis Presley Boulevard on January 17, 1972.Graceland is located on this section of the highway, in the subdivision ofWhitehaven.
In 2004, the six states that US 51 traverses banded together as theExplore Hwy 51 Coalition to help promote this "All-American Road". The group now offers visitor information for traveling the length of the road.[3]
.jpg)
US 51 begins at the intersection withUS 61 inLaplace and heads northeast. It intersectsI-10 before running concurrently withI-55. Near the interchange withI-12, the route splits from I-55. It intersectsUS 190 inHammond and remains running parallel with I-55 before enteringMississippi. In the 1930s, this highway was calledJefferson Davis Highway.[4]
US 51 enters Mississippi fromLouisiana inOsyka and runs parallel withI-55. It intersectsUS 98 inMcComb andUS 84 south ofBrookhaven. Northwest ofCrystal Springs, it runs concurrently with I-55 and then splits at the interchange withI-20 inJackson. The highway then runs through Jackson, intersectingUS 80. OutsideRidgeland, it passes under I-55 as it continues northeast. It continues throughCanton,Pickens,Goodman, andDurant. The highway continues to run along I-55, intersectingUS 82 inWinona andUS 278 inBatesville. The route passes underI-69 before enteringTennessee.
The Mississippi section of US 51 is defined at Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.
US 51 enters Tennessee from Mississippi and travels throughMemphis. It intersectsI-55 and thenI-240 before intersectingUS 78. It then runs concurrently withUS 79 before intersectingI-69. As it exits Memphis, it intersectsI-40 and heads northeasterly. InDyersburg, it runs concurrently withUS 412 for a half a mile before intersectingI-155's eastern terminus. US 51 then continues northeasterly before enteringKentucky. US 51 between Memphis and Kentucky is planned on running concurrently with I-69.
US 51 enters Kentucky atFulton, running concurrently with I-69 and continues northward through the towns of Clinton, Bardwell and Wickliffe to theOhio River. The route intersects and runs concurrently withUS 62 before separating from it inCairo. Along the way it also intersectsUS 60. The route then entersIllinois before running concurrently withI-57.
US 51 enters Illinois from Kentucky at the city ofCairo. The route heads northward to a village near Cairo calledMounds, and shares the pavement with I-57, following it for 24 miles (39 km) toDongola, before splitting and heading north. The route remains two lanes from Dongola to just beforeAssumption with the exception of a 10-mile (16 km) section betweenCentralia andI-64.
North of Assumption, US 51 becomes an expressway toDecatur. In Decatur, US 51 followsI-72 to bypass town. US 51 leaves I-72 after eight miles (13 km), and heads north toBloomington–Normal as an expressway. At Bloomington–Normal, US 51 followsI-74 for a mile, thenI-55 for seven miles (11 km), before followingI-39 for 140 miles (230 km).
US 51 follows I-39, intersectingI-80 andI-88 along the way. The highway also followsUS 20 south ofRockford (while still following I-39). I-39/US 51 joinsI-90, making US 51 one of the only toll roads in Illinois that is a U.S. Highway. US 51 exits I-39/I-90 just a mile south of the Wisconsin state line. US 51 followsIllinois Route 75 (IL 75) west to the intersection ofIL 251, then turns north throughSouth Beloit to enterWisconsin.
.jpg)
In the state of Wisconsin, US 51 enters fromIllinois atBeloit. US 51 splits off from I-39/I-90 inSouth Beloit, Illinois, and continues northward throughJanesville andEdgerton. In Edgerton, US 51 rejoins I-39/I-90 for 3.5 miles (5.6 km) before splitting off towardsStoughton andMcFarland. US 51 runs almost parallel to I-39/I-90 through the eastern portion ofMadison, crosses the Interstate inDeForest, and finally rejoins I-39 again atPortage. US 51 runs concurrently with I-39 until I-39's terminus inWausau and continues on as a mixture of freeway and expressway until just north of the interchange withUS 8. From there throughHazelhurst, US 51 is a two-lane road with sporadic three-lane sections (which were constructed in 2008). US 51 expands to four lanes, with a central fifth turn lane from Hazelhurst toArbor Vitae; north of Arbor Vitae it returns to two lanes and continues to its northern end inHurley, where it terminates atUS 2.
US 61 inLaPlace
I-10 in LaPlace
I-55 northeast of LaPlace. The highways travel concurrently toHammond.
US 190 in Hammond
US 98 inMcComb
US 84 south ofBrookhavenI-55 inCrystal Springs. The highways travel concurrently toJackson.
I-20 /US 49 in Jackson. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 80 in Jackson
US 82 inWinona
US 278 inBatesville
I-55 /Future I-69 inMemphis
US 78 in Memphis
US 64 /US 70 /US 72 /US 79 in Memphis. US 51/US 64/US 70/US 79 travels concurrently through the city.
I-240 in Memphis
I-40 in MemphisFuture I-69 in Memphis
Future I-269 inMillington
US 412 inDyersburg. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
Future I-69 /I-155 /US 412 in Dyersburg. I-69/US 51 travels concurrently to southwest ofTroy.
US 45W northeast ofUnion City. The highways travel concurrently toSouth Fulton.
US 45 /US 45E in South Fulton
I-69 inFulton. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 62 inBardwell. The highways travel concurrently toCairo, Illinois.
US 60 inWickliffe. The highways travel concurrently to Cairo, Illinois.
I-57 in Cairo. The highways travel concurrently to nearDongola.
I-64 inRichview
US 50 inSandoval. The highways travel concurrently through the village.
US 40 inVandalia Township. The highways travel concurrently toVandalia.
I-70 in Vandalia
US 36 inHarristown
I-72 in Harristown. The highways travel concurrently toDecatur.
I-74 inBloomington Township. The highways travel concurrently to northwest ofNormal.I-55 inBloomington. The highways travel concurrently to Normal.
US 150 in Bloomington
I-39 /I-55 in Normal. I-39/US 51 travels concurrently toSouth Beloit.
US 24 inEl Paso
US 6 inLaSalle
I-80 in LaSalle
US 52 on theTroy Grove–Ophir township line
US 34 inMendota Township
US 30 on theAmboy–Franklin Grove township line
I-88 inDement Township
US 20 inRockford. The highways travel concurrently toCherry Valley.
I-90 in Cherry Valley. The highways travel concurrently to South Beloit.
US 14 in theTown of JanesvilleI-39 /I-90 in theTown of Albion. The highways travel concurrently through the town.
US 12 /US 18 inMadison
US 151 in Madison
I-39 /I-90 /I-94 in theTown of BurkeI-39 in theTown of Fort Winnebago. The highways travel concurrently to theTown of Rib Mountain.
US 10 inStevens Point. The highways travel concurrently to theTown of Hull.
US 8 in theTown of KingUS 2 in theTown of KimballRoutes initalics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system. |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
