U.S._ROUTE_31

(Redirected from US-31)

'U.S. Route 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. Route 90 and U.S. Route 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.

States Along the Route

★ Michigan see U.S. Route 31 in Michigan for info on the highway in that state.

★ Indiana

★ Kentucky

★ Tennessee

★ Alabama. US 31 is paired with unsigned State Route 3 thoroughout the state.

Split Routes and Alternate Routes

U.S. Route 31 splits into:

★ U.S. Route 31W and U.S. Route 31E between downtown Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee; formerly, US 31 split into US 31W and US 31E in Sellersburg, Indiana.

★ U.S. Route 31 Alternate exists between Nashville and Lewisburg, Tennessee, and formerly through Columbus, Indiana, and Seymour, Indiana;

★ Old US 31A in Indiana is part of State Road 11. Both sections of US 31A are or were loops connecting to US 31.

★ Due to congested traffic conditions in Grand Haven, Michigan, Emergency U.S. Route 31 runs concurrent with Interstate 96 from Muskegon, Michigan, to Coopersville, Michigan, then exits off at 68th Avenue, and runs south to M-45 then becomes concurrent with M-45 west to US 31.

"Parent/Child" Routes

US 31 is the parent route of:

★ U.S. Route 131, almost entirely in Michigan

★ U.S. Route 231, which comes within a few miles of connecting Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico

★ U.S. Route 331, connecting Montgomery, Alabama, with Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Although US 31 passes through Montgomery, it never intersects with US 331.

★ U.S. Route 431, connecting Owensboro, Kentucky, and Dothan, Alabama, has neither terminus at US 31. Its southern terminus is US 231. Its northern terminus was once US 231 (until that road was rerouted in 2002), so one can argue that US 231 is the ''real'' parent of US 431.

History

Before the Interstate era, US 31 was a major north-south highway. Interstate 65 supplants US 31 and either 31W or 31E as a through route between Indianapolis and Mobile. South of Indianapolis, all segments of US 31 not coinciding with Interstate 65 have been reduced to roads largely of local use. Interstate 196 now carries the route of US 31 between Holland, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. All of US 31 between Ludington, Michigan, and Indianapolis, Indiana, is divided highway -- some of it is freeway, including a bypass route of South Bend, Indiana. The segment between South Bend and Indianapolis is scheduled for upgrade or replacement with Interstate-standard freeway (see Interstate 67). Environmental impact studies have shown that the fifth phase of the then-to-be-constructed freeway segment between Napier Avenue near Benton Harbor, Michigan, and I-94 may not be complete until 2015.
The portion of I-75 north of US 31's northern terminus toward the Mackinac Bridge was designated US 31 prior to the 1990s and was US 31's most northern portion to be built to freeway status. Since its truncation at the I-75 junction, however, the most northern segment of US 31 freeway ends near Ludington.
At its southern end, US 31 originally went further west than it currently does, passing through Spanish Fort, Alabama. It crossed Mobile Bay via several narrow bridges, including the Admiral Raphael Semmes Bridge, a drawbridge spanning the Tensaw River. It turned north along the east bank of the Mobile River, crossing the river into Plateau, Alabama, over the Cochrane Bridge (removed), another old drawbridge where the current Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge is now located. It then turned south to end at U.S. Route 90. It now officially ends at U.S. Route 98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama.

Overlapped with Interstate 65

There is a disputed gap in US 31 between Athens, Alabama, and Ardmore, Tennessee. For 14 miles (from Alabama mile marker 354 to Tennessee mile marker 1), US 31 overlaps 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 concurrency is shown on official maps of both states. The original routing for the highway still exists as Alabama State Route 251 and Tennessee State Route 7 between Athens and Ardmore.
US 31 is also concurrent with I-65 between Blount Springs, Alabama (Exit 289), and Hayden, Alabama (Exit 287). This is due to I-65 using US 31's right of way as North Central Alabama is rather mountainous.
US 31 in overlaps Jeffersonville, Indiana, after crossing the bridge from Kentucky. It then diverges as the access frontage lanes before splitting off north of Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Cities along the route

''Cities in bold have a population of 50,000 or more.''

Alabama

★ Athens, Alabama

★ 'Decatur, Alabama'

★ Hartselle, Alabama

★ Cullman, Alabama

★ Hanceville, Alabama

★ 'Birmingham, Alabama'

★ Vestavia Hills, Alabama

★ 'Hoover, Alabama'

★ Calera, Alabama

★ Clanton, Alabama

★ Prattville, Alabama

★ 'Montgomery, Alabama'

★ Brewton, Alabama

★ Atmore, Alabama

Within the state of 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. Route 280. US 31 and US 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, US 31 continued at Saint Ignace across the Straits of Mackinac, and junctioned with U.S. Route 2 (Mackinac Trail and what later became M-123).

Future Construction

Kokomo Corridor Project

The Kokomo, Indiana, Corridor Project will begin construction in 2009 and will last approximately six years. It will cover 14 miles of new highway primarily in Howard County. The new limited-access highway will be east of Kokomo and will have four interchanges at SR 26, Boulevard Street, US 35/SR 22 (Markland Avenue), Touby Pike and US 35 north of Kokomo. The project is a part of the Indiana Department of Transportation Major Moves Project.

External links

★ Indiana Highway Ends: US 31

★ US-31 Endpoint Photos

★ Former US-31 U.P. Terminus (now Mackinaw Trail)

References

1. Droz, Robert V. U.S. Highways : From US 1 to (US 830). URL accessed 02:55, 4 July 2006 (UTC).

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U.S._ROUTE_31

States Along the Route

Split Routes and Alternate Routes

"Parent/Child" Routes

History

Overlapped with Interstate 65

Cities along the route

Michigan

Indiana

Kentucky

Tennessee

Alabama

Future Construction

Kokomo Corridor Project

See also

External links

References

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