U.S._Route_421_in_Kentucky

U.S. Route 421 in Kentucky

U.S. Route 421 in Kentucky

Section of U.S. Highway in Kentucky

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 421 in Kentucky. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 421.

U.S. Route 421 (US 421) in the U.S. state of Kentucky is a 250.536-mile-long (403.199 km) north–south United States highway that traverses twelve counties in the central and eastern parts of the state. It travels in a southeast-to-northwest path from the Virginia state line near Pennington Gap to the Indiana state line, on the Ohio River at Milton, Kentucky and Madison, Indiana.[2]

Quick Facts Route information, Length ...

Route description

Virginia state line to Manchester

US 421 enters Harlan County from Lee County, Virginia, and meets US 119 near Harlan. At Hyden, US 421 turns westward towards Clay County, and crosses the Hal Rogers Parkway via an overpass without access near Manchester.[3]

Manchester to Richmond

At Manchester, US 421 turns northwestward towards Jackson County, through McKee. It traverses the far northeastern corner of Rockcastle County before entering Madison County where it joins U.S. 25 south of Richmond near the Blue Grass Army Depot. US 25 and US 421 runs concurrently through Richmond, and all the way to the I-75 junction.[4]

Metro Lexington to Frankfort

US 25/421 also runs concurrently with I-75 between Exits 97 and 99. After Exit 99, the two U.S. routes continue to run concurrently until downtown Lexington just after crossing US 27/60/68. While US 25 makes a right turn onto Georgetown Road, US 421 continues straight northwestward, as Leestown Pike, towards Midway and Frankfort.[5]

Frankfort to Ohio River

In Frankfort, US 421 has concurrencies with US 60 on the east side of town, and US 127 on the north side. US 421 continues northwestward into Henry and far northern Shelby counties before crossing the Exit 34 exit of I-71. US 42 in Bedford is the last major intersection in Kentucky before US 421 crosses the Ohio River from Trimble County into Jefferson County, Indiana.[6]

History

Quick Facts Kentucky Route 50, Location ...

US 421 did not have any presence in Kentucky until it was extended into Kentucky and Indiana at one point between 1939 and 1957, probably in the late 1940s or early 1950s.[7] When US 421 was designated into Kentucky, it was routed onto the following existing routes:

  • KY 66 from the Virginia state line to Harlan,[8]
  • KY 257 from Harlan to Hyden,
  • KY 80 from Hyden to Manchester,
  • KY 21 from Manchester to Big Hill,
  • KY 169 from Big Hill to Richmond (including US 25 concurrency),
  • KY 50 from downtown Lexington to Frankfort,[8] and
  • KY 37 from Frankfort to the Indiana state line at Milton.[9]

Current statuses for original assignments of pre-existing routes

  • KY 37 now runs from Gravel Switch to Junction City to Danville, in Marion and Boyle Counties in Central Kentucky.
  • The remainders of KY 21, KY 169, and KY 257 still retained their original alignments off the current US 421.
  • KY 50 no longer exists in the state route system.
  • KY 66 is now assigned to a road in Bell, western Leslie and eastern Clay Counties in southeast Kentucky from Middlesboro to US 421/KY 80 near Big Creek

Major Intersections

More information County, Location ...

See also

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References

  1. [1]
    Commonwealth of Kentucky. "Official DMI Route Log". Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  2. [2]
    Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (2016). Kentucky Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Frankfort: Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. §§ B9, C9-C11, D11, E11-E13 and F13.
  3. [3]
    DeLorme (2010). Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer (Map) (4th ed.). Yarmouth, ME: DeLorme. Pages 70-71 and 88.
  4. [4]
    DeLorme (2010). Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer (Map) (4th ed.). Yarmouth, ME: DeLorme. Pages 52-53 and 70.
  5. [5]
    DeLorme (2010). Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer (Map) (4th ed.). Yarmouth, ME: DeLorme. Pages 37-38.
  6. [6]
    DeLorme (2010). Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer (Map) (4th ed.). Yarmouth, ME: DeLorme. Pages 24, 25, 36, and 37.
  7. [7]
    Kentucky Department of Highways (1957). Kentucky Official Highway Map (PDF) (Map). c. 1:760,320. Frankfort: Kentucky Department of Highways. §§ G1, G2, G3, H3, H4, I4, I5, J5, I6, and J6.
  8. [8]
    "H.B.'s Fun Facts About Kentucky Highways". Archived from the original August 27, 2002. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  9. [9]
    Kentucky Department of State Highways (September 15, 1939). Road Map of Kentucky (PDF) (Map). c. 1:760,320. Frankfort: Kentucky Department of State Highways.
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U.S. Route 421
Previous state:
Virginia		 Kentucky Next state:
Indiana
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