In Memphis, Tennessee, all of US51 south of South Parkway East was renamed from Bellevue Boulevard to Elvis Presley Boulevard on January 17, 1972. Graceland is located on this section of the highway, in the subdivision of Whitehaven.
In 2004, the six states that US51 traverses banded together as the Explore Hwy 51 Coalition to help promote this "All-American Road". The group now offers visitor information for traveling the length of the road.[3]
US51 begins at the intersection with US61 in Laplace and heads northeast. It intersects I-10 before running concurrently with I-55. Near the interchange with I-12, the route splits from I-55. It intersects US190 in Hammond and remains running parallel with I-55 before entering Mississippi. In the 1930s, this highway was called Jefferson Davis Highway.[4]
US51 enters Mississippi from Louisiana in Osyka and runs parallel with I-55. It intersects US98 in McComb and US84 south of Brookhaven. Northwest of Crystal Springs, it runs concurrently with I-55 and then splits at the interchange with I-20 in Jackson. The highway then runs through Jackson, intersecting US80. Outside Ridgeland, it passes under I-55 as it continues northeast. It continues through Canton, Pickens, Goodman, and Durant. The highway continues to run along I-55, intersecting US82 in Winona and US278 in Batesville. The route passes under I-69 before entering Tennessee.
The Mississippi section of US51 is defined at Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.
US51 enters Tennessee from Mississippi and travels through Memphis. It intersects I-55 and then I-240 before intersecting US78. It then runs concurrently with US79 before intersecting I-69. As it exits Memphis, it intersects I-40 and heads northeasterly. In Dyersburg, it runs concurrently with US412 for a half a mile before intersecting I-155's eastern terminus. US51 then continues northeasterly before entering Kentucky. US51 between Memphis and Kentucky is planned on running concurrently with I-69.
US51 enters Kentucky at Fulton, running concurrently with I-69 and continues northward through the towns of Clinton, Bardwell and Wickliffe to the Ohio River. The route intersects and runs concurrently with US62 before separating from it in Cairo. Along the way it also intersects US60. The route then enters Illinois before running concurrently with I-57.
US51 enters Illinois from Kentucky at the city of Cairo. The route heads northward to a village near Cairo called Mounds, and shares the pavement with I-57, following it for 24 miles (39km) to Dongola, before splitting and heading north. The route remains two lanes from Dongola to just before Assumption with the exception of a 10-mile (16km) section between Centralia and I-64.
North of Assumption, US51 becomes an expressway to Decatur. In Decatur, US51 follows I-72 to bypass town. US51 leaves I-72 after eight miles (13km), and heads north to Bloomington–Normal as an expressway. At Bloomington–Normal, US51 follows I-74 for a mile, then I-55 for seven miles (11km), before following I-39 for 140 miles (230km).
US51 follows I-39, intersecting I-80 and I-88 along the way. The highway also follows US20 south of Rockford (while still following I-39). I-39/US51 joins I-90, making US51 one of the only toll roads in Illinois that is a U.S. Highway. US51 exits I-39/I-90 just a mile south of the Wisconsin state line. US51 follows Illinois Route 75 (IL75) west to the intersection of IL251, then turns north through South Beloit to enter Wisconsin.
In the state of Wisconsin, US51 enters from Illinois at Beloit. US51 splits off from I-39/I-90 in South Beloit, Illinois, and continues northward through Janesville and Edgerton. In Edgerton, US51 rejoins I-39/I-90 for 3.5 miles (5.6km) before splitting off towards Stoughton and McFarland. US51 runs almost parallel to I-39/I-90 through the eastern portion of Madison, crosses the Interstate in DeForest, and finally rejoins I-39 again at Portage. US51 runs concurrently with I-39 until I-39's terminus in Wausau and continues on as a mixture of freeway and expressway until just north of the interchange with US8. From there through Hazelhurst, US51 is a two-lane road with sporadic three-lane sections (which were constructed in 2008). US51 expands to four lanes, with a central fifth turn lane from Hazelhurst to Arbor Vitae; north of Arbor Vitae it returns to two lanes and continues to its northern end in Hurley, where it terminates at US2.