U.S. Route 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
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; earlier US 31 split into US 31W and US 31E in Sellersburg, Indiana. U.S. Route 31 Alternate also exists between Nashville and Lewisburg, Tennessee and existed through Columbus, Indiana and Seymour, Indiana; both sections of US 31A are or were loops connecting to US 31. Old US 31A in Indiana is part of Indiana State Road 11.

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. 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-196 (or BL I-94 going into Benton Harbor) may not be completed until 2015.

The portion of Interstate 75 north of US 31's northern terminus toward the Mackinac Bridge was designated US 31 prior to 1961. It was US 31's most northern portion to be built to "freeway" status. Since the truncation of it's northern terminus in favor of I-75, it however have it's most northern portion up to limited access expressway status; while the most norther portion of US 31 to have "freeway" status as of now is up near Ludington.

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 is multiplexed with 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 multiplex is shown on official maps of both states. However, the original routing for the highway still exists Alabama 251 and Tennessee 7 between Athens and Ardmore.

US 31 is also multiplexed 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 Alabama is rather mountainous.

"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; and U.S. Route 331, connecting Montgomery, Alabama with Santa Rosa Beach, Florida . U.S. Route 431, connecting Owensboro, Kentucky and Dothan, Alabama has both its northern and southern termini on US 231, so one can argue that US 231 is the real parent of US 431. Although US 31 passes through Montgomery, it never intersects with US 331.

Cities along the route

- Cities bolded are major cities containing 50,000 or more people.

Within the state of Alabama from Decatur to Montgomery, US 31 is given the name of the city that Route 31 is leading to or from Birmingham. This is part of a "All Roads Lead To Rome" concept taken up by the deeply-southern state. This concept is inspired by Birmingham's seemingly "Mother City"-like way of existing, even though Birmingham is one of the youngest cities in 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).

External links

Indiana Highway Ends: US 31

References