Kentucky Route 44 (KY 44) is a 70.193 mile (112.965 km) long

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. state of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

managed and maintained by the

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is Kentucky's state-funded agency charged with building and maintaining federal highways and Kentucky state highways, as well as regulating other transportation related issues. The Transportation Cabi ...

. KY 44 originates at a junction with

U.S. Route 31W U.S. Route 31W (US 31W) is the westernmost of two parallel routes for U.S. Route 31 from Nashville, Tennessee to Louisville, Kentucky. At one time, it split with U.S. Route 31E at Sellersburg, Indiana, crossing into nearby Louisville via the Ke ...

and

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as Pacific Avenue, in the ...

northeast of West Point. The Highway continues into Bullitt County and passes through the towns of Shepherdsville and Mt. Washington. In Shepherdsville, KY 44 is an exit along I-65 (Exit 117). From there, it enters Spencer County and passes through Taylorsville, Kentucky before briefly continuing into Shelby County and then passing into Anderson County. KY 44 terminates at a junction with U.S. Route 62 and

U.S. Route 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I-75) near G ...

in Lawrenceburg.

Route description

Jefferson County

KY 44 originates at a junction with

and

(known as Dixie Highway) as a two-lane undivided highway northeast of West Point in far southwestern Jefferson County at the banks of the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

. From its western terminus, KY 44 heads eastward for passing a mobile home park and crossing over Pond Creek in some woods before entering into Bullitt County.

Bullitt County

Once in Bullitt County, KY 44 becomes Shepherdsville Road and passes a couple of houses and a mobile home park before crossing over a railroad. The route continues to head eastward through a wooded area, notably intersecting the access road to Knob Creek Gun Range (Ritchey Lane), before entering a more open area with more houses lining the road roughly from the Jefferson County line. At Hilltop Road, KY 44 curves toward the south, then back toward the north, before heading east again. Roughly from the Jefferson County line, KY 44 enters the city of Shepherdsville, where it becomes West Fourth Street. The route intersects with KY 61(Buckman Street/Preston Highway) in Shepherdsville, a route running north into downtown Louisville. KY 44 then becomes East Fourth Street and from KY 61 it meets

Interstate 65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...

at Exit 117. Interstate 65 also runs north into downtown Louisville, or south to Bowling Green and

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. East of I-65, KY 44 becomes Mt. Washington Road as it continues eastward out of Shepherdsville and passes through a residential area with many homes and subdivisions lining the route. A few miles east of Shepherdsville, KY 44 enters the city of

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, ...

. In Mount Washington, KY 44 intersects with US 31E/

US 150 U.S. Route 150 (US 150) is a 571-mile (919 km) long northwest-southeast United States highway, signed as east–west. It runs from U.S. Route 6 outside of Moline, Illinois to U.S. Route 25 in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Route description Il ...

, also known as Bardstown Road. Bardstown Road runs northeast into downtown Louisville and all the way south to the Tennessee state line. The route continues to head east out of Mount Washington and into Spencer County roughly east of Mount Washington.

Spencer County

Once KY 44 enters Spencer County, it crosses over Dutchman Creek from the Bullitt County line. East of Dutchman Creek, the road curves southeast, passing through

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

. From Waterford, the route continues eastward past Spencer County Middle School and Spencer County Elementary School, and enters the city of Taylorsville roughly from the Bullitt County line. In Taylorsville, KY 44 becomes West Main Street until it overlaps with

KY 55 Kentucky Route 55 (KY 55) is a state highway in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The route originates at a junction with U.S. Route 127 in Freedom, Russell County. The route continues through Columbia in Adair County to U.S. Route 68 in C ...

, where it becomes East Main Street. Less than one mile from the western end of the KY 55 overlap, KY 44 turns north out of downtown Taylorsville and crosses over Brashears Creek. It then passes Spencer County High School and meets the western end of the KY 55 overlap where it turns east out of Taylorsville and becomes a 4-lane divided highway known as Little Mount Road. The highway curves northeast a few miles east of Taylorsville, passing north of

Taylorsville Lake Taylorsville Lake is a artificial lake or reservoir located mainly in Spencer County, Kentucky. As of 12/19/21 Taylorsville Lake has become a hotspot for migrating ducks. According to Central KY Waterfowlers the lake is currently holding a record ...

. KY 44 meets the western terminus of KY 248 around northeast of Taylorsville. It turns north toward Shelby County and narrows to two lanes. north of KY 248, KY 44 enters Shelby County.

Shelby County

In Shelby County, the road becomes Southville Pike and curves northeast passing by occasional houses and open fields. KY 44 meets the southern terminus of KY 148 from the Spencer County line and continues for longer where it meets KY 53 and KY 714 in Southville. The route then becomes concurrent with KY 53 (Mount Eden Road) as it turns toward the southeast. Roughly from Southville, KY 44 enters Mount Eden and travels along the Shelby-Spencer County line for a short distance. KY 44 finally crosses back over into Spencer County southeast of Mount Eden. Roughly down the road, the route crosses over into Anderson County.

Anderson County

In Anderson County, the road travels toward the south, then curves toward the southeast, and then toward the east. from the Spencer County line, the route meets the eastern end of the KY 53 overlap in Glensboro, where it becomes Glensboro Road. It continues eastward, passing through Anderson City and meeting the southern terminus of KY 395 east of Anderson City. Roughly east of KY 395, the road curves toward the north, then back toward the east at McDonald Road. KY 44 enters the city of Lawrenceburg where it intersects with US 62 Truck/US 127 Bypass, also known as the Lawrenceburg Bypass or Bypass North. The route ends at its eastern terminus at an intersection with US 127 and US 62 further east.

History

Sections of Route 44 in Bullitt County follows the

Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other (mo ...

, a historic wagon road established in the early 19th century.

Major intersections

References

External links

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KentuckyRoads.com KY 44
{{Attached KML, display=inline,title 0044 0044 0044 0044 0044 0044 Transportation in Jefferson County, Kentucky