U.S. Route 421 (US 421) 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 ...

is a north–south

United States highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...

that traverses twelve counties in the central and

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

parts of the state. It travels in a southeast-to-northwest path from the

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

state line near Pennington Gap to the

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

state line, on 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 ...

Milton, Kentucky Milton is a home rule-class city along the south bank of the Ohio River in Trimble County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 597 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the largest city in Trimble County. The Milton-Madison Bridge c ...

and

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the larges ...

Route description

Virginia state line to Manchester

US 421 enters Harlan County from Lee County, Virginia, and meets

US 119 U.S. Route 119 (US 119) is a spur of US 19. It is a north–south route (on a northeast-southwest alignment) that was an original United States highway of 1926. It is Corridor G of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) east of US ...

near

Harlan Harlan is a given name and a surname which may refer to: Surname *Bob Harlan (born 1936 Robert E. Harlan), American football executive *Bruce Harlan (1926–1959), American Olympic diver *Byron B. Harlan (1886–1949), American politician *Byron G ...

. At Hyden, US 421 turns westward towards

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

County, and crosses the

Hal Rogers Parkway The Hal Rogers Parkway, formerly named the Daniel Boone Parkway, connects Somerset and Hazard in southeastern Kentucky. This toll road opened in November 1971, and the tolls were removed June 1, 2003. The original extent of the highway was t ...

via an overpass without access near

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Manchester to Richmond

At Manchester, US 421 turns northwestward towards Jackson County, through

McKee McKee is a surname of Scottish or Irish origin. The surname is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac Aodha'' ("son of ''Aodh''") a patronymic form of an old Gaelic personal name which means "fire". Similar surnames which also are derived from the same Ga ...

. It traverses the far northeastern corner of Rockcastle County before entering Madison County where it joins U.S. 25 south of

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

near the

Blue Grass Army Depot Blue Grass Army Depot (BGAD) is a U.S. Army Joint Munitions Command storage facility for conventional munitions and chemical weapons. The facility is located in east central Kentucky, southeast of the cities of Lexington and Richmond, Kentucky. ...

. US 25 and US 421 runs concurrently through Richmond, and all the way to the

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

junction.

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 U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. F ...

/ 60/ 68. While US 25 makes a right turn onto Georgetown Road, US 421 continues straight northwestward, as Leestown Pike, towards Midway and Frankfort.

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 Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and far northern Shelby counties before crossing the Exit 34 exit of

I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes/Midwestern and Southeastern region of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-64 and I-65 (the Kennedy Interchange) in Louisville, ...

US 42 U.S. Route 42 (US 42) is an east–west United States highway that runs southwest–northeast for from Louisville, Kentucky to Cleveland, Ohio. The route has several names including Pearl Road from Cleveland to Medina in Northeast Ohio, Readi ...

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

is the last major intersection in Kentucky before US 421 crosses the Ohio River from Trimble County into

Jefferson County, Indiana Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 33,147. The county seat is Madison. History Jefferson County was formed on February 1, 1811, from Dearborn and Clark Counties. It was named for ...

DeLorme DeLorme is the producer of personal satellite tracking, messaging, and navigation technology. The company’s main product, ''inReach'', integrates GPS and satellite technologies. ''inReach'' provides the ability to send and receive text messages ...

(2010). Kentucky Atlas & Gazetteer (Map) (4th ed.). Yarmouth, ME: DeLorme. Pages 24, 25, 36, and 37.

History

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. When US 421 was designated into Kentucky, it was routed onto the following existing routes: *KY 66 from the Virginia state line to

,"H.B.'s Fun Facts About Kentucky Highways"
Archived from th

August 27, 2002. Retrieved February 14, 2017. * KY 257 from Harlan to Hyden, *

KY 80 Kentucky Route 80 (KY 80) is a state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. The route originates on the state's western border at Columbus in Hickman County and stretches across the southern portion of the state, ...

from Hyden to Manchester, * KY 21 from Manchester to

Big Hill The Big Hill on the Canadian Pacific Railway main line in British Columbia, Canada, was the most difficult piece of railway track on the Canadian Pacific Railway's route. It was situated in the rugged Canadian Rockies west of the Continental Divi ...

, * KY 169 from Big Hill to Richmond (including US 25 concurrency), * KY 50 from downtown Lexington to Frankfort, and * KY 37 from Frankfort to the Indiana state line at Milton.

Current statuses for original assignments of pre-existing routes

*KY 37 now runs from Gravel Switch to Junction City to Danville, in

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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 A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

, western Leslie and eastern Clay Counties in southeast Kentucky from Middlesboro to US 421/KY 80 near Big Creek

Major Intersections

References

External links

US 421 at Kentucky Roads
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=421, state=Kentucky, statebefore=Virginia, stateafter=Indiana 0421 0421 0421 0421 0421 0421 0421 0421 0421 0421 0421 0421 21-4 Kentucky