U.S. Route 45 (US 45) enters Kentucky at

Fulton Fulton may refer to: People * Robert Fulton (1765–1815), American engineer and inventor who developed the first commercially successful steam-powered ship * Fulton (surname) Given name * Fulton Allem (born 1957), South African golfer * Fult ...

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

and travels northeast through Hickman County,

Graves County Graves County is a county located on the southwest border of the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,649. Its county seat is Mayfield. The county was formed in 1824 and was named for Major Benjamin Fr ...

, and McCracken County. After passing through Mayfield in Graves County it heads directly north into

Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...

as a four-lane highway. In Paducah, US 45 serves as a major artery, intersecting with

Interstate 24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, ...

at Exit 7, and intersecting

US 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 ...

and 62. U.S. 45 leaves Kentucky from Paducah's northern border across the two-lane, metal-grate Brookport Bridge to

Brookport, Illinois Brookport is a city in Massac County, Illinois, United States. The population was 984 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. The former Mayor of Brookport, Tami Wessel, was one of nine Libertarian ma ...

across 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 ...

Route description

US 45 enters Kentucky at Fulton in Fulton County where it travels around the west side and then north side of town before entering Hickman County. It travels just to the south and east of the

Purchase Parkway The Julian M. Carroll Purchase Parkway is a controlled-access highway in the US state of Kentucky running from Fulton to Mayfield, near Kentucky Dam, for a length of . It begins at the Tennessee state line concurrent with U.S. Route 51 (US ...

as it passes briefly through Hickman County and into Graves County. In Graves County US 45 travels northeast and passes through the communities of Water Valley and Wingo. Roughly northeast of Wingo, US 45 passes through Mayfield where it forms an intersection with US 45 Bypass before passing through the heart of town. Just north of town, US 45 intersects US 45 Bypass and Purchase Parkway and becomes a four-lane divided highway as it turns toward the north. US 45 continues northward through rural sections of Graves County and into McCracken County. The previous routing between these two points is now designated Kentucky Route 1241. In McCracken County, US 45 passes through Lone Oak and then passes under

I-24 Interstate 24 (I-24) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from I-57, south of Marion, Illinois, to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at I-75. It travels through Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, ...

as it enters Paducah. In Paducah, US 45 forms intersections with

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

, US 60 Business, I-24 Business, and US 45 Business as it passes through the western part of town. US 45 crosses the Ohio River via the Brookport Bridge into Illinois from the Tennessee state line.

History

US 45 was signed in Kentucky by 1928, although it was not yet paved. The entire route in Kentucky was paved by 1939.

Major intersections

Special routes

Mayfield bypass

US 45 Bypass in Mayfield begins at a junction with US 45 on the southwest side of Mayfield and forms a concurrency with Interstate 69 at Exit 21 north of US 45. It carries this concurrency for and ends at a junction with US 45 at Exit 25 of the parkway north of Mayfield. Since the former

has been re-designated I-69, US 45 Bypass signs have been removed from the I-69 concurrency, and the north interchange with US 45.

Paducah business route

US 45 Business in Paducah begins at an intersection with US 45 in downtown Paducah and travels northeast through town. As it nears the Ohio River, it turns to the northwest and ends at a junction with US 45 south of the Brookport Bridge over the Ohio River from its origin.

References

{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=45, statebefore=Tennessee, state=Kentucky, stateafter=Illinois Kentucky 45 Transportation in Fulton County, Kentucky Transportation in Hickman County, Kentucky Transportation in Graves County, Kentucky Transportation in McCracken County, Kentucky