U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as . US 45 is notable for incorporating, in its maiden alignment, the first paved road in the South, a 49-mile segment in

Lee County, Mississippi Lee is a County (United States), county in Mississippi. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 82,910. The county seat is Tupelo, Mississippi, Tupelo. Lee County is included in the Tupelo micropolitan area, Tupelo Mic ...

. Let to contract in July 1914, the concrete highway opened on November 15, 1915. As of 2006, the highway's northern terminus is in

Ontonagon, Michigan Ontonagon ( ) is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,285 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat and only village of Ontonagon County. The village is located within Ontonagon Township, at the mouth of the Ontonagon R ...

, at the corner of Ontonagon and River Streets, a few blocks from Lake Superior ( M-64 formerly terminated there as well until its rerouting in October 2006 to use the newly built Ontonagon River Bridge). US 45's southern terminus is in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, at an intersection with

U.S. Route 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola and Apalachicola, Florida, and has sinc ...

Route description

Alabama

US 45 is concurrent with unsigned SR 17 between Mobile and Vinegar Bend, just north of Deer Park, in Washington County, Alabama. From Vinegar Bend to the Mississippi state line, US 45 is concurrent with unsigned SR 57.

Mississippi

U.S. Highway 45 is part of a designated hurricane evacuation route in Mississippi. It is entirely four-laned from its point of entry from Alabama, at the town of State Line, to the Tennessee line just north of Corinth, along the way serving the towns of (from south to north) Waynesboro,

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

and Tupelo. At Brooksville, U.S. 45 splits away from U.S. 45 Alternate and serves the towns of

and Aberdeen before rejoining U.S. 45 Alternate south of Tupelo. The alternate roadway provides a more direct and entirely four-laned route between Meridian and Tupelo, bypassing Columbus to the west and, more closely, Starkville to the east. Major junctions of U.S. 45 in Mississippi include U.S. Route 84 at Waynesboro,

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...

/ 59 at Meridian,

U.S. Route 82 U.S. Route 82 (US 82) is an east–west United States highway in the Southern United States. Created on July 1, 1931 across central Mississippi and southern Arkansas, US 82 eventually became a 1,625-mile (2,615 km) route extending from ...

at Columbus, Interstate 22/

U.S. Route 78 U.S. Route 78 (US 78) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 715 miles (1,151 km) from Memphis, Tennessee, to Charleston, South Carolina. From Byhalia, Mississippi to Birmingham, Alabama, US 78 is concurrent with Interstate 2 ...

at Tupelo and

U.S. Route 72 U.S. Route 72 (US 72) is an east–west United States highway that travels for from southwestern Tennessee, throughout North Mississippi, North Alabama, and southeastern Tennessee. The highway's western terminus is in Memphis, Tennessee and ...

at Corinth. Each of these junctions is an interchange and, with the exception of Waynesboro, each is part of a freeway segment. The Mississippi section of U.S. 45 is defined at Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.

Tennessee

Southern section From the Mississippi state line, US 45 extends north past the cities of Guys, Eastview, Selmer, Bethel Springs, Finger,

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname *Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *He ...

, Pinson, and Jackson to

Three Way ''Three Way'' is a 2004 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Scott Ziehl and starring Dominic Purcell, Joy Bryant, Ali Larter, Desmond Harrington, Dwight Yoakam, and Gina Gershon. The plot, based on Gil Brewer's pulp novel '' Wild To Possess'' ...

, where the highway splits into US 45W and US 45E. U.S. Route 45W US 45W is a state highway in West Tennessee, connecting Jackson with South Fulton via Humboldt, Trenton, Dyer, Rutherford,

Kenton Kenton may refer to: Places Canada *Kenton, Manitoba South Africa *Kenton-on-Sea United Kingdom *Kenton, Devon *Kenton, London **Kenton station, Kenton Road, Kenton, London *Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear *Kenton, Suffolk **Kenton ra ...

, and Union City. For the majority of its length, it is concurrent with unsigned State Route 5 (SR 5). U.S. Route 45E US 45E is a state highway in West Tennessee, connecting Jackson with South Fulton via Medina, Milan,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Engineering and Business * Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation * Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist * Greenf ...

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

, and

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austral ...

. For the majority of its length, it is concurrent with unsigned State Route 43 (SR 43) for most of the route's length except for short segments at Martin and South Fulton, where it is cosigned with SR 216 and SR 215 respectively. Northern section Mainline US 45, concurrent with unsigned SR 3, goes northeast and passes through neighborhoods in South Fulton along Chickasaw Drive before turning north onto Highland Drive at an intersection with

Kentucky Route 116 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 ...

(KY 116/W State Line Street) at the western edge of downtown. US 45 then crosses into Kentucky and the city of Fulton.

Kentucky

U.S. 45 enters Kentucky at Fulton then northeast past Mayfield then heads directly north into Paducah as a four-lane highway. In Paducah, U.S. 45 serves as a major artery, intersecting with Interstate 24 at exit 7, and intersecting US 60 and 62. U.S. 45 leaves Kentucky from Paducah's northern border across the two-lane, metal-grate

Brookport Bridge The Brookport Bridge (officially the Irvin S. Cobb Bridge) is a ten-span, steel deck (grate), narrow two-lane truss bridge that carries U.S. Route 45 (US 45) across the Ohio River in the U.S. states of Illinois and Kentucky. It connects ...

to Brookport, Illinois 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 ...

Illinois

In the state of Illinois, U.S. 45 runs from a bridge across the Ohio River from Paducah, Kentucky, through Shawnee National Forest and north to the Wisconsin border east of Antioch, Illinois. With a length of in Illinois, U.S. 45 is the longest numbered route in Illinois. In its progress north from the Ohio River U.S. 45 first joins Interstate 24 as far as Vienna then heads northeast through Harrisburg and

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

in Saline County and north through Fairfield, Flora, Effingham, Mattoon, Champaign,

Urbana __NOTOC__ Urbana can refer to: Places Italy *Urbana, Italy United States *Urbana, Illinois **Urbana (conference), a Christian conference formerly held in Urbana, Illinois *Urbana, Indiana * Urbana, Iowa *Urbana, Kansas * Urbana, Maryland *Urbana, ...

, Gilman and Kankakee, then straight north through the western suburbs of Chicago in Will County, Cook County and Lake County to the Wisconsin border.

Wisconsin

U.S. 45 enters the state in southeast Wisconsin. It runs concurrent with Interstate 894 and

U.S. Route 41 U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, ...

through the west side of metro Milwaukee to form a major artery through the metropolitan area. It runs north to Fond du Lac. The highway routes near the western shore of Lake Winnebago through

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat. The city had a population of 66,816 in 2020, making it the ninth-largest city in Wisconsin. It is also adjacent to the Town of Oshkosh. History Oshkosh was ...

. U.S. 45 then travels north through Wittenberg, Antigo, and Eagle River, as well as the state and national forests, until it leaves the state at

Land O' Lakes Land O'Lakes, Inc. is an American member-owned agricultural cooperative based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb of Arden Hills, Minnesota, United States, focusing on the dairy industry. The cooperative has 1,959 direct producer-members, 751 ...

and enters Michigan.

Michigan

US 45 enters Michigan south of Watersmeet. From there, the highway crosses the Western Upper Peninsula through the Ottawa National Forest running north to Ontonagon. US 45 ends just south of Lake Superior in downtown Ontonagon. The terminus was not changed in 2006 despite realignment then of M-38 and M-64 from the terminus to a crossing south.Bessert, Christopher J
Michigan Highways: Ontonagon State Trunkline Changes 2006
. URL accessed June 24, 2007.

History

Until March 1935, US 45's northern terminus was at US 12 in Des Plaines, Illinois near Chicago. Prior to the construction of the Interstate Highway system, US 45 was one of the main routes south out of Chicago toward New Orleans, Louisiana. Much of the traffic left US 45 at Effingham, Illinois, continuing on through

Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( ) is the southernmost city in Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County. The city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Fort Defiance, a Civil War camp, was built here in 1862 by Union General Ulysses ...

along Illinois Route 37.

Major intersections

;Southern segment :;Alabama :: in Mobile :: in Prichard :;Mississippi :: in Waynesboro :: in

:: in Meridian :: west of

. The highways travel concurrently to Columbus. :: north-northwest of New Wren. The highways travel concurrently to the Verona– Tupelo city line. :: in Tupelo :: in Corinth :;Tennessee :: in Selmer. The highways travel concurrently through the city. :: in Jackson :: in

:: in Milan () :: in Humboldt () ;Northern segment :;Tennessee :: in South Fulton. US 45 / US 51 travel concurrently to Fulton, Kentucky. :;Kentucky :: north of Mayfield :: in Paducah :: in Paducah. The highways travel concurrently through the city. :: in Paducah. US 45/US 60 travels concurrently through the city. :;Illinois :: in Metropolis :: north-northeast of Vienna :: north of Mill Shoals :: east of Flora. The highways travel concurrently to northwest of Flora. :: in Effingham. The highways travel concurrently through the city. :: in Effingham :: northeast of

Neoga Neoga is a city in Cumberland County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,398 at the 2020 census, down from 1,636 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Charleston– Mattoon Micropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor of Neoga ...

:: in Mattoon :: in Tuscola Township :: in Pesotum :: in Champaign. The highways travel concurrently to

. :: in Urbana :: in Rantoul :: in Gilman. The highways travel concurrently through the city. :: east of Ashkum. The highways travel concurrently to Peotone Township. :: in Kankakee :: in Frankfort :: on the

Mokena Mokena is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,887 at the 2020 census. The Census Bureau's 2019 estimate found that the population had increased to 20,159. Etymology Mokena is a name apparently derived from a ...

–

Orland Park Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703. Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Chicago ...

–

Tinley Park Tinley Park (formerly Bremen) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 55,971. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs ...

city line :: in Orland Park :: west of the

Palos Hills Palos Hills is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago. The city was established in 1958 and had reached a population of 18,530 in the 2020 census. It is the home of Moraine Valley Community College as ...

– Hickory Hills city line. US 12/US 45 travels concurrently to Des Plaines. US 20/US 45 travels concurrently to the Stone Park– Melrose Park city line. :: in Willow Springs :: on the Countryside– Hodgkins city line :: in La Grange :: on the

Westchester Westchester most commonly refers to Westchester County, New York, immediately north of New York City. __NOTOC__ It may also refer to: Geography Canada *Westchester Station, Nova Scotia, Canada United States *Town of Westchester, the original seat ...

– Hillside– Bellwood city line :: west of Rosemont :: in Des Plaines :;Wisconsin :: in

. The highways are concurrent for a 1/2 mile. :: in Greenfield. I-41 and US-41 stay concurrent until Richfield. I-894 stays concurrent to the Milwaukee- Wauwatosa city line. :: in Milwaukee. :: in Wauwatosa. :: in the Town of Fond du Lac :: in Oshkosh :: in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

. The highways travel concurrently for 3 miles. :: in Monico. The highways travel concurrently through the town. :;Michigan :: in Watersmeet :: River Street/Chippewa Street in Ontonagon

References

External links

Endpoints of US 45
{{s-end 45 45