U.S. Route 62 (US 62) in

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 ...

runs for a total of across 20 counties in western, north-central, and northeastern Kentucky. It enters the state by crossing 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 ...

near Wickliffe, then begins heading eastward at Bardwell, and traversing several cities and towns across the state up to Maysville, where it crosses the Ohio River a second time to enter the state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Route description

Wickliffe to Elizabethtown

US 62's runs concurrently with

US 51 U.S. Route 51 or U.S. Highway 51 (US 51) is a major south-north United States highway that extends from the western suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana, to within of the Wisconsin–Michigan state line. As most of the United States Numbered Highw ...

for its first in Ballard and

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

counties in the

Jackson Purchase The Jackson Purchase, also known as the Purchase Region or simply the Purchase, is a region in the U.S. state of Kentucky bounded by the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and the Tennessee River to the east. Jackson's ...

region of southwestern Kentucky. US 62 separates from US 51 at Bardwell, where it turns northeastward towards

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, Missour ...

. It then intersects

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, ...

(I-24) near the Kentucky Welcome Center, and it runs concurrently with

US 45 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 incorporatin ...

and

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 ...

, along with parts of the I-24 Business Loop in downtown Paducah. After entering Marshall County, US 62 continues eastward to cross I-24 two more times, the second time before traversing

Kentucky Dam Kentucky Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Tennessee River on the county line between Livingston and Marshall counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The dam is the lowermost of nine dams on the river owned and operated by the Tennessee Valley Auth ...

and into southern Livingston County. The third time US 62 crosses I-24 is near Eddyville during its concurrency with

US 641 U.S. Route 641 (US 641) is a U.S. Route in Tennessee and Kentucky. It runs for from US 64 south of Clifton, Tennessee to an intersection with US 60 in Marion, Kentucky. While it is considered a spur route of U.S. Route 41, t ...

in Lyon County. It then intersects

I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...

(

Western Kentucky Parkway The Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway is a controlled-access highway running from Elizabethtown, Kentucky to near Nortonville, Kentucky. It intersects with Interstate 65 (I-65) at its eastern terminus, and I-69 at its western terminus. I ...

) east of Eddyville before entering Caldwell County. US 62 closely follows the Western Kentucky Parkway (also known to locals as the WK Parkway) through Caldwell,

Hopkins Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". ''Hob'' was a diminutive of ''Robert'', itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name ''Hrod-berht'', translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spell ...

, Muhlenberg,

, Grayson, and Hardin counties. The route traverses several towns and cities such as

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, Dawson Springs, Greenville, and

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

. In Muhlenberg County from Greenville to Central City, the US Route closely follows the four-lane

Kentucky Route 189 Kentucky Route 189 (KY 189) is a State highway#United States, state highway in Kentucky that runs from Kentucky Route 507 and Flat Rock Road west of Allegre, Kentucky, Allegre to U.S. Route 62 in Kentucky, U.S. Route 62 northeast of Pow ...

(KY 189), which carries through traffic around the city of Powderly while US 62 traverses the urban areas of the three cities. Near

Beaver Dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers to create a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way t ...

, US 62 does cross I-165 (formerly the William H. Natcher Parkway), but without access to that freeway. The route continues eastward into Grayson County towards Caneyville, Leitchfield, and Clarkson before reaching Elizabethtown.

Elizabethtown to Maysville

After reaching Elizabethtown, it has a concurrency with KY 61, crossing exit 94 on

I-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 ...

, and into Nelson County. US 62 begins to parallel the

Bluegrass Parkway The Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway is a controlled-access highway running from Elizabethtown, Kentucky to Woodford County, Kentucky, for a length of 71.134 miles (114.479 km). It intersects with Interstate 65 at its western ter ...

, and it does so all the way to

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. Beyond Versailles, US 62 turns northeastward to cross

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange w ...

and reaches Georgetown. US 62 continues on a northeasterly track into the northwesternmost corner of Bourbon County before entering Harrison County. It then traverses towns such as Cynthiana, Oddville, and Mt. Olivet, before reaching Maysville. There, it runs concurrently with US 68 Business into downtown Maysville (the main alignment of US 68 was rerouted onto a bypass route), and crosses the Ohio River into

Brown County, Ohio Brown County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 43,676. The county seat is Georgetown. The county was created in 1818 and is named for Major General Jacob Brown, an officer in the War ...

, where it meets the main alignment of US 68.

History

In eastern McCracken and into southern Livingston and northern Lyon Counties, US 62 originally followed US 60 east of Paducah to Smithland, where it turned right using present-day alignments of KY 453 and KY 93 to Eddyville. That segment of US 62 was rerouted to its current location before the end of the 1930s.Rand McNally Junior Auto Road Map of Kentucky and Tennessee, 1934. Until 1963, US 62 followed a route from Kuttawa, into what was the inner part of Eddyville, and followed a due easterly path to Princeton via

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

. This original alignment is now parts of Kentucky Routes 93 and KY 293, while US 62 was rerouted onto the former KY 278, where it meets up with US 641, and to provide a proper intersection with the Western Kentucky Parkway west of Princeton. When I-24's route through Kentucky was completed at some time between 1976 and 1979, US 62's junction with the WK Parkway was closed off as a result of the extension project to extend the WK Parkway to Eddyville to build its western terminus at I-24's exit 42 interchange. The original connector is still in existence as a county-maintained road, with a dead end where the connector connected to the parkway where the Mile Marker 10 toll booth was originally located until 1987. In the early 2010s, a section of US 62 in western Anderson County was reconstructed to accommodate the new intersection with KY 555, which was extended from its junction with the Bluegrass Parkway in northern Washington County. US 62's junction with KY 248 was also reconstructed. In Harrison County, US 62 previously followed a route east of Cynthiana to start its concurrentcy with US 68 just south of Blue Lick State Park until it was rerouted to its current course to Maysville prior to 1940.

Major intersections

Memorial names

From the KY 189 junction to the eastern city limits in Central City, US 62 is known as Everly Brothers Boulevard, in honor of the country music duo who were born and raised in the area.

References

External links