U.S. Route 231 (US 231) in Kentucky runs from the

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

state line near

Adolphus Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

to the

William H. Natcher Bridge The William H. Natcher Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that carries U.S. Highway 231 over the Ohio River. The bridge connects Owensboro, Kentucky to Rockport, Indiana and opened on October 21, 2002. It is named in honor of William Huston Natcher, ...

on the Ohio River (

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) near

Rockport, Indiana Rockport is a city in Ohio Township and the county seat of Spencer County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,270 at the 2010 census. Once the largest community in Spencer County, the city has recently been surpassed by the t ...

. It crosses the state mainly in the west-central region, traversing

Allen Allen, Allen's or Allens may refer to: Buildings * Allen Arena, an indoor arena at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee * Allen Center, a skyscraper complex in downtown Houston, Texas * Allen Fieldhouse, an indoor sports arena on the Unive ...

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

, Butler,

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 ...

, and Daviess Counties.

Route description

Running concurrently with U.S. Route 31E for its first in Kentucky, US 231/31E enters the state from

Sumner County, Tennessee Sumner County is a county located on the central northern border of the U.S. state of Tennessee, in what is called Middle Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 196,281. Its county seat is Gallatin, and its largest city is Hen ...

, and into Allen County. The two routes separate on the west side of Scottsville after the KY 100 junction. US 231 turns northwestward onto a four-lane highway on its way into Warren County, and into Bowling Green. Just before entering the city, US 231 crosses the southern terminus of KY 9007, a short connector providing access to

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 I-165. US 231 crosses I-65 in the Greenwood neighborhood of Bowling Green, US 31W and US 68 within city limits, and I-165 on the northwestern edge of the city. US 231 reaches Butler County to cross I-165 for a second time, and runs concurrently with KY 79 on the southern end of Morgantown. On the northern end of Morgantown, KY 70 joins in on the concurrency as US 231, KY 79, and KY 70 cross the

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

. Both state routes separate from US 231 in the

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area before crossing the I-165 for a third time before entering Ohio County. US 231 meets

U.S. Route 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 Can ...

in the

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 ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

area after crossing the Wendell H. Ford

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. ...

on the south side of Beaver Dam. US 231 goes further north into Daviess County to join up with

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 ...

(

Wendell H. Ford Expressway The Wendell H. Ford Expressway, also known as the Owensboro Bypass, is a major partial beltway that runs around the outer parts of the city of Owensboro, Kentucky. With a length of , the expressway includes parts of U.S. Route 60 (US ...

) to bypass Owensboro. US 60 splits from US 231 before leaving the state via the

going into

Spencer County, Indiana Spencer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,952. The county seat is Rockport. Despite not being in the Owensboro Metropolitan Area, the entire riverfront of the city of Owens ...

Alternate names

U.S. 231 has several alternate names throughout its course in Kentucky. They include: *

Scottsville Road Scottsville Road is a major four-lane undivided thoroughfare in Bowling Green, in Warren County in south-central Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United State ...

(Allen/Warren County line to US 231 Bus/KY 880) *

Campbell Lane Campbell Lane (July 15, 1935 – January 30, 2014) was a Canadian actor who primarily did his work in Vancouver. He appeared in many television shows produced there, and was also a voice over artist. Death Campbell Lane died on January 30, 2014 ...

(Bowling Green, from US 231 Bus/KY 880 to US 68/80) * Vietnam Veterans Boulevard (US 68/KY80 to US 231 Bus) * Morgantown Road (Warren County, US 231 Bus/US 68 to Butler-Warren County line) *Bowling Green Road (Butler County south of Morgantown) *South Main Street (Morgantown) * G.L. Smith Street (Morgantown) *Beaver Dam Road (Aberdeen to Butler-Ohio County line) *New Hartford Road (Daviess County, from Ohio County line to US 60)

History

In Kentucky, US 231 was originally signed as Kentucky Route 71, one of many charter routes of Kentucky's statewide system of highways when it was established in 1929. KY 71 originally ran from downtown Scottsville to downtown Owensboro. Portions of the original KY 71 in Butler County was rerouted to a bridge over the Green River in the early 1950s, replacing the Morgantown Ferry. In 1952, US 231 replaced the designation of KY 71 in its entirety as the U.S. route was extended from the

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

area into Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana. In August 1999, US 231 in Bowling Green was rerouted onto KY 880 (Campbell Lane) from the

intersection to the Morgantown Road intersection on the northwest side of town. The former alignment of US 231 into downtown Bowling Green was redesignated as U.S. 231 Business. In 2002, US 231 in Daviess County was rerouted onto the then-new

northeast of Owensboro. It previously followed the current KY 2155 and KY 2262 onto the

Owensboro Bridge The Owensboro Bridge is a continuous truss bridge that spans the Ohio River between Owensboro, Kentucky and Spencer County, Indiana. Dedicated to the memory of the late U.S. Congressman Glover H. Cary (1885–1936) and often called the "Glov ...

in downtown Owensboro into Spencer County until the opening of the Natcher Bridge. The stretch of US 231 from the Natcher Parkway (now I-165) interchange to Bell Street in Morgantown was widened to include a center lane for left-turning in 2013-2014., page 1.

Scottsville Road speed limit increase

In late May 2017, the KYTC raised the speed limit of US 231 from near Scottsville to the near the Drakes Creek bridge south of Bowling Green from the original to .French, Jackson (May 23, 2017). “State increases speed limit to 65 mph on U.S. 231.” ''

Bowling Green Daily News The ''Daily News'' is a daily-except-Saturday newspaper based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is published Sunday mornings and Monday through Friday evenings. History The current newspaper can trace its roots to the ''Bowling Green Democrat'' foun ...

'', May 23, 2017, pages 1A and 6A. Retrieved May 25, 2017. This makes this stretch of US 231 the second section of a four-lane divided highway with unlimited access in the region with a 65 mph speed limit, the first being

US 68 U.S. Route 68 (US 68) is a United States highway that runs for from northwest Ohio to Western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at US 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its present northern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio, though ...

/ KY 80 from I-24 in Trigg County to the I-165 Exit 5 interchange at Bowling Green.

Major intersections

References

External links

Kentucky Transportation CabinetUS 231 at KentuckyRoads.com
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=231, state=Kentucky, statebefore=Tennessee, stateafter=Indiana Kentucky 31-2 0231 0231 0231 0231 0231