U.S. Route 431

Major cities
	Dothan, Alabama; Phenix City, Alabama; Gadsden, Alabama; Huntsville, Alabama; Nashville, Tennessee; Owensboro, Kentucky;

	U.S. Route 431
Length:	556 mi (895 km)
South end:	; US 231/Business US 231/431/AL 1/210 at Dothan, AL
Major; junctions:	I-85 at Opelika, AL; I-20 near Oxford, AL; I-59 at Gadsden, AL; I-565 at Huntsville, AL; Tennessee SR-840 at Thompson's Station, TN; I-440 at Nashville, TN; I-40/I-65 at Nashville, TN; I-24 at Nashville, TN; I-24/I-65 at Nashville, TN; Tennessee SR-155 at Nashville, TN; I-24 at Joelton, TN; Western KY Pkwy at Central City, KY
North end:	US 60 at Owensboro, KY
	United States Numbered Highways
	List – Bannered – Divided – Replaced

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U.S. Route 431 is a spur of U.S. Route 31. It currently runs for 556 miles (895 km) from Owensboro, Kentucky at U.S. Route 60 to Dothan, Alabama at U.S. Route 231 and U.S. Route 84. Through many parts of US 431 it is a two lane with not many places of it being a four lane highway.

[edit] Route description

Map showing the south end in Dothan, AL

[edit] Alabama

Main article: U.S. Route 431 in Alabama

U.S. 431 is paired with unsigned State Route 1 throughout Alabama.

[edit] Tennessee

[edit] Kentucky

Main article: U.S. Route 431 in Kentucky

U.S. 431 enters the state of Kentucky south of the town of Adairville, Kentucky where it runs north into Russellville, Kentucky. It continues through Russellville, Kentucky northbound where many new re-construction projects have widened it to a 4-Lane highway. U.S. 431 continues its northward journey passing through many small towns when it enters Drakesboro, Kentucky. After routing through Drakesboro, Kentucky, U.S. 431 follows most of its original route into Central City, Kentucky. In Central City, Kentucky U.S. 431 has a cloverleaf intersection (a former toll plaza when the parkway was toll) with the Western Kentucky Parkway. The route continues north and intersects with U.S. 62 where it then parallels the route in a westerly direction to a western bypass around the Central Business District of Central City, Kentucky. A portion of this route is named Everly Brothers Boulevard because the duo is originally from Central City, Kentucky. U.S. 431 turns north at the State Route 189 & U.S. 62 Bypass and continues on through many small farming communities of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky & McLean County, Kentucky. It bisects many rural rolling hills and farms of the Western Coal Fields as well as crosses through river lowlands of the Ohio Valley on its journey to Daviess County, Kentucky. It enters the city of Owensboro, Kentucky as a 4-Lane highway and one of the main arterial roads into the city. Many shopping centers reside along its outer reaches in Owensboro, Kentucky. U.S. 431 continues northward through the inner city & downtown of Owensboro, Kentucky until it reaches U.S. 60 where it terminates at a riverfront park and gazebo along the Ohio River.

A small portion of U.S. 431 is famous for a unique reason. U.S. 431 crosses the Green River in McLean County, Kentucky. It is at that crossing in the town of Livermore, Kentucky that U.S. 431 crosses two rivers and also crosses into Ohio County, Kentucky then terminates the river crossing back in McLean County, Kentucky. This is the only known crossing of this type in the United States where a road starts in a county, crosses two separate rivers, crosses a sliver of land that is part of another county, and then terminates the bridge crossing in the original county it started in. This special feature is marked by a Kentucky Historical Marker on both approach ends of the U.S. 431 bridge in Livermore, Kentucky.

[edit] Major intersections

U.S. Route 231 at Dothan, Alabama
U.S. Route 84 at Dothan, Alabama
U.S. Route 82 at Eufaula, Alabama
U.S. Route 80 at Phenix City, Alabama
U.S. Route 280 from Phenix City to Opelika, Alabama
Interstate 85 at Opelika, Alabama
U.S. Route 29 at Opelika, Alabama
Interstate 20 east of Oxford, Alabama
U.S. Route 78 from between Oxford and Heflin to Oxford, Alabama
U.S. Route 411 at Gadsden, Alabama
Interstate 59 at Gadsden, Alabama
U.S. Route 11 at Attalla, Alabama
U.S. Route 278 from Attalla to Gadsden, Alabama
Interstate 565 at Huntsville, Alabama
U.S. Route 72 at Huntsville, Alabama
U.S. Route 231 from Huntsville, Alabama to Fayetteville, Tennessee
U.S. Route 64 at Fayetteville, Tennessee
U.S. Route 70 at Nashville, Tennessee
U.S. Route 31 and U.S. Route 41 at Nashville, Tennessee
Interstate 24 west of Goodlettsville, Tennessee
U.S. Route 41 at Springfield, Tennessee
U.S. Route 68 and U.S. Route 79 at Russellville, Kentucky
U.S. Route 62 at Central City, Kentucky
U.S. Route 60 at Owensboro, Kentucky

[edit] History

U.S. Route 241 was created in 1930, splitting from US 41 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and heading south to US 231 in Dothan, Alabama. The route of the highway, starting at Murfreesboro, TN, went south through Shelbyville and Fayetteville to Huntsville. From Huntsville, the highway snaked through Owens Cross Roads and New Hope (on a road currently named "Old Highway 431") on its way to Guntersville, then through Albertville and Boaz (on what is now AL 205) on its way to Gadsden, then to Anniston and Oxford. After US 231 was extended through north Alabama and Tennessee through Huntsville to Murfreesboro around 1952, the northern terminus of US 241 became Huntsville. In 1953, since US 241 began and ended in Alabama, it was decommissioned. However, US 431 was being extended southward from Kentucky through Tennessee and Alabama, so the lost section from Huntsville to Oxford gained the US 431 designation. However, from Oxford, the US 241 route ran through Talladega, Sylacauga, Goodwater, Alexander City, and Opelika, but US 431 was not routed onto this section, but onto the AL 37 route, which was a shorter route to Opelika. However, the Sylacauga to Opelika section did gain the US 280 designation. From Opelika, US 241 ran south to Phenix City and this section gained the US 431 designation.