U.S. Route 42
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| Route information | |
| Length: | 355 mi[1] (571 km) |
| Existed: | 1926[1] – present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: |   US 31E / US 60 at Louisville, KY |
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 I-80 near Cleveland, OH |
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| East end: |   US 6 / US 20 at Cleveland, OH |
| Highway system | |
U.S. Route 42 is an east–west United States highway that runs northeast-southwest for 355 miles (571 km) from Cleveland, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky. The route has several names including Pearl Road from Cleveland to Medina in Northeast Ohio, Reading Road in Cincinnati, Cincinnati and Lebanon Pike in southwestern Ohio and Brownsboro Road in Louisville, Kentucky. Traveling east, the highway ends in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio; and traveling west it ends in Louisville, Kentucky.
Interstate 71 fully supplanted US 42 as an interurban highway in the early 1960s, relegating US 42 to its current role as an ordinary town-to-town surface road. Unlike I-71, US 42 avoided Columbus completely. It remains intact as a route; no part of it has ever been diverted to any Interstate highway. It is not the "parent" of any US route with a related number.
In spite of its even number, US 42 is posted north-south from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky northward.[2]
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Route description [edit]
Kentucky [edit]
U.S. 42 crosses into Covington, Kentucky on the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, together with U.S. 25 and 127. Once in Covington, U.S. 42 crossses KY 8 and heads south as Main Street. Main Street ends at Pike Street, sending U.S. 25-42-127 off to the right. After the road crosses Interstate 71/Interstate 75, it then winds its way out of Covington and into the suburbs. It is at this point that the highway's name changes from Pike Street to Dixie Highway.
Heading in a southwest direction closely parallel to I-71/I-75, U.S. 42 starts off mostly as a commercial road, turning more and more into a residential road as it heads further south. After crossing I-71/I-75 again, U.S. 42 becomes almost purely a residential road. With a few exceptions while going south, the route is joined with KY 371 for about 500 feet (150 m). Two intersections later is the Kentucky route 1303 (Turkeyfoot Road) northern end. U.S. 42 then crosses under Interstate 275 (Ohio–Indiana–Kentucky) and proceeds to turn back into a commercial road. The Crestview Hills Town Center lies just south of I-275 on the east side of the road, between Dixie Highway and Turkeyfoot Road. Dixie Heights High School is less than a mile down the road on the western side.
After crossing into Erlanger, U.S. 42 becomes narrower and more congested once it crosses KY 236. U.S. 42 becomes almost entirely a commercial road for the duration of its length in Erlanger. After crossing briefly into Elsmere, it crosses into Boone County and the city of Florence. A couple of miles into Florence, U.S. 25 splits off from U.S. 42 and heads south, carrying the name "Dixie Highway" with it. U.S. 42 continues southwest with U.S. 127. After a couple of miles, it crosses I-71/I-75 again. While I-71/I-75 has turned back to north/south at this point, U.S. 42 and U.S. 127 continue to point southwest/northeast. 842 and 237 intersect with U.S. 42 in the next couple miles, before the road leaves Florence and enters Union. After entering Union, this road turns south, intersecting with KY 536 (Mount Zion Road). Continuing south, Ryle High School sits on the road's west side. Just south of Ryle, U.S. 42 turns from a five-lane road to a two-lane country road.
Several miles further south, U.S. 42 joins together with KY 338 (Richwood Pike), creating a wrong-way concurrency between U.S. 127 and Kentucky 338: when going south, drivers are traveling west on U.S. 42, south on U.S. 127, and north on Kentucky 338. This continues for less than a mile until it intersects with Beaver Road. KY 338 follows Beaver Road to the west, as U.S. 42 and U.S. 127 continue south.
About four miles (6 km) south is Kentucky Route 14's western End. U.S. 42 and U.S. 127 continue running southwest, reaching the Boone/Gallatin County line about 2.25 miles (3.62 km) southwest of KY 14. The two joined routes continue moving southwest, inching closer and closer to the Ohio River. Finally, about five miles (8 km) east of Warsaw and right on the bank of the Ohio River, U.S. 127 separates from U.S. 42. U.S. 127 heads south toward Glencoe, Owenton, and eventually Frankfort. U.S. 42 continues to run parallel to the Ohio River, crossing through Carrollton. After crossing the Kentucky River, U.S. 42 continues through Henry County into Oldham County. Next, it passes through Goshen and North Oldham High School, which sits off to its north side. It continues through Prospect on the Oldham and Jefferson County line, heading in a southwest direction toward Louisville.
Ohio [edit]
The eastern/northern end of U.S. 42 finds its terminus at the intersection of Superior Ave. and Ontario St. in the middle of Public Square in Downtown Cleveland. This intersection also serves as the western terminus of US 322 coming from the east on Superior as well as the western termini of US 422, OH 14, and OH 87 and the northern terminus of OH 8 coming from the south on Ontario.
At this point on the route the road is very much a business district surrounded by varying business and residents of the Ohio City neighborhood. Along this stretch of the route, you can find many historic buildings, including the West Side Market. It essentially stays in a business/residential area as it continues south along W. 25th. Also in this stretch the route is designated as part of the Canalway Ohio Scenic Byway. U.S. 42 continues south with nearby entrances to Interstate 90 Westbound, followed by a junction with Interstate 71 (U.S. 42 junctions I-71 again in Middleburg Heights, Ohio further south and west). At this point, the route becomes known locally as Pearl Road and begins a more south-west course. It travels out of Cleveland, Ohio into Parma, Ohio; Parma Heights, Ohio; Middleburg Heights, Ohio; and Strongsville, Ohio in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b Droz, Robert V. U.S. Highways : From US 1 to (US 830). URL accessed 02:55, 4 July 2006 (UTC).
- ^ Google Street View. Retrieved 2012-07-19.
External links [edit]
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←  US 41 |
KY | KY 43  → |
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