U.S. Route 68

U.S. Route 68
U.S. Route 68
Route information
Length	560 mi (900 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US 62 at Reidland, KY
	I-24 near Cadiz, KY; I-65 near Bowling Green, KY; I-64 / I-75 in Lexington, KY; I-71 near Wilmington, OH; I-70 in Springfield, OH;
North end	I-75 in Findlay, OH
Location
Country	United States
States	Kentucky, Ohio
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided;

U.S. Route 68 (US 68) is an east–west United States highway that runs for 560 miles (900 km) from northwest Ohio to Western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at US 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its northern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio. It is signed east–west in Kentucky and north–south in Ohio.

Route description

Kentucky

U.S. Route 68 is designated as a "Scenic Highway" throughout Kentucky. The majority of the route winds through forested, hilly terrain. US 68 is Broadway Street through downtown Lexington, and it is Harrodsburg Road before it leaves Lexington. US 68 goes near or through Maysville, Paris, Lexington, Wilmore, Harrodsburg, Lebanon, Campbellsville, Edmonton, Glasgow, Bowling Green, Auburn, Russellville, Elkton, Hopkinsville, Cadiz, and Reidland.

The route passes several Civil War battle sites. The Battle of Tebbs Bend Historic Civil War Site is located near Campbellsville and the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site is outside Perryville. In addition, the Jefferson Davis State Historic Site is along the highway about 9 miles (14 km) east of Hopkinsville at the small town of Fairview.

There is an annual 400-mile (640 km) yard sale held along the highway for 4 days in early summer.^[2]

The sections of the highway through Campbellsville and Lebanon are slated for expansion to begin in 2008. The long-term goal is to widen and make safer the entire US 68 corridor through Kentucky as part of the Heartland Parkway project.^[3]^[4]

Sections in Kentucky have been improved in recent years. The Paris Pike which was completed in 2003. Work is currently in progress to make US 68 four lanes through Land Between the Lakes.

Two spans of the US 68/KY 80 Eggner Ferry Bridge over Kentucky Lake collapsed after being struck by a cargo ship on January 26, 2012.^[5] The bridge reopened to traffic on May 25, 2012.^[6]

Browse numbered routes
← KY 67	list	→ KY 69

Ohio

US 68 takes a south-north route throughout Ohio, roughly paralleling Interstate 75 but covering counties one tier to the east of those counties covered by I-75. US 68 begins at the William H. Harsha Bridge over the Ohio River and duplexes with U.S. Route 52 for 5.6 miles while travelling on the north bank of the river. The highways separate at Ripley, at which point US 68 heads north as a generally rural two-lane highway, passing through or bypassing communities such as Georgetown, Mount Orab, Fayetteville, Wilmington, Xenia, and Yellow Springs. Shortly before reaching Interstate 70, it becomes a four-lane expressway, bypassing Springfield before transitioning back to a rural two-lane road as it approaches Urbana. As it continues north, US 68 passes through West Liberty, Bellefontaine, Kenton, Dunkirk, and Arlington on its way north to its terminus at an interchange with Interstate 75 outside Findlay.

In total, US 68 traverses 179.1 miles within Ohio.

Browse numbered routes
← SR 67	OH	→ SR 68

History

From 1926 until the late 1940s, in terms of the routing between Bowling Green and Perryville, US 68 went westward through Springfield to Bardstown, and followed U.S. Route 31E southward to near Horse Cave. US 68 then followed the current KY 218 (Charlie Moran Highway) westward into Horse Cave, and then joined U.S. Route 31W from there through Cave City to Bowling Green.^[7] US 68 moved to its current routing from Bowling Green to Perryville around 1948-49.

US 68 previously ran to Toledo, Ohio, terminating at the west approach to the High Level Bridge south of downtown, but the Toledo-Findlay segment was decommissioned in the 1950s.^[8] It also passed through Springfield, Ohio prior to its realignment onto a four-lane bypass of that city.

Future

In Clark County, Ohio, there is an almost full-access interchange between controlled-access US 68 and US 40/SR 4, which is itself a controlled-access highway until approximately 0.3 mile west of the US 68 interchange. One exit ramp from US 68 ends on Upper Valley Pike, rather than on US 40/SR 4; another entrance ramp includes two-way traffic and an at-grade entrance to a retirement community. On US 40/SR 4 between the controlled-access portion and US 68, there are an at-grade intersection at Upper Valley Pike, other street and driveway breaks in access control and a steep grade on the eastbound approach toward Upper Valley Pike. In September 2013, the Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee (TCC) ranked the US 40/SR 4/Upper Valley Pike intersection as the most hazardous in the county, based on 2010-2012 crash data.^[9]^[10] Because the road design over the years had played a significant factor in the high number of crashes in the area, the TCC conducted a study; in February 2006 it recommended reconfiguring the US 68 interchange and altering nearby traffic patterns. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) the same year approved $5 million to fund the project. However, the TCC soon rejected ODOT's money, concluding that even its recommended fix would not be enough to solve the area road network's underlying problems.^[9]^[11] Instead, the TCC is making small changes, such as improving traffic signal timing and adding signs. ODOT, for its part, is working on reducing the number of driveways near the US 40/SR 4/Upper Valley Pike intersection and on upgrading traffic signals.^[9]

Major intersections

State	County	Location	mi^[12]	km	Destinations	Notes
Kentucky	McCracken	Reidland	0.000	0.000	US 62 – Paducah, Kentucky Dam
			0.988	1.590	I-24 – Kentucky Dam, Nashville, St. Louis	I-24 exit 16
			1.342	2.160	KY 284 west – Reidland, Symsonia
			2.177	3.504	KY 787
	Marshall		3.841	6.181	KY 1042 north
		Sharpe	4.273	6.877	KY 795 south	west end of KY 795 overlap
		Sharpe	4.348	6.997	KY 795 north	east end of KY 795 overlap
					KY 1610 north
					KY 1396 south
		Coy			KY 1712 south
					KY 1413 north
		Palma			KY 3456 north
		Palma			KY 1422 east
					KY 95 north – Calvert City
					KY 782 west
			12.092	19.460	Purchase Parkway – Mayfield, Calvert City	Purchase Parkway exit 47
			12.339	19.858	US 641 north – Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park	west end of US 641 overlap
		Draffenville	12.755	20.527	US 641 south	east end of US 641 overlap
		Briensburg	14.509	23.350	KY 58 west
					Moors Camp Highway	former KY 963
					KY 1462 west
					Big Bear Highway	former KY 58 east
					KY 408 west – Benton, Mayfield
		Fairdealing			Barge Island Road	former KY 962 north
		Fairdealing			KY 962 south
					KY 1364 south
					KY 1484 north
		Aurora	28.49	45.85	KY 402 west – Mayfield
			30.658	49.339	KY 80 west – Murray	west end of KY 80 overlap
	see KY 80
	Metcalfe	Edmonton	189.786	305.431	KY 80 east	east end of KY 80 overlap
					KY 3524
					KY 1243
					KY 2399
					KY 544
					KY 543
			198.619	319.646	KY 70 west – Cave City	west end of KY 70 overlap
					KY 745
	Green				KY 729
					KY 487 – Exie
					KY 218 west – Horse Cave
			212.754	342.394	KY 61 south – Columbia	west end of KY 61 overlap
		Greensburg			KY 417 (East Columbia Avenue)
		Greensburg	215.087	346.149	KY 61 north – Hodgenville	east end of KY 61 overlap
					KY 793
	Taylor				KY 2764 (Miller Road)
					KY 883 (Shiloh Road)
		Campbellsville			KY 323
			224.081	360.623	KY 55 south / KY 210 west – Hodgenville, Columbia, Green River Reservoir State Park, Jacob Hiestand Museum	west end of KY 55 overlap
					KY 323 south (Columbia Avenue) – Campbellsville University
			225.018	362.131	KY 70 east / KY 527 north (North Central Avenue)	east end of KY 70 overlap
					KY 289 north (Lebanon Avenue) – Business District
					KY 658 east (Roberts Road)
					KY 1799 east – Airport
		Arista			Lua error in Module:Jct at line 204: attempt to concatenate local 'link' (a nil value).
					KY 1834 east (Sportsman Lake Road)
					KY 208 north / KY 744 – Calvary
	Marion				KY 412 west	west end of KY 412 overlap
					KY 412 east	east end of KY 412 overlap
					KY 289 south
					KY 2741 west
					KY 426 west
					KY 2154
		Lebanon			Cemetery Road	former KY 208 south
243.432			391.766	KY 55 north – Airport	east end of KY 55 overlap
				KY 49 / KY 52 west (Proctor Knott Avenue) – Liberty	west end of KY 52 overlap
				To KY 55
				KY 2154 west (Corporate Drive) to KY 55 north
				KY 1404 north
				KY 1195 north
				KY 243 south – Gravel Switch, Bradfordsville
Boyle	North Fork			KY 34 east
				KY 1894 south (Brumfield Road)
	Perryville	262.935	423.153	US 150 west (2nd Street West) – Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site	west end of US 150 overlap
	Perryville	263.044	423.328	US 150 east / KY 52 east (2nd Street East) / KY 1856 south (Bragg Street South)	east end of US 150 / KY 52 overlap
				KY 1941 north
Mercer	Nevada			KY 1822 south
				KY 1915 south (Dry Branch Road)
	Harrodsburg			KY 152 west (Mooreland Avenue) – Springfield	west end of KY 152 overlap
		273.127	439.555	US 127 south (South College Street) – Danville	west end of US 127 overlap
		273.406	440.004	US 127 north (North College Street) – Lawrenceburg	east end of US 127 overlap
				KY 152 east (Cane Run Street) – Burgin, Herrington Lake	east end of KY 152 overlap
	Stringtown	274.766	442.193	US 127 Byp.
				KY 1343 north (Curry Pike)
	Pleasant Hill	280.827	451.947	KY 33 south – Burgin, Herrington Lake, Danville, Shaker Village	west end of KY 33 overlap
				Shaker Ferry Road	former KY 29 north
Kentucky River				Brooklyn Bridge
Jessamine		287.941	463.396	KY 33 north – Versailles	east end of KY 33 overlap
				KY 1268 south – Wilmore
		290.874	468.116	KY 29 south – Wilmore, Asbury University	west end of KY 29 overlap
		291.519	469.154	KY 29 north – Nicholasville	east end of KY 29 overlap
				KY 169
				KY 3375 (Catnip Hill Road)
				KY 1980 east (Brannon Road)
Fayette	Lexington			KY 1267 south (Military Pike)
				Man o' War Boulevard
		301.588	485.359	KY 4 (New Circle Road)	KY 4 exit 2
		304.645	490.279	US 27 south (Bolivar Street)	west end of US 27 overlap
				US 60 west (West High Street)	west end of US 60 overlap
		305.114	491.033	US 25 south / US 60 east / US 421 south (West Vine Street)	east end of US 60 overlap; no left turn westbound (left-turning traffic turns right at West Main Street)
		305.176	491.133	US 25 north / US 421 north (West Main Street)
				KY 4 (West New Circle Road)
		308.186	495.977	I-75 / I-64 – Cincinnati, Louisville, Knoxville, Ashland	I-75 exit 113
				KY 3367 south (Johnston Road)
				KY 1973 north (Iron Works Pike)	west end of KY 1973 overlap
				KY 1973 south (Muir Station Road)	east end of KY 1973 overlap
Bourbon	Piper			KY 1939 north
	Paris			KY 1939 (Hume Bedford Road / Bethlehem Road)
				US 68 Bus. east (Lexington Road)
				US 460 – Georgetown, Paris
				US 27 north – Cynthiana	east end of US 27 overlap
				US 68 Bus. west (East Main Street) to US 460 east – Paris
				KY 1940 north
				KY 1893 west
	Millersburg			KY 1879 north
Nicholas				KY 386
				KY 648
				KY 36 east – Carlisle	west end of KY 32 overlap
				KY 32 west / KY 36 west – Cynthiana	east end of KY 36 overlap; west end of KY 32 overlap
				KY 1244
				KY 32 east – Carlisle	east end of KY 32 overlap
				KY 1455 south – Carlisle	west end of KY 1455 overlap
				KY 1455 north	east end of KY 1455 overlap
	Ellisville			KY 606
				KY 1244
Robertson				KY 165 north – Mount Olivet	west end of KY 165 overlap
Fleming				KY 2505 (Mount Pleasant Road)
Fleming	Fairview			KY 165 south – Flemingsburg	east end of KY 165 overlap
Mason	Peed			KY 560 (Nepton Road)
				KY 2517 – Mays Lick
				KY 324 – Mayslick, Sardis, Wedonia, Mayslick Historic District
				KY 2517 – Mays Lick
				KY 2514
				KY 2514
	Maysville			US 68 Bus. east – Washington
		314.197	505.651	AA Hwy (KY 9) / KY 10 – Brooksville, Maysville	interchange
				KY 3056
				KY 8 – Augusta, Maysville	interchange
Ohio River			361.968– 362.38	582.531– 583.19	William H. Harsha Bridge
Ohio	Brown	Aberdeen			US 52 east / US 62 west – Aberdeen	south end of US 52 / US 62 overlap
		Ripley			US 52 west	north end of US 52 overlap
		Redoak			US 62 east – Russellville	north end of US 62 overlap
					SR 125 east – Russellville	south end of SR 125 overlap
					SR 125 west – Georgetown Business District	north end of SR 125 overlap
		Georgetown			Mount Orab Pike (C-30A) - Georgetown Business District
		Mount Orab			SR 774 west
		Mount Orab			SR 32 – Cincinnati, Jackson	interchange
		Fivemile			SR 286
		Chasetown			SR 131
		Fayetteville			US 50
					SR 123 – Blanchester
	Clinton				SR 251 south – St. Martin, Chatfield College
					SR 28 – Blanchester, New Vienna, Martinsville
					SR 350 – Clarksville, Cuba	interchange
		Wilmington			SR 134 south – Martinsville, Lynchburg	south end of SR 134 overlap
					SR 730 south (West Truesdell Street)
					US 22 east / SR 3 east (East Main Street) to SR 73 east – Wilmington College
					US 22 west / SR 3 west (West Locust Street) to SR 73 west / I-71 south
					SR 134 north (Lorish Avenue)	north end of SR 134 overlap
					SR 73 to I-71 – Waynesville, Hillsboro	interchange
					I-71 – Cincinnati, Columbus	I-71 exit 50
	Greene	Xenia			US 35 – Dayton, Washington CH	interchange
					SR 380 south (South Detroit Street)	south end of SR 380 overlap
					US 42 / US 35 Bus. (Main Street)	north end of SR 380 overlap
					SR 235 north – Fairborn, WPAFB
		Yellow Springs			SR 343 east – Clifton, John Bryan State Park
	Clark				SR 794 east – Springfield Airport
					Fairfield Pike	at-grade intersection; south end of freeway
					I-70 – Dayton, Columbus	I-70 exit 52
		Sugar Grove			US 40 / SR 4 – Dayton, Springfield
					SR 41 – Troy, Springfield
					SR 334 east – Springfield
	Clark–Champaign county line	Bowlusville			County Line Road
	Champaign				Springfield-Urbana Pike	at-grade intersection; north end of freeway
		Urbana			SR 55 west
		Urbana			US 36 / SR 29 (Miami Street / Scioto Street)	traffic circle
					SR 296
					SR 507 east – Ohio Caverns
	Logan	West Liberty			SR 245 – Ohio Caverns
					SR 508 west – DeGraff
		Bellefontaine			SR 47 east (North Madriver Street) / SR 540 east (Sandusky Avenue)
					SR 47 west (Sandusky Avenue)	south end of SR 47 west overlap (southbound only)
					To SR 47 east	north end of SR 47 west overlap (southbound only)
					US 33 – Huntsville, Russells Point, Marysville	interchange
					SR 638 north – Belle Center
					SR 274 – Huntsville, Rushsylvania
					SR 273 – Belle Center, Mount Victory
	Hardin	Kenton			SR 53 north / SR 67 west (West Espy Street)	south end of SR 67 overlap
					SR 309 (West Franklin Street)
					SR 67 east (West Columbus Street)	north end of SR 67 overlap
					SR 31 south (West Carrol Street)
					SR 701 west – Blanchard
		Dunkirk			SR 81
	Hancock				US 30 – Fort Wayne, Mansfield	interchange
		Arlington			SR 103 (Main Cross Street)
					SR 15 east – Findlay, Carey	south end of SR 15 overlap
		Findlay			Lima Avenue - Findlay, Airport	interchange; former US 25
		Findlay			I-75 / SR 15 west – Dayton, Toledo	north end of SR 15 overlap; I-75 exit 156
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus

Related routes

U.S. Route 168

References

KML file (edit • help)

Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 68

KML is from Wikidata

^ ^a ^b Droz, Robert V. U.S. Highways : From US 1 to (US 830). URL accessed 02:55, 4 July 2006 (UTC).^{[self-published source]}
^ "400 mile sale across Kentucky's scenic byway historic highway 68". Retrieved 5 May 2010.
^ "US 68". KentuckyRoads.com. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
^ "Heartland Parkway Project". Retrieved 13 August 2013.
^ "US 68/Ky 80 Eggner's Ferry Bridge sections collapse after cargo ship strike". WPSD. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
^ "US 68/KY 80 Kentucky Lake Bridge Reopens". KentuckyRoads.com. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
^ "H.B.'s Fun Facts About Kentucky Highways". Archived from the original August 27, 2002. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
^ U. S. G. S. Topographic Maps, Toledo 7.5 ' Quadrangles edited 1934 and 1951 and Dept. of Highways Map of Ohio, 1959.
^ ^a ^b ^c Heffner, Jessica (20 September 2013). "Money to fix road rejected". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
^ "High Hazard Location List for Clark County" (PDF). Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee. September 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
^ "US 40/Upper Valley Pike Study". Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee. February 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
^ Division of Planning. "Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Highway Information System. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

[droz-1] Droz, Robert V. U.S. Highways : From US 1 to (US 830). URL accessed 02:55, 4 July 2006 (UTC).^{[self-published source]}

[2] "400 mile sale across Kentucky's scenic byway historic highway 68". Retrieved 5 May 2010.

[3] "US 68". KentuckyRoads.com. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.

[4] "Heartland Parkway Project". Retrieved 13 August 2013.

[5] "US 68/Ky 80 Eggner's Ferry Bridge sections collapse after cargo ship strike". WPSD. Retrieved 13 February 2012.

[6] "US 68/KY 80 Kentucky Lake Bridge Reopens". KentuckyRoads.com. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2013.

[7] "H.B.'s Fun Facts About Kentucky Highways". Archived from the original August 27, 2002. Retrieved July 12, 2016.

[8] U. S. G. S. Topographic Maps, Toledo 7.5 ' Quadrangles edited 1934 and 1951 and Dept. of Highways Map of Ohio, 1959.

[ddn20130920-9] Heffner, Jessica (20 September 2013). "Money to fix road rejected". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 26 October 2013.

[10] "High Hazard Location List for Clark County" (PDF). Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee. September 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.

[11] "US 40/Upper Valley Pike Study". Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee. February 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2013.

[ktc-12] Division of Planning. "Official Milepoint Route Log Extract". Highway Information System. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

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v t e United States Numbered Highway System
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 101 163 400 412 425
Mainline highways Divided routes Special routes
Routes in italics are no longer a part of the system. Highlighted routes are considered main routes of the system.