U.S. Route 31W
U.S. Route 31W (US 31W) is the westernmost of two parallel routes for U.S. Route 31 from Nashville, Tennessee to Louisville, Kentucky.
U.S. Route 31W
U.S. Route 31W
US 31 / US 31E / US 41 / US 431 in Nashville, TN
I-65 in Nashville
US 41 in Goodlettsville, TN- I-65 in Goodlettsville
I-165 in Bowling Green, KY
US 231 Bowling Green
US 68 / KY 80 in Bowling Green- I-65 in Munfordville, KY
US 31 / US 31E / US 60 in Louisville, KY
Tennessee State Route 41 (SR 41) is its unsigned companion route in Tennessee.
During the December 2021 tornado outbreak, an EF3 tornado devastated stretches of US 31W in Bowling Green, Kentucky.[4][5]
Route description[edit]
Tennessee[edit]
US 31W begins in Nashville, at an interchange with Ellington Parkway and US 31 and US 31E. The route continues west as Spring Street, concurrent with US 41/US 431/SR 11. The four highways continue north onto Dickerson Pike, closely paralleling Interstate 24 (I-24) through Nashville. US 431 turns onto Trinity Lane, while US 31W, US 41 and SR 11 continue north, away from I-24. The roadway has an interchange with I-65 and SR 155 (Briley Parkway) before an intersection with SR 45 in Bellshire Terrace. The highway passes through Goodlettsville, where US 31W splits from US 41/SR 11, and crosses I-65; it also passes through the cities of Millersville, White House, and the western edge of Portland. Before it enters Kentucky, it junctions the recently rerouted SR 109.[6] From Millersville to the Kentucky state line, US 31W/SR 41 also marks the boundary between Robertson and Sumner Counties.
Kentucky[edit]
The highway enters the state of Kentucky and crosses I-65 for a third time, where it passes through Franklin and intersects KY 100. From here, the highway is known as Bowling Green Road, which becomes Nashville Road once it enters Warren County, and passes through fields, as well as giving access to the towns of Woodburn and Rich Pond. Entering the city of Bowling Green, the route intersects Interstate 165 (I-165, formerly the William H. Natcher Parkway) as well as US 231 as the route bypasses downtown Bowling Green. On the eastern side of town, Louisville Road carries US 31W, US 68, and KY 80 east and then northeast, where US 68 and KY 80 split off to the east just east of Bristow. US 31W passes within 0.5 miles (0.80 km) of an entrance to Mammoth Cave National Park near Park City, after crossing I-65 again, this time without direct access to the freeway. The highway travels through Cave City as Duke Highway while crossing two major state routes, KY 90 in the southern outskirts, and then KY 70 in downtown.[6]
Once it enters Hart County going north, US 31W is locally known as Dixie Highway for the remainder of its course. In the city of Horse Cave, US 31W intersects KY 218; and then continues on to Munfordville before crossing I-65 for a fifth time at the interstate's exit 65 interchange, and paralleling it closely to the west and later, the east. Between Upton and Sonora, it crosses over I-65 for a sixth time. In Elizabethtown, US 31W intersects with the Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway before crossing I-65 for a seventh and final time. The route continues through the heart of Elizabethtown, intersecting US 62, before it goes on to enter Radcliff. It also passes through Fort Knox near Radcliff, within sight of the United States Bullion Depository. US 31W overlaps with US 60 from Muldraugh to Louisville, paralleling the Ohio River briefly before an interchange with I-264 (Watterson Expressway) in Louisville's southwestern suburbs. US 31W continues as a one-way pair consisting of 22nd and Dr. W. J. Hodges streets, and later Main and Market streets in downtown Louisville. At 2nd Street, US 31W ends at US 31E, and the two routes continue north as US 31 before crossing the Ohio River into Jeffersonville, in Clark County, Indiana on the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge.[6]
31W Treasure Hunt[edit]
The 31W Treasure Hunt is an outdoor second-hand sale held annually for three days beginning the second Thursday in September. It takes place along the alignment of U.S. Route 31W in its entirety from Nashville to Louisville.[9]
State Route 41
State Route 41
22.96 mi (36.95 km)
October 1, 1923[11]–present
1950s–1980s
3.758 mi (6.048 km)
4.592 mi (7.390 km)
1.988 mi (3.199 km)