U.S. Route 69

U.S. Route 69 is a north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only 150 miles (241 km) long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well as those of US 287 and US 96) is in Port Arthur, Texas at an intersection with State Highway 87. Its northern terminus is in Albert Lea, Minnesota at Minnesota State Highway 13.

Route description

Texas

US 69 begins at its southern terminus with SH 87 in Port Arthur. This intersection is also the southern terminus for US 96 and US 287, which are concurrent with US 69. US 69, US 96, and US 287 continue in a northwest, then west, route until its intersection with Interstate 10 in southern Beaumont. At this intersection, US 69, US 96, and US 287 merge with I-10. I-10/US 69/US 96/US 287 continue in a northerly direction through Beaumont for several miles. Just after the intersection with US 90, I-10 splits from the multiplex and resumes its easterly course, leaving US 69, US 96, and US 287 heading northwest through Beaumont. US 69 north of I-10 is also known officially known as Eastex Freeway, and is an official evacuation route, just as Interstate 69/US 59 heading north from Houston is known as Eastex Freeway as well.

U.S. Route 160

U.S. Route 160 is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizona. The eastern terminus is at US 67 and Missouri 158 southwest of Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

Its route, if not its number, was made famous in song in 1975, as the road from Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs, Colorado in C.W. McCall's country music song Wolf Creek Pass.

Route description

Arizona

US 160 begins at US 89 near the western edge of Navajo Nation. Near Tuba City, it intersects State Route 264. It goes through Tonalea and Cow Springs before entering Kayenta, where it intersects U.S. Route 163. It continues northeast through Dennehotso, then has a brief overlap with U.S. Route 191 in Mexican Water. It goes east until Teec Nos Pos, where it intersects U.S. Route 64, then turns northeast to go to the Four Corners and enters New Mexico.

US 160 is one of the major routes crossing the Navajo Nation and in Arizona does not leave the Navajo Nation.

U.S. Route 27

U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From Miami it goes up the center of Florida, then west to Tallahassee, Florida, and north through such cities and towns as Columbus, Georgia; Rome, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Lexington, Kentucky; Cincinnati, Ohio; Oxford, Ohio; Richmond, Indiana; and Fort Wayne, Indiana. It once extended north through Lansing, Michigan, to Cheboygan, Mackinaw City, and for about 3 years as far as St. Ignace.

US 27 appeared in 1926, replacing what had been the western route of the Dixie Highway in many places.

Route description

Florida

In Florida, US 27 has been designated the Claude Pepper Memorial Highway by the Florida State Legislature. It was named after long-time Florida US Senator and congressman Claude Pepper. Nearly the entire length of US 27 in Florida is a divided highway.

South Carolina Highway 31

South Carolina Highway 31 (SC 31), also known as the Carolina Bays Parkway, is a six-lane, limited-access highway that parallels (in most cases) the Intracoastal Waterway from Myrtle Beach. The first phase opened on December 17, 2002, completing a 22-mile (35 km) link between U.S. Route 501 (US 501) and SC 9. The second phase opened in March 2005, running from US 501 southwest to and S.C. Highway 544. While usually referred to only as the Carolina Bays Parkway, the highway is also dedicated the John B. Singleton Parkway in memory of John B. Singleton, a former Myrtle Beach City Council member and police commissioner.

Route description

History

Early history

The road that would eventually become Carolina Bays Parkway was planned as early as 1989 by then-U.S. Representative Robin Tallon. The roadway would ease traffic problems in Myrtle Beach, especially on US 17 Bypass. The road derives its name from the various Carolina bays located west of the Intracoastal Waterway that would be close to the road. The following year, the Carolina Bays Parkway Task Force was established to help develop a plan for how the road would be built. The 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act was passed to allow the road to receive $9.6 million in federal funding as part of Corridor 5.

Wisconsin Highway 31

State Trunk Highway 31 (often called Highway 31, STH 31 or WIS 31) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It runs north–south as a suburban route passing Racine and Kenosha. With the exception of a two mile (3 km) stretch between Four Mile Road and Wisconsin Highway 32 at the north end, WIS 31 is a multi-lane urban highway. An expansion of the remaining two miles was proposed by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Route description

WIS 31 begins at the Illinois state line where it connects to ILL 131, following Green Bay Road to its junction through Pleasant Prairie. The highway briefly passes through the northwestern part of Kenosha. WIS 50 and WIS 158 cross WIS 31 in Kenosha. WIS 31 passes along the west side of University of Wisconsin–Parkside one mile (1.6 km) south of the Racine County line. In the Racine area, WIS 31 crosses WIS 11, WIS 20 and WIS 38, turning onto Ole Davidson Road in Caledonia. Green Bay Road, named after the historic route connecting Chicago with Milwaukee and Green Bay, has been upgraded to four-lane divided highway for the entire length. Ole Davidson Road has been upgraded to a divided highway from the split with North Green Bay Road to Four Mile Road.

Georgia State Route 31

State Route 31 (SR 31) is a 166.9-mile-long (268.6 km) state highway that runs south-to-north through portions of Lowndes, Lanier, Clinch, Atkinson, Coffee, Telfair, Wheeler, Dodge, Laurens, and Johnson counties in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Georgia. The route connects the Florida state line, south of Clyattville with Wrightsville, via Valdosta, Douglas, and Dublin.

Route description

Florida to Douglas

U.S. Route 31 in Michigan

US Highway 31 (US 31) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Alabama to the Lower Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. In Michigan, it is a state trunkline highway that runs from the Indiana–Michigan state line at Bertrand Township north to its terminus at Interstate 75 (I-75) south of Mackinaw City. Along its 356.5-mile-long (573.7 km) route, US 31 follows the Michigan section of the St. Joseph Valley Parkway as well as other freeways and divided highways northward to Ludington. North of there, the trunkline is a rural undivided highway through the Northern Michigan tourist destinations of Traverse City and Petoskey before terminating south of Mackinaw City. Along its route, US 31 has been dedicated in memory of a few different organizations, and sections of it carry the Lake Michigan Circle Tour (LMCT) moniker. Four bridges used by the highway have been recognized for their historic character as well.

The first highways along the route of the modern US 31 corridor were the West Michigan Pike, an auto trail from 1913, and later a pair of state trunklines (the original M-11 and M-58) in 1919. These state highways were redesignated US 31 on November 11, 1926, when the US Highway System was approved. Since then, the highway has been realigned in places. The highway crossed the Straits of Mackinac by ferry for about a decade in the 1920s and 1930s before the Mackinac Bridge was built, connecting to US 2 north of St. Ignace. Later, sections were converted into freeways starting in the 1950s. These segments opened through the subsequent decades with the last one opening in 2003. Future plans by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) are to finish the St. Joseph Valley Parkway and bypass Grand Haven.