Tennessee In
Tennessee, US 127 traverses rural areas of the
Cumberland Plateau in eastern
Middle Tennessee and western
East Tennessee. The route officially begins in the northern Chattanooga suburb of
Red Bank at an interchange with US 27, where it overlaps
Tennessee State Route 8. From there it runs primarily northwest as it passes
Signal Mountain, and later
Walden Ridge before entering
Dunlap, where it turns northeast along
Tennessee State Route 28. After TN 8 leaves at the interchange with
TN 111, US 127/TN 28 follows through the
Sequatchie Valley, passing through the city of
Pikeville, then curves back to the northwest as it enters
Crossville, only to return towards the northeast as it enters
Jamestown. From that point on it returns towards the northwest one more time as it winds through the woods surrounding the
Sgt. Alvin C. York State Historic Park. Finally in
Static, the road runs along the Tennessee-Kentucky border where it makes a sharp turn at the northern terminus of TN 111 before entering Kentucky.
Kentucky In
Kentucky, US 127 is cosigned with
US 42 through Cincinnati's Northern Kentucky suburbs until east of
Warsaw, then passes south through
Owenton. This was the road driven by
Buddy Rich when he wrote "Blue Grass makes me Blue" in 1947. At the state capital of
Frankfort, it becomes a four-lane highway, then skirts
Lawrenceburg,
Harrodsburg, and
Danville. It enters the hilly Knobs Region at
Junction City, where it becomes a two-lane route, and continues through
Hustonville, crossing the drainage divide between the Kentucky and Green river watersheds and roughly following the scenic upper Green River valley through
Casey County, crossing the river at
Liberty. South of
Dunnville it climbs onto the Eastern Pennyroyal Plateau and cuts through
Russell Springs and
Jamestown. It crosses
Wolf Creek Dam, which creates
Lake Cumberland. It runs very briefly with KY 90 north of Albany and crosses into Tennessee at
Static. The new route through Clinton County includes a bypass west of Albany; the original plan for a more direct eastern route was abandoned because of historic and scenic concerns. In the county US 127 runs through sinkhole plains along the escarpment that marks the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, creating scenic views.
Ohio US 127 serves several cities and rural communities along the extreme western edge of
Ohio, including
Cincinnati,
New Miami,
Seven Mile,
Somerville,
Camden,
Eaton,
Greenville,
Celina,
Van Wert,
Paulding and
Bryan. In Cincinnati, it shares a short concurrency with its parent route, US 27, along with
US 42. From there, it heads north through
Fairfield and
Hamilton. The highway is a four-lane, divided
bypass around Greenville. US 127 crosses the
Ohio Turnpike near
West Unity, but does not intersect with it. It also joins with
US 36 for about . The first city US 127 enters after leaving Kentucky is Cincinnati. The last municipality that US 127 goes through before reaching Michigan is West Unity. Except for
Defiance County, US 127 passes through the county seats of all nine counties in Ohio that share a border with Indiana. It also traverses a portion of
Fulton County before entering Michigan. In total, US 127 traverses across Ohio.
Michigan . Much of the route is a four-lane freeway through this state. In
Michigan, US 127 runs from the Ohio border south of
Hudson north to the junction with
I-75, south of
Grayling, a distance of . The highway is the primary route connecting
Lansing and central Michigan to Northern Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge; it serves the cities of
Jackson,
Lansing, and
Clare. From the south side of Jackson northerly, it is mostly a four-lane freeway, except for the notable exception of a stretch from north of St. Johns to just south of Ithaca, where access to the road is not limited. Prior to 2002, US 127 ran from
I-69 north of
East Lansing southerly to the Ohio border near
Hudson, a total of . From the Ohio border until Jackson, the highway follows the course (with minor deviations) of the
Michigan Meridian used to
survey Michigan in the early 19th century. That stretch is generally named Meridian Road. In the non-freeway sections of the route, it is known as Bagley Road. A proposed
I-73 would incorporate US 127 between Jackson and Grayling. However, Michigan abandoned plans for building I-73 in 2001. ==History==