Florida In
Florida, US 27 has been designated the
Claude Pepper Memorial Highway by the
Florida Legislature. It was named after long-time Florida
U.S. Senator and Representative
Claude Pepper. The stretch running from
Miami to
South Bay was originally designated the
Thomas E. Will Memorial Highway by the Florida Legislature in 1937 when that portion was known as State Road 26 (SR 26). Will, the founder of
Okeelanta, had been instrumental in getting the state to build the road from Miami to the area south of
Lake Okeechobee. Nearly the entire length of US 27 in Florida is a divided highway. US 27 begins as North 36th Street in
Midtown Miami, heading west from US 1 for before turning northwest to pass under the western terminus of
SR 112 (Airport Expressway). It then proceeds northwest for as South Okeechobee Road, parallel to the
Miami Canal, forming the southwest boundary of the city of
Hialeah. After an interchange with
SR 826 (Palmetto Expressway), it continues northwest as North Okeechobee Road for before an interchange with the
Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (SR 821). After another , the highway curves to the north and, after passing the northern terminus of
SR 997 (Krome Avenue), crosses into
Broward County. In Broward County, the highway passes protected wetlands and heavy-duty powerlines on the west and the outer reaches of the suburban communities of
Pembroke Pines and
Weston on the east. US 27 then reaches an interchange with
I-75 and
Alligator Alley before curving to the northwest toward
South Bay and Lake Okeechobee. The highway skirts the southwestern shore of Lake Okeechobee and then heads west at
Clewiston, before making a sharp turn to the north toward
Moore Haven. The road then proceeds in a northerly direction toward the central Florida communities of
Lake Placid,
Sebring,
Avon Park, and
Lake Wales. Widening of US 27 to a six-lane highway continues in Polk County. The following sections have been completed and are open to six lanes of traffic: •
SR 60 to
SR 540 in Lake Wales •
SR 542 in
Dundee to north of
I-4 in
Davenport North of I-4, US 27 contains unnumbered interchanges with
US 192 and then
County Road 474 (CR 474) in
Four Corners,
SR 50 in
Clermont, and
SR 19 south of
Howey-in-the-Hills, which also includes a southbound interchange with
Florida's Turnpike. The northbound turnpike interchange can be found further northwest.
US 441 later joins US 27 in
Leesburg and
US 301 in
Belleview, only for the road to break away from both in
Ocala. US 27 resumes its status as its own route until it reaches Williston and joins
US 41. This concurrency continues northward until US 41 reaches
High Springs and joins US 441. US 27 heads west along the unsigned
SR 20 toward
Perry and joins
US 19 until US 19 breaks away in
Capps, but not before resuming a westward direction. In
Tallahassee, the road becomes Apalachee Parkway, a major east–west thoroughfare. Constructed in 1957, the Apalachee Parkway starts at
SR 61 (Monroe Street) in front of the
Florida State Capitol building. It has a short expressway section just east of the capitol, then is a busy four-lane surface boulevard with
service roads for the next few miles, passing the
Governor's Square mall and many state office buildings. Past Tallahassee, US 27 finally resumes its northwesterly direction. The highway goes through
Havana before entering
Amsterdam, Georgia.
Georgia In
Georgia, US 27 has been designated the
Martha Berry Highway by the Georgia State Legislature. It was named after
Martha Berry, founder of
Berry College in
Rome. US 27 is a designated Governor's Road Improvement Program (GRIP) developmental highway corridor which will eventually be widened to four lanes (mostly divided) from the Florida state line to the Tennessee state line. All of US 27 in Georgia is concurrent with State Route 1.
Tennessee , near Graysville, Tennessee In
Chattanooga, a portion of US 27 was once signed as
I-124. Though the designation still exists, it is no longer signed as such. In and around the
Chattanooga area, US 27 is sometimes referred to as
Corridor J, the designation of a road in the
Appalachian Development Highway System between Chattanooga and
London, Kentucky, intended to follow the route of US 27. Throughout its approximately stretch between Chattanooga and
Harriman, US 27 traverses a valley between the
Tennessee River to the east and the
Cumberland Plateau to the west. The plateau's
Walden Ridge escarpment is frequently visible to the west. From Chattanooga, the highway passes through
Soddy-Daisy. Here, it intersects
State Route 111 (SR 111), which veers northwestward across the Plateau into
Middle Tennessee. US 27 continues through
Sale Creek and
Graysville before reaching
Dayton. At Dayton, it intersects
SR 30, which connects Dayton with
Pikeville to the west and
Decatur to the east, and
SR 60, which connects Dayton with
Cleveland to the southeast. US 27 continues northward through
Evensville before arriving at
Spring City. At Spring City, it intersects
SR 68, which connects the area to
Crossville, atop the plateau to the west. From here, US 27 enters
Roane County, running concurrently with
US 70 going through the city of
Rockwood. After US 70 splits to the east, US 27 runs concurrently with
SR 61 through
Harriman, where it is crossed by
I-40. During this stretch, it forms part of the
Harvey H. Hannah Memorial Highway and is signed as such. Just beyond Harriman, near the
DeArmond community, US 27 ascends the Cumberland Plateau and continues northward across the plateau for its remaining or so in Tennessee. In
Morgan County, the highway passes through
Wartburg and
Sunbright. At
Elgin, it intersects
SR 52, which connects the area with the historic village of
Rugby and
Fentress County to the west. Beyond Elgin, US 27 passes through
Robbins,
Huntsville, and
Helenwood before reaching
Oneida in
Scott County. In Oneida, US 27 intersects
SR 297, which continues westward into the
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. A short time later, US 27 intersects with
SR 456, which continues to
SR 63. After coming to a stop, it then makes a sharp left turn to go through downtown Oneida. After a further , it then reaches
Winfield. Winfield is the last sizable town that US 27 passes through in Tennessee before it reaches the community of
Isham on the
Kentucky border.
Kentucky US 27 enters Kentucky near
Whitley City. The first major town it goes through is
Somerset, followed by
Stanford,
Lancaster,
Nicholasville, and
Lexington, where it begins a concurrency with
US 68 that continues to
Paris. US 27 continues north from there through
Cynthiana,
Falmouth,
Alexandria,
Cold Spring,
Highland Heights,
Fort Thomas,
Southgate, and
Newport before crossing into
Ohio at
Cincinnati via the
Taylor–Southgate Bridge. From its junction with
I-471 in Highland Heights through most of
Campbell County, it is a four-lane highway, as it is with the US 68 concurrency and south from Lexington to
Kentucky Route 34. It has four lanes from the northern boundary of
Pulaski County to just south of the
Cumberland River (
Lake Cumberland) bridge at
Burnside.
Ohio US 27 crosses into Ohio and
Downtown Cincinnati via the
Taylor–Southgate Bridge. US 27 follows Mehring Way, Central Avenue, Ezzard Charles Drive, and Central Parkway through Downtown Cincinnati. US 27 briefly duplexes with
I-75, exiting at
I-74 for another brief duplex before exiting onto Colerain Avenue. US 27 then continues northwest eventually to
Oxford and then reaches the
Indiana border another northwest at
College Corner. Overall, US 27 is in Ohio for : in
Hamilton County and another in
Butler County.
Indiana /US 30 in Fort Wayne, Indiana US 27 enters the southeastern part of Indiana south of the town of
Liberty. At Liberty, US 27 turns north, paralleling the Ohio state line. It intersects
I-70 at
Richmond and continues north to
Decatur.
US 33 joins US 27 just south of Decatur and the two routes share a northwesterly alignment on a divided surface highway from Decatur to
I-469 south of Fort Wayne. US 33 turns west and follows I-469, while US 27 continues north into downtown Fort Wayne as Clinton Street. North of downtown, US 27 follows Lima Road to its terminus at
I-69/
US 30 (Lima Road continues north from this point as
State Road 3, or SR 3). ==History==