Alabama US 45 is concurrent with unsigned
SR 17 between
Mobile and
Vinegar Bend, just north of
Deer Park, in
Washington County,
Alabama. From Vinegar Bend to the
Mississippi state line, US 45 is concurrent with unsigned
SR 57.
Mississippi N/U.S. Route 45 S bridge over the
Tombigbee River relief (Big Nichols Creek)/
Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway in
Aberdeen, Mississippi, during the March 1955 floods. U.S. Highway 45 is part of a designated hurricane evacuation route in Mississippi. It is entirely four-laned from its point of entry from Alabama, at the town of State Line, to the Tennessee line just north of
Corinth, along the way serving the towns of (from south to north)
Waynesboro,
Meridian,
Columbus and
Tupelo. U.S. 45 is a freeway in the vicinity of Meridian, from Shannon to Saltillo, and from south of Corinth to the Tennessee state line. Otherwise, it is largely a four-lane limited-access
expressway, with the exception of urban arterial sections in
Columbus and
Aberdeen. At Brooksville, U.S. 45 splits away from
U.S. 45 Alternate and serves the towns of Columbus and Aberdeen before rejoining U.S. 45 Alternate south of
Tupelo. The alternate roadway provides a more direct and entirely four-laned route between Meridian and Tupelo, bypassing Columbus to the west and, more closely,
Starkville to the east. Major junctions of U.S. 45 in Mississippi include
U.S. Route 84 at Waynesboro,
Interstate 20/
59 at Meridian,
U.S. Route 82 at Columbus,
Interstate 22/
U.S. Route 78 at Tupelo and
U.S. Route 72 at Corinth. Each of these junctions is an interchange and, with the exception of Columbus and Waynesboro, each is part of a freeway segment. The Mississippi section of U.S. 45 is defined at Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.
Tennessee signage in
Jackson, Tennessee Southern section From the Mississippi state line, US 45 extends north past the cities of
Guys,
Eastview,
Selmer,
Bethel Springs,
Finger,
Henderson,
Pinson, and
Jackson to
Three Way, where the highway splits into US 45W and US 45E.
U.S. Route 45W US 45W is a state highway in
West Tennessee, connecting
Jackson with
South Fulton via
Humboldt,
Trenton,
Dyer,
Rutherford,
Kenton, and
Union City. For the majority of its length, it is concurrent with unsigned
State Route 5 (SR 5).
U.S. Route 45E US 45E is a state highway in
West Tennessee, connecting
Jackson with
South Fulton via
Medina,
Milan,
Bradford,
Greenfield,
Sharon, and
Martin. For the majority of its length, it is concurrent with unsigned
State Route 43 (SR 43) for most of the route's length except for short segments at Martin and South Fulton, where it is cosigned with
SR 216 and
SR 215 respectively.
Northern section Mainline US 45, concurrent with unsigned
SR 3, goes northeast and passes through neighborhoods in
South Fulton along Chickasaw Drive before turning north onto Highland Drive at an intersection with
Kentucky Route 116 (KY 116/W State Line Street) at the western edge of downtown. US 45 then crosses into
Kentucky and the city of
Fulton.
Kentucky between Kentucky and Illinois on the
Brookport Bridge. U.S. 45 enters Kentucky at
Fulton then northeast past
Mayfield then heads directly north into
Paducah as a four-lane highway. In Paducah, U.S. 45 serves as a major artery, intersecting with
Interstate 24 at exit 7, and intersecting
US 60 and
62. U.S. 45 leaves Kentucky from Paducah's northern border across the two-lane, metal-grate
Brookport Bridge to
Brookport, Illinois across the
Ohio River.
Illinois In the state of Illinois, U.S. 45 runs from
a bridge across the Ohio River from
Paducah, Kentucky, through
Shawnee National Forest and north to the Wisconsin border east of
Antioch, Illinois. With a length of in Illinois, U.S. 45 is the longest numbered route in Illinois. In its progress north from the Ohio River U.S. 45 first joins Interstate 24 as far as
Vienna then heads northeast through
Harrisburg and
Eldorado in Saline County and north through
Fairfield,
Flora,
Effingham,
Mattoon,
Champaign,
Urbana,
Gilman and
Kankakee, then straight north through the western suburbs of Chicago in
Will County,
Cook County and
Lake County to the Wisconsin border.
Wisconsin U.S. 45 enters the state in southeast
Wisconsin. It runs concurrent with
Interstate 894 and
U.S. Route 41 through the west side of metro
Milwaukee to form a major artery through the metropolitan area. It runs north to
Fond du Lac. The highway routes near the western shore of
Lake Winnebago through
Oshkosh, Wisconsin. U.S. 45 then travels north through
Wittenberg,
Antigo, and
Eagle River, as well as the state and national forests, until it leaves the state at
Land O' Lakes and enters
Michigan.
Michigan US 45 enters Michigan south of
Watersmeet. From there, the highway crosses the Western
Upper Peninsula through the
Ottawa National Forest running north to
Ontonagon. US 45 ends just south of
Lake Superior in downtown Ontonagon. The terminus was not changed in 2006 despite realignment then of
M-38 and
M-64 from the terminus to a crossing south. == History ==