North Dakota In
North Dakota, US 52 continues from
Highway 39 from the
Canadian border at
North Portal, Saskatchewan, and
Portal, North Dakota, to the
Red River in
Fargo, a distance of . US 52 is
co-signed with
US 2 near
Minot, where it also intersects with
US 83. US 52 is also co-signed with
US 281 for between
Jamestown and
Carrington. US 52 is concurrent with
Interstate 94 (I-94) between Jamestown and the
Minnesota state line, co-signed between Jamestown and
Fargo; however, all of the interchanges for the Fargo–
West Fargo portion of the route are
unsigned.
Minnesota In the state of
Minnesota, US 52 enters the state with I-94 at
Moorhead and follows I-94 southeasterly all the way to the
Twin Cities. The portion of the highway which overlaps I-94 is unsigned. From Downtown St. Paul, US 52 continues on its own southeast over the
Lafayette Bridge in St. Paul, continuing as an expressway to
Rochester and the Iowa state line. The
Minnesota Department of Transportation has a long-term goal of making US 52 a freeway with limited-access interchanges between St. Paul and
I-90 south of Rochester. South from I-94 in St. Paul there is a freeway segment to just south of Concord Boulevard in
Inver Grove Heights. The portion of the highway between Inver Grove Heights and
Pine Island is built to
expressway standards. Another freeway segment begins from Pine Island, through Rochester reaching its largest single capacity in Minnesota through Rochester as a six- to eight-lane freeway, toward I-90 where it converts to a rural two-lane highway. The highway then proceeds to the Iowa state line.
Iowa US 52 enters
Iowa north of the unincorporated community of
Burr Oak. It passes by
Luther College on the west side of
Decorah. At
Calmar the road turns to a southwest–northeast orientation. It joins with
US 18 just to the west of
Postville. The two highways overlap until a point east of the unincorporated community of Froelich. US 52 roughly parallels the
Mississippi River for the rest of its path through Iowa to
Dyersville, where it intersects and joins
US 20 and turns eastward towards
Dubuque. West of Dubuque, US 52 merges south onto the
Southwest Arterial, a four-lane expressway directing traffic around the southern edge of the city. US 52 heads southeast to a junction with US 61 and US 151. All three routes travel northbound (even US 52, which is signed as southbound) as an expressway, until US 52 departs in
Key West to remain close to the Mississippi River. After passing through a hilly and scenic region, including the small river city of
Bellevue, the highway turns to an east–west orientation near
Sabula at the junction of
Iowa 64 and the northern terminus of
US 67. In Sabula, the highway becomes a wrong-way road; northbound traffic travels south, and vice versa, from Sabula to the
Dale Gardner Veterans Memorial Bridge, where US 52 crosses over the
Mississippi River into
Illinois. North of Dubuque, US 52 was formerly routed onto a narrow and winding road, concurrently with
Iowa 3. While scenic, the road has been the scene of numerous accidents over the years owing to this nature. Between 1964 and 1967, this segment of the route was designated
Alternate US 52 and US 52 was rerouted south from Luxemburg to Dyersville along Iowa Highway 136, and east from Dyersville to Dubuque along US 20; however in 1967, US 52 was restored to the Iowa Highway 3 alignment. After the completion of the Southwest Arterial in 2020, a similar change took place as US 52 was once again removed from the Iowa Highway 3 alignment and again routed from Luxemburg to Dyersville to Dubuque, then onto the Southwest Arterial, to US 61/US 151, finally reaching its former routing at Key West. The majority of US 52 in Iowa is located within the unglaciated
Driftless Area.
Illinois (McDonough Street) split on the southwest side of
Joliet, Illinois. In
Illinois, US 52 runs southeast from the
Dale Gardner Veterans Memorial Bridge at the terminus of
Iowa Highway 64 and
Illinois Route 64 in
Savanna, passing through the cities of
Dixon,
Amboy and
Mendota. US 52 then turns due south and then east, crossing
I-39 near
Troy Grove. It continues east, passing through
Shorewood and then through the southern portion of
Joliet, where it is a major thoroughfare in the city of Joliet (Jefferson Street), avoiding the city of
Chicago proper. It joins with
US 45 through
Kankakee, thereafter running concurrently with
US 24, east of
Watseka to the
Indiana state line.
Indiana In
Indiana, US 52 runs in a northwest–southeast direction. It passes through
Lafayette where it used to be on Sagamore Parkway, but was later rerouted onto the
US 231 bypass and Teal Road. Northwest of Indianapolis, US 52 runs along the same general area as, and is considered an alternative route to,
I-65. In the Indianapolis area, it is overlapped with
I-865,
I-465, and
I-69. East of Indianapolis, it is considered an alternative to
I-74 before joining it near the Ohio state line. When US 52 went through Downtown Indianapolis, it went onto Brookville Road, then turned left onto English Avenue. It then joined
US 421 when it turned onto Southeastern Avenue. US 52/US 421 joined
US 40 when it turned onto Washington Street. It then split into Washington Street (westbound) and Maryland Street (eastbound). US 52 then turned onto West Street (from West Street, it turned onto Maryland Street). US 52 turned on 16th Street, where it would overlap
US 136. It then turned onto Lafayette Road, which became Indianapolis Road when reaching
Zionsville. When I-65 was completed through Downtown Indianapolis, US 52 got on I-65 from the Lafayette Road interchange, and traveled on I-65 the rest of the way. In 1970, the route was re-routed onto the south belt of I-465 from Brookville Road to I-65. It was re-routed again on its current route around Indianapolis in either 2000 or 2001.
Ohio US 52 enters
Ohio concurrently with I-74 in northwestern
Hamilton County. US 52 then merges with
I-75 from I-74's terminus and exits onto Hopple Street in
Cincinnati. It runs along Central Parkway and Central Avenue through downtown and then skirts the Cincinnati riverfront along Mehring Way past
Paycor Stadium (formerly Paul Brown Stadium),
Great American Ball Park, and
Heritage Bank Center (formerly U.S. Bank Arena), onto Pete Rose Way and Riverside Drive. From Cincinnati eastward, US 52 generally follows the
Ohio River. There is a brief concurrency with
I-275 near
California, a neighborhood on the far eastern edge of the city of Cincinnati. Towns along its path include
New Richmond,
Aberdeen,
Ripley and
Manchester. The section between I-275 and New Richmond was modernized in the 1960s; parts of the old route run parallel to the newer highway. Around
Portsmouth and
Ironton US 52 has several
freeway or
expressway sections. In Portsmouth, US 52 intersects with
US 23. At
Chesapeake, US 52 crosses the Ohio River into
Huntington, West Virginia. The sections of US 52 that follow the Ohio River are known as the Ohio River Scenic Byway, which is part of the
National Scenic Byway Project. The section between
State Route 125 (SR 125) and
SR 73 (near Portsmouth) is also designated as
Scenic Scioto Heritage Trail. This portion of US 52, along the Ohio between Cincinnati and Huntington, is the only part where it falls in geographical sequence, south of US 50 and north of US 60. US 52 passes by
the birthplace of President
Ulysses S. Grant in
Point Pleasant.
West Virginia and Kentucky US 52 serves western and southern portions of
West Virginia, running from
Huntington to
Bluefield. The highway is undergoing a major expansion project which began in 2007 and at current funding levels is likely to take many years to finish. During its run through West Virginia, US 52 twice enters
Kentucky briefly, along the
Williamson, West Virginia, bypass, in order to prevent the blasting of several hillsides in West Virginia. These stretches were completed in 1996 as part of the Corridor G (
US 119) project. The speed limit in West Virginia is , but drops to along the Kentucky portions, as Kentucky law states that any non-freeway (as is US 52) must not have a higher speed limit. In each instance, however, US 52 re-enters West Virginia.
Virginia US 52 enters Virginia from West Virginia, and in Virginia closely follows
I-77. It enters southwestern Virginia near
Bluefield and passes through
Wytheville and
Hillsville before leaving the state south of
Cana.
North Carolina US 52 enters
North Carolina just northwest of
Mount Airy. It passes
Pilot Mountain, one of the most distinctive natural features in North Carolina. Through the
Piedmont Triad region, US 52 is mostly a controlled-access
freeway. The route joins
I-85 Business into
Lexington and overlaps
I-85 around
Salisbury. The segment of US 52 from
I-40 in
Winston-Salem to Lexington has been upgraded to
Interstate Highway standards;
I-285 is co-signed along this segment. The segment from northern Winston-Salem to just south of Mount Airy is expected to form part of the
I-74 corridor through North Carolina. South of the Triad area, after splitting from I-85 in
Salisbury, US 52 is typically a two-lane route linking some of the state's smaller cities and towns.
Albemarle is the largest municipality along this segment of US 52 to the South Carolina state line.
South Carolina US 52 enters
South Carolina northeast of
Cheraw. From
Darlington southward it is a multilane highway and
freeway, passing through
Florence,
Lake City,
Kingstree,
Moncks Corner and
North Charleston before US 52's terminus at the intersection of Meeting and Line Streets in
Charleston. == History ==