In the border counties SR 52 begins as a secondary state route in
Orlinda at
SR 49 in
Robertson County. It begins an eastward trek and junctions with
I-65 (Exit 117) west of
Portland. A short distance later, it junctions with
US 31W (
SR 41) and enters
Sumner County. Once it does so, it becomes a primary route. SR 52 then enters Portland and has an Intersection with
SR 109. Continuing east, SR 52 enters
Westmoreland, bypassing the downtown area to the south, and comes to an intersection with
US 31E/
231 (
SR 6). It then crosses into
Macon County and passes through
Siloam. SR 52 continues into
Lafayette to intersect with
SR 10. It then exits Lafayette and intersects with
SR 262 at
Webbtown. It continues to
Red Boiling Springs, where it has a junction with
SR 56. It then has an interchange with
SR 151 a short distance later. It continues eastward into
Clay County, and goes through the communities of
Hermitage Springs and
Moss, the latter of which
SR 51 intersects SR 52, and
SR 135 intersects SR 52 in the former.
SR 53 intersects SR 52 at
Celina. For SR 52’s first , it parallels the Tennessee-
Kentucky state line.
Celina to Elgin After exiting Celina, SR 52 turns southeast to cross into
Overton County. A short distance from the county line, it comes to a junction with
SR 136 just north of
Standing Stone State Park. It continues east and passes through
Allons. SR 52 then enters
Livingston and intersects with
SR 111. It continues into downtown and becomes
concurrent with
SR 85. It continues east and goes through
Alpine and separates from SR 85 to the east. SR 52 then continues eastward into far southern
Pickett County, and then crosses into
Fentress County shortly thereafter. It winds to the east to
Jamestown, where it has an intersection with
SR 154. It then goes straight through downtown, crosses Main St. (Old US 127), and has an interchange with
US 127 (
SR 28) just east of downtown. SR 52 then goes southeast, and enters
Allardt to intersect
SR 296. It then continues on known as "Rugby Pike", which is the name it keeps all the way to its eastern end. It continues through rural Fentress county to a tall bridge over the
Clear Fork River and crosses into
Morgan County and the
Eastern Time Zone. A short distance past the river, SR 52 intersects
Rugby Parkway, which until December 2013 was the actual route of SR 52, which runs a loop through the historic community of
Rugby, while the current route runs along a new bypass to the south. SR 52 then becomes very narrow and curvy and straddles
Morgan County's eastern boundary line for several miles before finally entering
Scott County to end in the community of
Elgin at an intersection with
US 27 (
SR 29). ==History==