State Route 459 (SR 459) is a state highway in

Henderson County, Tennessee Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with its county seat in Lexington, and with a population of 27,842 as of the 2020 census. The county was founded in 1821 and named after James Henderson, a soldier in the ...

, that serves as a bypass of Lexington. The route connects U.S. Route 412 (US 412) to SR 22, and opened to traffic in 2023.

Route description

SR 459 is a two-lane road for its entire length, and is commonly referred to as the Lexington Bypass. It begins at an at-grade intersection with US 412 a few miles west of downtown Lexington. Here, westbound traffic on US 412 continues freely onto SR 459, and must make a turn to remain on the former route. The route runs south, and then southeast, before reaching an intersection with the eastern terminus of SR 200 a few miles later. Shifting eastward, the route has an intersection with SR 22A a short distance beyond. A short distance later, SR 459 reaches its eastern terminus at an intersection with SR 22 a few miles south of downtown Lexington.

History

The Lexington Bypass was planned as a continuation of the widening and improvements to US 412 between Lexington and Columbia, which was initiated by the Better Roads Program by Tennessee Governor

Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander Jr. (born July 3, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he also was the 45th governor of Tennessee from 1 ...

in 1986. Right-of-way plans were finalized in 2007. The contract for the first phase of the bypass between US 412 and SR 22 was awarded on December 23, 2019, and construction began in March 2020. In addition to the construction of the new road, the section of US 412 at the intersection of the bypass was reconfigured to allow direct flow onto the bypass from the westbound lanes. The northern terminus of SR 200 was also truncated from SR 22A to SR 459 and the former northern terminus modified; the former section of SR 200 north of SR 459 was turned over to local control. The road was expected to be complete in October 2022, but experienced many delays, and did not open until June 29, 2023. The route cost approximately $37 million to construct. SR 459 is planned to be extended east to US 412 east of Lexington.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Henderson County.

References

{{reflist State highways in Tennessee Transportation in Henderson County, Tennessee