U.S. Route 231 (US 231) in Kentucky runs from the

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

state line near

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to the William H. Natcher Bridge on the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

(

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

state line) near

Rockport, Indiana Rockport is a city in Ohio Township and the county seat of Spencer County, Indiana, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,984 at the 2020 census. Once the largest community in Spencer County, the city has recently been surpassed by the ...

. It crosses the state mainly in the west-central region, traversing

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Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

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, and Daviess Counties.

Route description

Running concurrently with U.S. Route 31E for its first in Kentucky, US 231/31E enters the state from

Sumner County, Tennessee Sumner County is a county located on the central northern border of Tennessee in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 196,281. Its county seat is Gallatin, and its most populous city is Hendersonville. T ...

, and into Allen County. The two routes separate on the west side of Scottsville after the KY 100 junction. US 231 turns northwestward onto a four-lane highway on its way into Warren County, and into Bowling Green. Just before entering the city, US 231 crosses the southern terminus of KY 9007, a short connector providing access to

I-65 Interstate 65 (I-65) is a major north–south interstate highway in the central United States. As with most primary interstates ending in 5, it is a major crosscountry, north–south route, connecting between the Great Lakes and the Gulf ...

and I-165. US 231 crosses I-65 in the Greenwood neighborhood of Bowling Green, US 31W and US 68 within city limits, and I-165 on the northwestern edge of the city. US 231 reaches Butler County to cross I-165 for a second time, and runs concurrently with KY 79 on the southern end of Morgantown. On the northern end of Morgantown, KY 70 joins in on the concurrency as US 231, KY 79, and KY 70 cross the Green River. Both state routes separate from US 231 in the

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area before crossing the I-165 for a third time before entering Ohio County. US 231 meets U.S. Route 62 in the

Beaver Dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers; it creates a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, alligators, cougars, foxes, eagles, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify th ...

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area after crossing the

Wendell H. Ford Wendell Hampton Ford (September 8, 1924 – January 22, 2015) was an American politician from Kentucky. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Governor of Kentucky from 1971 to 1974, and as a member of the United States Senate for 24 ye ...

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on the south side of Beaver Dam. US 231 goes further north into Daviess County to join up with

US 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

( Wendell H. Ford Expressway) to bypass Owensboro. US 60 splits from US 231 before leaving the state via the William H. Natcher Bridge going into

Spencer County, Indiana Spencer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,810. The county seat is Rockport. Despite not being in the Owensboro Metropolitan Area, the entire riverfront of the city of Owen ...

Alternate names

U.S. 231 has several alternate names throughout its course in Kentucky. They include: * Scottsville Road (Allen/Warren County line to US 231 Bus/KY 880) * Campbell Lane (Bowling Green, from US 231 Bus/KY 880 to US 68/80) * Vietnam Veterans Boulevard (US 68/KY80 to US 231 Bus) * Morgantown Road (Warren County, US 231 Bus/US 68 to Butler-Warren County line) *Bowling Green Road (Butler County south of Morgantown) *South Main Street (Morgantown) * G.L. Smith Street (Morgantown) *Beaver Dam Road (Aberdeen to Butler-Ohio County line) *New Hartford Road (Daviess County, from Ohio County line to US 60)

History

Kentucky Route 71

In Kentucky, US 231 was originally signed as Kentucky Route 71, one of many charter routes of Kentucky's statewide system of highways when it was established in 1929. KY 71 originally ran from downtown Scottsville to downtown Owensboro. Prior to 1936, KY 71 followed the present-day KY 403 from Morgantown to Cromwell via Logansport and a ferry crossing. In 1936, KY 71 was rerouted to Aberdeen in order to accommodate the alignment KY 70 and KY 105 (now KY 79) via another ferry crossing between Morgantown and Aberdeen. A bridge over the Green River between the two cities opened around 1952, replacing the Morgantown-Aberdeen Ferry. In 1952, US 231 replaced the designation of KY 71 in its entirety as the U.S. route was extended from

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into Kentucky and Indiana via

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and

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

. US 231 also replaced parts of KY 75's course through downtown Owensboro, including its final stretch onto the Owensboro Bridge into

. Kentucky Route 71 was reassigned as a renumbering of KY 231 from Jarvis Store to Bush, but this was later renumbered to KY 1803 because of

I-71 Interstate 71 (I-71) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the midwestern and Southeastern United States, southeastern regions of the United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 64, I-64 and Interstate 65, ...

Modern-day realignments (1990-present)

In August 1999, US 231 in Bowling Green was rerouted onto KY 880 (Campbell Lane) from the Scottsville Road intersection to the Morgantown Road intersection on the northwest side of town. The former alignment of US 231 into downtown Bowling Green was redesignated as U.S. 231 Business. In 2002, US 231 in Daviess County was rerouted from downtown Owensboro onto the then-new William H. Natcher Bridge north of Maceo. It previously followed the current KY 2155 and KY 2262 onto the Owensboro Bridge in downtown Owensboro into Spencer County until the opening of the Natcher Bridge.

Widening of Morgantown's South Main Street

The stretch of US 231 from the Natcher Parkway (now I-165) interchange to Bell Street in Morgantown was widened to include a center lane for left-turning in 2013–2014., page 1.

Scottsville Road speed limit increase

In late May 2017, the KYTC raised the speed limit of US 231 from near Scottsville to the near the Drakes Creek bridge south of Bowling Green from the original to .French, Jackson (May 23, 2017). “State increases speed limit to 65 mph on U.S. 231.” ''

Bowling Green Daily News The ''Daily News'' is a daily-except-Saturday newspaper based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It is published Sunday mornings and Monday through Friday evenings. History The current newspaper can trace its roots to the ''Bowling Green Democrat'' fou ...

'', May 23, 2017, pages 1A and 6A. Retrieved May 25, 2017. This makes this stretch of US 231 the second section of a four-lane divided highway with unlimited access in the region with a 65 mph speed limit, the first being

US 68 U.S. Route 68 (US 68) is a United States highway that runs for from northwest Ohio to Western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at US 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its present eastern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio, thou ...

/ KY 80 from I-24 in

Trigg County Trigg County is a county located on the far southwest border of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,061. Its county seat is Cadiz. Formed in 1820, the county was named for Stephen Trigg, an officer in the ...

to the Natcher Parkway Exit 7 (now I-165 Exit 5) interchange at Bowling Green.

Major intersections

References

External links

Kentucky Transportation CabinetUS 231 at KentuckyRoads.com
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=231, state=Kentucky, statebefore=Tennessee, stateafter=Indiana Kentucky 31-2

0231 31 may refer to: * 31 (number) Years * 31 BC * AD 31 * 1931 * 2031 Music * ''Thirty One'' (Jana Kramer album), 2015 * ''Thirty One'' (Jarryd James album), 2015 * "Thirty One", a song by Karma to Burn from the album ''Wild, Wonderful Purgator ...