U.S. Highway 31
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U.S. Highway 31
US Highway 31 is a long north-south highway connecting northern Michigan to southern Alabama, with termini at Interstate 75 near Mackinaw City, Michigan, and U.S. Highway 90 and U.S. Highway 98 at Spanish Fort, Alabama. It formerly reached Mackinaw City along the southern approaches of the Mackinac Bridge (Interstate 75) in the north and Mobile, Alabama in the south. Ironically, the old southern terminus of US 31 in Mobile lies slightly to the north of Spanish Fort due to the path of the Bankhead Tunnel, which also carried US 90 and US 98, which remain designations for the route along the tunnel.
US 31 splits into U.S. Highway 31W and U.S. Highway 31E between downtown Louisville, Kentucky and Nashville, Tennessee; earlier US 31 split into US 31W and US 31E in Sellersburg, Indiana. Alternate US 31 also exists between Nashville and Lewisburg, Tennessee and existed through Columbus, Indiana and Seymour, Indiana; both sections of Alternate US 31 are or were loops connecting to US 31. Old Alternate US 31 in Indiana is part of Indiana State Highway 11.
Before the Interstate era, US 31 was a major north-south highway. Interstate 65 supplants US 31 and either 31W or 31E as a through route between Indianapolis and Mobile. South of Indianapolis, all segments of US 31 not coinciding with Interstate 65 have been reduced to roads largely of local use. Interstate 196 now carries the route of US 31 between Holland, Michigan and St. Joseph, Michigan. All of US 31 between Ludington, Michigan and Indianapolis, Indiana is divided highway; some of it is freeway, including a bypass of South Bend, Indiana; the segment between South Bend and Indianapolis is scheduled for upgrade or replacement with Interstate-standard freeway.
US 31 is the parent route of U.S. Highway 131, almost entirely in Michigan; U.S. Highway 231, which comes within a few miles of connecting Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico; and U.S. Highway 331, connecting Montgomery, Alabama with Santa Rosa Beach, Florida . U.S. Highway 431, connecting Owensboro, Kentucky and Dothan, Alabama has its termini on US 231, so one can argue that US 231 is the real parent of US 431.
Other cities that which US 31 traverses not mentioned above include Muskegon, Michigan; Kokomo, Indiana; Columbia, Tennessee, Decatur, Alabama; and Birmingham, Alabama. Fort Knox and Bowling Green, Kentucky are on US 31W.
Historical Note: In the 1930's, US-31 continued at St. Ignace across the Straits of Mackinaw, and junctioned with US-2 (Mackinaw Trail and what later became M-123).