U.S. Route 41

In Florida, Highway 41 is paralled by Interstate 75 all the way from Georgia (on the northern border) to Miami, and I-75 has largely supplanted US-41 as a major highway.

Between Miami and Naples, US 41 runs through the vast Everglades wilderness. This section has been designated a National Scenic Byway. The byway runs east-west along most of this stretch through the Big Cypress National Preserve, skirting the northern border of the Everglades National Park for about 20 miles. This section of the highway is known as the Tamiami Trail (derived from the combination of Tampa and Miami, the road's two termini).

US 41 is in the process of being widened throughout the northern Tampa Bay suburbs. It is currently six-lanes wide between Tampa, Lutz, Florida, and much of Land O' Lakes, and again between Garden Grove and Brooksville, Florida. It is also four lanes wide in Tampa south of BUS US 41, between a section north of Land O' Lakes, Masaryktown, and Garden Grove, Florida, and south of Inverness, Florida. A large portion of US 41 is co-designated along the unmarked Florida State Road 45 between Belle Meade and High Springs, Florida.

From US 92 in Tampa to US 41 Business and State Road 676 near the unincorporated Palm River-Clair Mel, US 41 carries the unsigned State Road 599 designation. It contains the northwestern end of the Tamiami Trail at the SR 60 intersection. It is normally three lanes wide, but between Interstate 4 and the northern terminus of SR 569 is only two lanes wide. The unsigned state highway is 5.6 miles long. At the northern terminus, US 41 turns west. (If one continues straight, 40th Street leads to Busch Gardens Africa.) Major intersections include State Road 574, SR 569, I-4, SR 60, and SR 618.

Georgia

In Georgia, Highway 41 is paralled by Interstate 75 all the way from Tennessee to Florida, and I-75 has largely supplanted US-41 as a major highway.

In Atlanta, Highway 41 was formerly carried on Spring Street near Five Points, but it has long been re-routed via Northside Drive around the downtown area (It was a major truck route.) The Georgia Dome, Georgia World Congress Center, and Philips Arena are located off Northside Drive. South of Atlanta, Metropolitan Parkway and Tara Boulevard carry the highway, along with its co-signed partner U.S. 19, towards Griffin. North of Atlanta, the stretch of Highway 41 between Atlanta and Marietta was the first four-laned highway in Georgia - when it was completed in 1938. Now, the Northside Parkway and the Cobb Parkway carry Rte-41 through northern Fulton and Cobb counties. This thoroughfare is the home of Cumberland Mall, the Cobb Galleria, and the Six Flags White Water amusement park. Rte-41 also passes through the Georgia cities and towns of Dalton, Griffin, Macon, Perry, Cordele, Tifton, and Valdosta. Valdosta is the last major stop before reaching Florida. The Atlanta Motor Speedway is located on U.S. Highways 19 and 41 in Hampton. Highway 41 has been re-routed in Barnesville and been designated as a truck route and possible industurial area.

Tennessee

In Tennessee, Highway 41 is paralled by Interstate 24 all the way from Georgia to Kentucky, and I-24 has largely supplanted US-41 as a major highway.

U.S. 41, joined by U.S. 76, enters Tennessee east of Interstate 75 on the outskirts of East Ridge. It is called "Ringgold Road" through East Ridge up to the Bachman Tunnel, where it enters Chattanooga. In Chattanooga, U.S. 41/U.S. 76 becomes Westside Drive up to the intersection with Dodds Avenue, where for a short distance it is coexistent with Dodds Avenue. Then U.S. 41/76 becomes East Main Street in downtown Chattanooga up to the intersection with Broad Street (U.S. 11/U.S. 64). At that point U.S. 76 terminates, U.S. 72 begins, and the now-U.S. 41/U.S. 76 merges with U.S. 11/U.S. 64, trekking southwestward around the base of Lookout Mountain into the Tiftonia community. Just west of Tiftonia, U.S. 11 splits off, and it veers southwestward into Georgia. The now-U.S. 41/64/72 takes a westward path from Hamilton County into Marion County. U.S. 41 breaks off from 64 & 72 at Jasper and joins with Tennessee State Hwy 150 before climbing the mountains. U.S. 41 leaves TN 150 and joins with TN 56 at Tracy City and runs southwest into Monteagle.

After reaching Monteagle, US 41, included as part of the older Dixie Highway, continues northwest into Pelham, in Grundy County, then closely parallels I-24 into Coffee County, going through Hillsboro, Manchester (where the road is also named Hillsboro Blvd) and Beech Grove, before entering Rutherford County. From there, the highway continues diagonally through Murfreesboro (where the road is also named Broad St.), where the Dixie Highway joins up with US 70S. The Stones River National Battlefield is located very near US 41/70S on the northwest side, standing as a monument of the Battle of Stones River which took place during the American Civil War. US 41/70S continues northwest through Smyrna and LaVergne before reaching Davidson County. The road passes through Antioch before reaching Nashville, where US 41 separates from US 70S. The road goes through Nashville as Murfreesboro Rd, then Dickerson Pike, and comes out on the northeast side of the city joined with US 31W. US 41 continues northeast through Goodlettsville before breaking away from US 31W. Highway 41 then goes northwest and continues on into Robertson County, going through Springfield before heading west/northwest to the Kentucky border. Just before reaching Kentucky, US 41 briefly runs through Montgomery County.

Kentucky

In the state of Kentucky, U.S. Route 41 runs from the just North of the Ohio River to Guthrie, Kentucky in Todd County. There is a more than century-old border dispute between Indiana and Kentucky that is reflected by the route of U.S. 41. This route is one of the few places where the Kentucky/Indiana border deviates from the Ohio River.

Indiana

For its entire length north of Evansville, U.S. 41 passes through largely rural portions of far western Indiana. It overlaps U.S. Routes 150 and 52 through some of these areas. U.S. 41 is also the main north-south road through Terre Haute, the largest city on U.S. 41 between Evansville and Chicago. However north of Terre Haute, U.S. 41 becomes a secondary road, passing through smaller towns such as Rockville and Attica on the east side of the Wabash River. Indiana State Road 63 is the main route north of Terre Haute in this area since it is a four-lane highway on the west side of the Wabash River. U.S. 41 returns to a four-lane divided highway just south of Boswell where S.R. 63 ends, staying as such until reaching Cedar Lake. From Cedar Lake north to the Illinois state line, U.S. 41 is a very well-travelled road with numerous stoplights, with the exception of the mile-stretch where it overlaps Interstate 80/94.

Illinois

US 41 enters Illinois cosigned with US 12 and US 20 on Indianapolis Boulevard beneath the Chicago Skyway. At the Illinois–Indiana state line, US 41 enters the Chicago city limits. The three US routes run together for a few miles until US 12 and 20 separate from each other on the far south side. US 41 then runs along numerous small streets to Jackson Park, where US 41 turns north onto Lake Shore Drive, passing through Chicago's lakefront area as it runs along the western shore of Lake Michigan and past downtown Chicago.

On the north side of the city at Foster Avenue, US 41 separates from Lake Shore Drive. At Broadway US 41 intersects the eastern terminus of US 14. US 41 continues along local roads in the northern part of the city to Skokie Boulevard, where US 41 turns north and parallels Interstate 94.

In the northern suburbs of Chicago, US 41 joins I-94 north for a short distance before splitting from the expressway and continuing north as the Skokie Highway for roughly 25 mi (40 km) to a point near the Wisconsin border. Just south of the border, US 41 rejoins I-94. The two co-signed routes continue northward into Wisconsin.

Wisconsin

US 41 is a freeway for nearly 70% of its length through Wisconsin, with exceptions including a stretch in Milwaukee (Lisbon and Appleton avenues) and an expressway section north of Green Bay.

Michigan

History

When their routes were originally laid out in 1926, US 41's southern endpoint was in Naples, Florida at the western endpoint of U.S. Highway 94, which ran east to Miami. In 1949, US 94 was decommissioned, and the entire route became part of US 41, giving it an east-west section that retained the hidden SR 90 designation. The former US 94 route ended in Miami, Florida at the same intersection that US 41 (and SR 90) does now. In 1953, US 41 was extended along US 1 and State Road A1A to terminate in Miami Beach, but it was truncated back to the earlier terminus in 2000.

US 41 initially took a more westerly route between Nashville, Tennessee and Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The current US 41 was U.S. Route 241. In 1930, the two routes became U.S. Route 41W and U.S. Route 41E, but in 1943 the western route became U.S. Route 41 Alternate, with the main US 41 moving to the east route.

Major intersections

Bannered routes

Alternate routes

As of 2005, Alternate US 41 (signed "41A") has a northern terminus in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 10 miles (16 km) north of the Tennessee line. It serves the city of Clarksville, Tennessee on its way to Nashville, where it briefly runs concurrently with US-41. It then separates again to serve Shelbyville, Winchester, and Tullahoma before rejoining the main route atop Monteagle Mountain. US-41A runs west of US-41 for its entire length, aside from one mile in Downtown Nashville, where they are concurrent. US-41A is also concurrent with US-31A (the alternate route of U.S. Highway 31) from Nashville to Triune, Tennessee, for a distance of approximately 25 miles.

Business loops and spurs

Contents

Route description

Florida