U.S. Route 23

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U.S. Route 23
Length: 1,536 mi[1] (2,472 km)
Formed: 1926[1]
South end: at Jacksonville, FL
Major
junctions:		 I-95 at Jacksonville, FL

I-16/75 near Macon, GA
I-20 at Atlanta, GA
I-85 near North Druid Hills, GA
I-40 near Asheville, NC
I-64 near Ashland, KY
I-70/71 at Columbus, OH
I-75 at Perrysburg, OH
I-94 at Ann Arbor, MI
I-96 at Brighton, MI
I-75 near Flint, MI
I-75 near Standish, MI
North end: at Mackinaw City, MI
United States Numbered Highways

U.S. Highway 23 is a long north-south U.S. highway between Mackinaw City, Michigan and Jacksonville, Florida. It is an original route (1926) which originally reached only so far south as Portsmouth, Ohio and has since been extended. The designation is more intact than that of many other routes in the north-central and mid-Atlantic states, at least for now.

Contents

[edit] Florida

US 23 uses the following unsigned state roads:

Except in Jacksonville, US 23 is concurrent with U.S. Route 1 south of Alma, Georgia.

[edit] Intersections with other U.S. and Interstate Highways

  • U.S. Route 1/US 17 (Ocean Street (northbound, only used to the south)/Main Street (southbound only to the south))
  • I-95
  • U.S. Route 1 begin U.S. Route 1 concurrency
  • I-295
  • U.S. Route 301 begin U.S. Route 301 concurrency
  • Georgia state line

[edit] History

US 23 was extended into Florida along U.S. Route 1 in 1951. When the 20th Street Expressway was built around downtown Jacksonville, U.S. Route 1 was moved but US 23 remained. It has never changed its route in Florida, though at one time it was planned to extend south, maybe to Fort Myers via US 17, SR 19, SR 33, US 98, US 17, and SR 31.

[edit] Georgia

Enter from Florida concurrent with US 1 and US 301 at

Though US 23 roughly parallels Interstate 75 throughout much of Georgia, and the two routes come within a few miles in Atlanta, U.S. 23 only intersects with I-75 at the Riverside Drive exit in Macon, Georgia. It crosses back over 75 a few miles south. This is the only place that 23 runs west of 75 until many miles to the north, in Perrysburg, Ohio (near Toledo).

[edit] North Carolina

[edit] Tennessee

[edit] Virginia

Main article: U.S. Route 23 in Virginia

US-23 extends for 61 miles through extreme Southwest Virginia with the southern point beginning at Weber City and the northern point ending at Pound. It runs concurrent with US-58 and US-421 from Gate City to Duffield. It crosses the Clinch River near Clinchport. From Duffield to Big Stone Gap, it passes through the Jefferson National Forest. The entire route is a four-lane divided highway.

US-23 passes through the following cities and counties:

Gate City in Scott County

Norton in Wise County

[edit] Kentucky

Main article: U.S. Route 23 in Kentucky
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into U.S. Route 23 in Kentucky. (Discuss)

US 23 passes through the following cities and counties:

[edit] Intersections with other U.S. and Interstate Highways

[edit] Pikeville Cut-Through

Main article: Pikeville Cut-Through

[edit] Country Music Highway

US 23 through Kentucky has been named the "Country Music Highway". This is because a large number of country music stars were born or were raised in communities adjacent to the highway. Some of these include Billy Ray Cyrus, The Judds, Ricky Skaggs, Dwight Yoakam, Patty Loveless, Loretta Lynn and Crystal Gayle. The Kentucky Department of Highways has erected signs at the entrance to each county along the route honoring the country music artist from that particular county.

[edit] Addition of Weigh Stations

Kentucky is now considering adding interstate style weigh stations to combat costly damage done to US 23 from overloaded coal trucks. The first one is expected to open in January 2007 near East Point, Kentucky. The state estimates that premature pavement damage has cost an extra $110 million dollars since 1986.

[edit] Ohio

US 23 near Marion, Ohio
Enlarge
US 23 near Marion, Ohio
  • US-23 crosses the Ohio River from Kentucky and enters Portsmouth.
  • US-23 goes through the towns of Lucasville, Waverly, Piketon, Chillicothe, and Circleville, before reaching Columbus.
  • US-23 mostly follows High Street in Columbus, which was the original route. However, it now bypasses the central business district and north Columbus neighborhoods by following the one-way pair 4th Street (northbound) and 3rd/Summit Street (southbound) between the downtown area and Hudson Street, and Indianola Avenue north before returning to its original course on High Street at Morse Road.
  • US-23 follows High Street northbound from Columbus, going through Worthington, skirting the village of Lewis Center, entering Delaware at the Cheshire Road intersection.
  • After US-23 intersects the northern terminus of Ohio State Route 315 and passes a retail district, it becomes a limited access expressway, bypassing downtown Delaware, before resuming as a freeway with at-grade crossings north of the city.[2]
  • At Waldo, US-23 again becomes a freeway. It continues as a freeway throughout most of Marion County, then resumes at-grade crossings with a mix of some freeway-style junctions which are otherwise signalized after the Morral interchange.[2]
  • US-23 coincides with divided State Route 15, until it takes a different route at the Carey exit. SR-15 continues on to Findlay, and is designed to allow most traffic to bypass the northern stretch of US-23 by offering a fast connection to Interstate 75.
  • US-23 continues north through Carey, Fostoria, and Woodville.
  • After Woodville, US-23 intersects with US-20, where it has a coincidental route for several miles.
  • US-23 then joins I-75 near Perrysburg, then follows I-475 around the west side of Toledo, passing through Sylvania before entering Michigan. In the portion where I-75 and US-23 are multiplexed, this is a "wrong way" multiplex, with southbound I-75 multiplexed with northbound US-23, and northbound I-75 multiplexed with southbound US-23 in this stretch.

[edit] Intersections with other US and Interstate Highways

Note that the current US-23/I-475 has no direct interchange with the Ohio Turnpike (I-80 and I-90). One must (in 2006) use either surface routes in Holland, Maumee, or I-75 to get access to or from the turnpike. The original route of US-23 directly connected with the Ohio Turnpike at Exit 4, mile marker 71.

[edit] Unusual Information

From US 20 to Interstate 475's southern terminus with I 75 at Perrysburg, south of Toledo, the directionals for US 23 and I-75 are opposite. Northbound I-75 is also Southbound US 23.

[edit] Michigan

US-23 enters Michigan on a freeway north of Toledo, Ohio, concurrent with US-223; it is a more direct route than I-75, providing a bypass around Detroit. US-23 is freeway past Dundee, Milan, Ann Arbor (junction I-94 and M-14), Brighton (junction I-96) and Fenton. The freeway portion between I-475 near Toledo, OH and Flint has many substandard bridge clearances (in Interstate standards terminology) albeit the bypassing of I-75 in the Metro Detroit area.

Just south of Flint, US-23 joins I-75 (US-23 mile marker 90, I-75 mile marker 115), staying with it past Saginaw and Bay City before splitting at Standish; M-13 provides a number for the old route. From Standish to US-23's north end at Mackinaw City, US-23 follows the shoreline of Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron, serving such lakeside communities as Au Gres, Tawas City, East Tawas, Harrisville, Alpena, Rogers City, and Cheboygan. I-75 is a much more direct route for long-distance travel between Standish and Mackinaw City.

In 2004, US-23 between Standish and Mackinaw City was designated as the Sunrise Side Coastal Highway.

A segment of freeway between Standish and Tawas City was proposed to relieve traffic congestion on the mostly two-way, two lane segment of US-23. Wetland concerns and local resistance are the main reasons for the dormancy or termination of this freeway project. There were alternative tactics to traffic congestion relief in and around the area. Some intermittent passing relief lanes were added to the existing US-23 corridor, which is a gateway to some popular tourist centers in Michigan.

[edit] US Route 23 Drug Corridor

Law enforcement officials from Ohio and Kentucky setup the "US Route 23 Drug Taskforce" in 1996 to patrol the highway for drug trafficking, attempting to halt a major artery of drug networks bringing high quality cannabis (outdoor sativa) grown in Kentucky, North, for distribution in Ohio and elsewhere. Signs can be spotted along Route 23 from Columbus, Ohio to Portsmouth, Ohio warning traffickers that efforts have been taken to prevent their actions.

Some random police stings have been setup at portions of the highway.

[edit] Related U.S. Highways

US 123

US 223

[edit] Trivia

  • Dwight Yoakam's song Readin', Writin', and Route 23 is a tribute to the migration path that rural Kentuckians would take to find jobs in the stronger economic areas of Ohio and Michigan.
  • US-23 passes near the birthplace of U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes in Delaware, Ohio.
  • US-23 passes near the home of U.S. President Warren G. Harding in Marion, Ohio.
  • In Michigan, US-23 crosses the former path of the now defunct M-23, and coincidentally, it is (now) another U.S. Highway; US-12. To make it less coincidental, it was renamed to US-12 presumably to avoid a confusing reference to both highways.
  • In horror movie,Final Destination 2, the opening scene was on Route 23 as well as the main accident (A multi-vehicle pile-up)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
  2. ^ a b c 2003-2004 Official Ohio Transportation Map. Produced by the Ohio Department of Transportation.
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