| U.S. Route 127 | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Auxiliary route of US 27 | |
| Length: | 758 mi[1] (1,220 km) |
| Existed: | 1926 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end: | US-27 at Chattanooga, TN |
|
I-40 at Crossville, TN |
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| North end: | I-75 near Grayling, MI |
| Highway system | |
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United States Numbered Highways |
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U.S. Route 127 is a 758-mile (1,220 km) long north–south United States highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 near Grayling, Michigan. Since 1987, it has been the core of the annual World's Longest Yard Sale, also known as the 127 Corridor Sale, which now stretches 675 Miles from Hudson, Michigan to Gadsden, Alabama. The sale, held every August, was created to demonstrate that the older US highway system has something to offer that the interstate system does not.[2]
In Michigan, US 127 tripled in length in 2002 at the expense of its parent, US 27.
Contents |
In Tennessee, US 127 traverses rural areas of the Cumberland Plateau in eastern Middle Tennessee and western East Tennessee, passing southward through the cities of Jamestown and Crossville, then follows the Sequatchie Valley, passing through the cities of Pikeville and Dunlap. Near Dunlap the route turns southeastward to cross Walden Ridge, passing Signal Mountain and ending at its junction with US 27 in the northern Chattanooga suburb Red Bank. Before receiving a federal designation, the road was Tennessee State Highway 28 to Dunlap; that route still runs from Dunlap to I-24 at Jasper. Extension of Tenn. 111 as a four-lane highway across Walden Ridge east of Dunlap has taken most interstate traffic off 127 from Dunlap to Chattanooga.
In Kentucky, US 127 is cosigned with US 42 through Cincinnati's Northern Kentucky suburbs until 5 miles (8 km) east of Warsaw, then passes south through Owenton. This was the road driven by Buddy Rich when he wrote "Blue Grass makes me Blue" in 1947. [3] At the state capital of Frankfort, it becomes a four-lane highway, then skirts Lawrenceburg, Harrodsburg and Danville. It enters the hilly Knobs Region at Junction City, where it becomes a two-lane route, and continues through Hustonville, crossing the drainage divide between the Kentucky and Green river watersheds and roughly following the scenic upper Green River valley through Casey County, crossing the river at Liberty. South of Dunnville it climbs onto the Eastern Pennyroyal Plateau and cuts through Russell Springs and Jamestown. It crosses Wolf Creek Dam, which creates Lake Cumberland. It runs very briefly with KY 90 north of Albany and crosses into Tennessee at Static. In 2009 construction began on a new route, in phases, through Clinton County. Until as late as 1958, US 127 was known as KY 35 and TN 28. It gained a federal number in conjunction with improvements to the road in Casey County (widening and straightening, although not to today's standards) and Albany (curb, gutter and sidewalks). A remnant of KY 35 remains south of Warsaw. Much of the route was improved to modern standards during and after the 1987-91 administration of Gov. Wallace Wilkinson, a native of Liberty.
US 127 serves several cities and rural communities along the extreme western edge of Ohio, including Bryan, Paulding, Van Wert, Celina, Greenville, Eaton, Somerville, Seven Mile, New Miami, and Cincinnati. In Cincinnati, it shares a short concurrency with its parent route, US 27, along with US 42. From there, it heads north through Fairfield and Hamilton. US 127 crosses the Ohio Turnpike near West Unity, but does not intersect with it. It also joins with US 36 for about 5 miles (8 km). The last city that US 127 goes through before reaching Michigan is Bryan. The last city US 127 goes through before Kentucky is Cincinnati. The highway is a four-lane, divided by-pass around Greenville
In Michigan, US 127 runs from the Ohio border south of Hudson north to the junction with I-75, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Grayling, a distance of 214.12 miles (344.59 km).[4]
The highway is the primary route connecting Lansing and central Michigan to Northern Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge; it serves the cities of Jackson, Lansing and Clare From the south side of Jackson northerly, it is mostly a four-lane freeway, with the notable exception of a 16-mile (26 km) stretch from north of St. Johns to just south of Ithaca, where access to the road is not limited and speeds were initially restricted to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h),[4] but are now, as of April 5, 2010, only limited to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h).[5]
Prior to 2002, US 127 ran from I-69 north of East Lansing southerly to the Ohio border near Hudson, a total of 83 miles (134 km). From the Ohio border until Jackson, the highway follows the course (with minor deviations) of the Michigan Meridian used to survey Michigan in the early 19th century. That stretch is generally named Meridian Rd.
A proposed I-73 would incorporate US 127 between Jackson and Grayling.[6]
US 127 originally terminated at Toledo when it was commissioned in 1926. At that time, the southern portion ran from Somerset to Toledo along the route of present day U.S. Route 223. In 1930 the southern terminus moved to Cincinnati, and in 1958 it was extended to its present southern terminus at Chattanooga.[7]
The northern terminus of US 127 was in or near Lansing, Michigan from its inception in 1926 to 2002. In 2002, the terminus was moved to an intersection with I-75 south of Grayling in Crawford County, Michigan, replacing all of US 27 north of Lansing.[8]
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| ← KY 126 | KY | KY 128 → | ||