U.S. Route 421

U.S. Route 421 marker

U.S. Route 421
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 21
Length: 941 mi (1,514 km)
Existed: 1930 – present
Major junctions
South end: Fort Fisher, North Carolina
  I‑95 in Dunn, NC
I‑73 / I‑85 / US 70 / US 220 in Greensboro, NC
I‑40 in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, NC
I‑77 near Yadkinville, NC
I‑81 near Bristol, VA
I-75 near Lexington, KY
I-64 in Midway, KY
I-71 near Campbellsburg, KY
I-74 in Greensburg, IN
I-70 in Indianapolis, IN
I-69 near Fishers, IN
I-80 / I-90 near Otis, IN
I-94 near Michigan City, IN
North end: US 20 at Michigan City, Indiana
Location
States: North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana
Highway system

U.S. Route 421 is a spur route of U.S. 21. It runs for 941 miles (1,514 km) from Michigan City, Indiana, at U.S. 20, to Fort Fisher in North Carolina. The highway goes through the cities of Indianapolis, Indiana, Lexington, Kentucky, Richmond, Kentucky, Boone, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina and ends several miles south of Wilmington, North Carolina.

Route description

Lengths
  mikm
NC 328 528
TN 43.4 69.8
VA 69.23 111.41
KY 272.4 438.4
IN 232.00 373.37
Total 941 1, 514

U.S. Route 421 begins at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, and heads generally to the northwest to Michigan City, Indiana. Along the way, it passes through Bristol, Tennessee, and Virginia, Lexington, Kentucky, and Indianapolis, Indiana.

North Carolina

US 421 begins at Fort Fisher and heads through North Carolina's southeastern beaches to Wilmington. It then heads in a northwest direction through Clinton, Dunn, Lillington, Sanford and Siler City to the Piedmont Triad region. Major highway junctures between north of Wilmington and Greensboro are NC 11, I-95, U.S. Route 401, US 1, US 64 and I-85. In Greensboro, it follows the Greensboro Urban Loop paired with Interstate 85 south of Greensboro and I-73 northwest of Greensboro. It then connects to I-40 towards Forsyth County as it becomes its own freeway along the former Interstate 40 alignment known as Business 40. Major intersections are NC 66, US 158 and US 52 between Greensboro and Winston-Salem. After Winston-Salem, it intersects I-40 once again but continues westerly passing through Lewisville, Yadkinville, Wilkesboro and Boone. Major highway junctions between Winston-Salem and Boone are US 601, I-77, NC 16, Blue Ridge Parkway, US 221 and US 321. US 421 continues westerly into Tennessee towards Mountain City, Tennessee. US 421 is a limited access freeway through Siler City northward. US 421 is a divided highway from north of NC 49 all of the way to Wilkesboro.

US 421 South near the Red White and Blue Road exit (#276) in eastern Wilkes County, NC (2007-07-14).

U.S. 421 is a major US highway in North Carolina.

Tennessee

US Highway 421 enters Tennessee from North Carolina in Trade. It is the oldest crossroads community in Tennessee and is the easternmost part of the state. The road "as the crow would fly" is a short distance in Volunteer State but traverses through two mountain ranges. After Trade, it ventures into Mountain City through a 40 mph (64 km/h) zone while bypassing the downtown area. After Mountain City, begins the two mountain ranges and in between them is the area of Shady Valley. After the second mountain range, it flattens out after the South Fork Holston River heading towards Bristol. US 421 enters Virginia on the Old Dominion side of Bristol. Major highway junctions between the NC and VA state lines are SR-67 in Mountain City, SR-91 the new Mountain City bypass, SR-394, and US 11E.

U.S. 421 near Bristol (2006-06-11).

Virginia

US 421 enters from Tennessee in Bristol and goes west to Weber City, Duffield, and Pennington Gap in Southwest Virginia. The route goes through the Cumberland and Powell Mountains, and goes by Natural Tunnel State Park near Duffield.

Kentucky

US 421 enters the Bluegrass State running 272.4 miles (438.4 km) from the Pennington Gap area in Virginia into Harlan County.

For the distance between the Virginia state line and closer to Hal Rogers Parkway, it is a major north-south two lane highway. However, its passing zones are largely limited to a stretch after the Virginia line, through Harlan and along US 119. US 421 then crosses Pine Mountain and enters Leslie County, turning west at Hyden and paralleling the Hal Rogers Parkway, which used to be Daniel Boone Parkway. Between Manchester and McKee, US 421 functions as more of a local road with many curves.

The roadway improves as it descends from the Cumberland Plateau into the Bluegrass Region at Big Hill in Madison County near Berea. It joins US 25 at the Blue Grass Army Depot south of Richmond and roughly parallels I-75 towards Lexington. Through Lexington, it is Richmond Road, Main Street and Leestown Road. The segment between Lexington and Frankfort was once designated KY 50. US 62 runs briefly with US 421 in this section.

In Frankfort, US 421 runs with US 60 on the west side of town, then runs within the city's northern bypass, briefly joining US 127. US 421 then traverses the very hilly area northwest of Frankfort, then through Henry and Trimble counties, exiting the state at Milton, crossing the Ohio River into Madison, Indiana via the Milton–Madison Bridge.

Indiana

US 421 winds through the southern part of Indiana as it runs from Madison, in the southeastern part of the state, to Indianapolis. North of Greensburg, U.S. 421 intersects and merges with I-74 west, through the Shelbyville area en route to Indianapolis. Originally, U.S. 421 followed Southeastern Ave. into downtown Indianapolis, where it merged with US 40 (Washington St.) to West St., then turned north, following West St., Northwestern Ave. (later MLK Dr.), and Michigan Rd. up to the northwest side of the city. US 421 went past the Pyramids, an Indianapolis landmark. North of Indianapolis, U.S. 421 continues to the north-northwest, providing a direct highway link between Indianapolis and Michigan City. U.S. 421 ends at its junction with US 20 on the south side of Michigan City. Originally, the highway's end was a few miles north at the junction with US 12 near the shores of Lake Michigan.

Future

US 421 will be also a freeway in Indiana from Greensburg to Versailles. US 421 freeway will go near, or pass through Napoleon, and Osgood.

History

North Carolina

US 421 mainly followed the same route between Clinton and Wilmington. However, there are several old alignments from Clinton to the Tennessee state line.

Major intersections

Concurrent highways through Greensboro, North Carolina (September 13, 2006). This sign is outdated, as US 421 has been reassigned to the southern segment of the Greensboro Urban Loop.
North Carolina
Parking area in Federal Point
US 117 in Wilmington
US 76 in Wilmington. The highways travel concurrently to Eagle Island.
US 17 / US 74 / US 76 on Eagle Island. US 17/US 421 travels concurrently to west of Wrightsboro. US 74/US 421 travels concurrently to southwest of Hightsville.
I‑140 / US 17 west of Wrightsboro
US 701 south-southeast of Clinton. The highways travel concurrently to Clinton.
US 13 in Spivey's Corner
I‑95 in Dunn
US 301 in Dunn
US 401 in Lillington. The highways travel concurrently through Lillington.
US 1 / US 15 / US 501 in Sanford
US 64 in Siler City
I‑85 in Greensboro. The highways travel concurrently to south-southwest of Greensboro.
I‑73 / US 220 south of Greensboro. I-73/US 421 travels concurrently to Greensboro.
I‑85 / US 29 / US 70 south-southwest of Greensboro
I‑40 / I‑73 / I‑840 in Greensboro. I-40/US 421 travels concurrently to west of Greensboro.
US 158 in Winston-Salem. The highways travel concurrently through Winston-Salem.
Future I‑285 / US 52 / US 311 in Winston-Salem
I‑40 in Winston-Salem
US 601 in Yadkinville
US 21 in Brooks Crossroads
I‑77 west-northwest of Hamptonville
US 221 north-northeast of Deep Gap. The highways travel concurrently to Boone.
US 321 in Boone. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of Vilas.
Tennessee
US 11E / US 19 in Bristol. The highways travel concurrently to Bristol, Virginia.
Virginia
US 11 / US 11E / US 11W / US 19 in Bristol. US 11W/US 421 travels concurrently to the Tennessee–Virginia state line on the Bristol, Tennessee–Bristol, Virginia city line.
I‑81 / US 58 in Bristol. US 58/US 421 travels concurrently to southeast of Woodway.
US 23 in Weber City. The highways travel concurrently to Duffield.
Kentucky
US 119 in Baxter. The highways travel concurrently to northeast of Baxter.
US 25 at the Blue Grass Army Depot south-southeast of Richmond. The highways travel concurrently to Lexington.
I‑75 in Richmond
I‑75 south-southeast of Lexington. The highways travel concurrently to Lexington.
US 60 in Lexington. The highways travel concurrently through Lexington.
US 27 / US 60 / US 68 in Lexington
US 62 northwest of Lexington. The highways travel concurrently to Midway.
US 60 in Frankfort. The highways travel concurrently through Frankfort.
US 60 / US 460 in Frankfort
US 127 in Frankfort. The highways travel concurrently through Frankfort.
I‑71 west-southwest of Campbellsburg
US 42 in Bedford. The highways travel concurrently through Bedford.
Indiana
US 50 in Versailles. The highways travel concurrently through Versailles.
I‑74 northwest of Greensburg. The highways travel concurrently to Indianapolis.
I‑74 / I‑465 / US 31 / US 36 / US 40 in Indianapolis. I-465/US 36/US 40/US 421 travels concurrently through Indianapolis. US 31/US 421 travels concurrently to Carmel.
US 52 in Indianapolis. The highways travel concurrently through Indianapolis.
I‑70 in Indianapolis
I‑69 in Indianapolis
US 24 in Monticello. The highways travel concurrently to Reynolds.
US 30 in Wanatah
US 6 south-southeast of Westville. The highways travel concurrently to Westville.
I‑80 / I‑90 southeast of Otis
I‑94 south of Michigan City
US 20 in Michigan City

See also

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