U.S. Route 31
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U.S. Route31 or U.S. Highway31 (US31) is a major north–south U.S. highway connecting southern Alabama to northern Michigan. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with US90/US98 in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 75 (I-75) south of Mackinaw City, Michigan.
US31 once crossed the Straits of Mackinac by car ferry to intersect US2 north of St. Ignace, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula and then formerly reached Mackinaw City along the southern approaches of the Mackinac Bridge (which has been taken over by I-75). It also formerly entered downtown Mobile, Alabama, via a long bridge over Mobile Bay.
The southern segment of US 31 connects the cities of Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, and Decatur in Alabama, and Nashville in Tennessee. The northern segment of US 31 connects Louisville in Kentucky, and Indianapolis in Indiana. From Nashville to Louisville, US 31 is signed U.S. Route 31W and U.S. Route 31E. From the Mobile Bay area in Alabama to Indianapolis, US 31 travels parallel to Interstate 65 (I-65).
Route description
Alabama
US31 begins in Spanish Fort, Alabama, at a junction with US90 and 98. Formerly, the route originated in Mobile, co-routed with US90 and 98. Whereas Interstate 65 leaves the Mobile Metropolitan Area via a route on the west side of the city, US31 leaves the Mobile area via a route on the eastern side of the metro area, passing through Bay Minette. I-65 has effectively replaced US31 as the preferred route for through traffic, making US31 a local connecting route.
Near Atmore, the route passes extremely close to the Florida panhandle's extreme northwestern corner, missing by approximately 1000 feet.
At Flomaton, US31 begins a 15-mile virtual east–west concurrency with US29 that continues to Brewton. North of Brewton, US31 assumes a northeast–southwest trajectory, passing through rural areas and small towns in Escambia and Conecuh Counties. In Evergreen, US31 north and US84 share a brief concurrency heading north and east out of town.
Although US31 parallels Interstate 65 throughout Alabama, the two routes do not directly junction each other until they reach Pintlala in southern Montgomery County, which is 164 miles north of Mobile. The two routes do not junction each other again for another 22 miles. US31 is routed along a bypass of Montgomery, the state capital. At Prattville, this route intersects U.S. Route 82.
North of Prattville, US31 passes through rural areas of Autauga and Chilton Counties, primarily along two-lane roadways. Between Prattville and Alabaster, US31 has three interchanges with I-65.
Between Saginaw and Warrior, US31 is routed along multi-laned routes as it passes through the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area. It passes through suburbs such as Alabaster, Pelham, Hoover and Vestavia Hills. In Homewood, US31 merges with U.S. Route 280 and is routed along the Elton B. Stephens Expressway, a 2.6-mile limited access highway that connects the south suburbs with downtown Birmingham. US31 and 280 are co-routed until the expressway junctions I-20/ 59 just northeast of downtown. This interchange serves as the western terminus of US280, and north of the interchange US31 is routed along surface streets as it proceeds northwardly out of Birmingham.
US31 continues to be routed along multi-lane streets and highways as it continues north of Birmingham, meeting the eastern terminus of I-22 just south of Fultondale, and passing through the small town, along with Gardendale, Morris and Kimberly, also closely paralleling I-65. At Warrior, the roadway shrinks to two lanes. Two miles north of Warrior, US31 and I-65 begin a three-mile concurrency between the interstate route's Exits 284 and 287. The interstate route was constructed over US31's roadway through this segment.
Between the split from I-65 and Garden City, US31 is routed along a narrow two-lane route. North of Garden City, and passing through Cullman, Hartselle, Decatur and Athens, it is routed along multi-lane and often divided roadways.
At Athens, I-65 and US31 begin a concurrency that continues to just north of the Tennessee state line. In both states, US31 is largely unsigned.
In addition to junctions previously cited, US31 junctions U.S. Route 80 in Montgomery, Interstate 459 in Hoover, U.S. Route 78 in Birmingham, U.S. Route 278 in Cullman, U.S. Route 72 Alternate in Decatur, and U.S. Route 72 in Athens.
Given US31's former importance as a major connecting route in Alabama, in several cities it is known by the name of the city it leads to. For example, south of Montgomery it is still named Mobile Highway, and northwardly it is referred to as the Birmingham Highway. Similarly, south of Birmingham it is referred to as Montgomery Highway, and northwardly it is referred to as the Decatur Highway. Throughout north Alabama plaques and signage refer to the route as the Beeline Highway.
US31 is co-routed with unsigned State Route 3 (SR 3) throughout the state until its junction with I-65 north of Athens.
Tennessee
The first mile in Tennessee, US31 runs concurrently with I-65, somewhat parallel to which it runs until it splits in downtown Nashville, to become US31W and US31E, a relatively uncommon occurrence in U.S. Highways, though not unlike that which occurs to US49 and US45 in Mississippi, U.S. Route 19 in North Carolina and Tennessee, and US11 in Tennessee.
While upon crossing the state line from Alabama into Tennessee, US31 (also State Route 7 [SR7] at this point) runs to the east of I-65, it crosses over I-65, changing names from Main Street to Elkton Pike on the overpass. According to this name change, US31 runs through Elkton shortly after making this crossing.
After passing through Elkton, US31 wanders, away from I-65, towards the city of Pulaski. On its way to Pulaski, US31 intersects with US64 and does so once again in the center of the city. In Pulaski, US31 serves as 1st Street in the downtown area. Just north of the downtown area of Pulaski, US31 Alternate (US31A) branches off US31, serving first as East Grigsby Street, then as Lewisburg Highway, never to be visible from US31 again until reaching downtown Nashville.
Continuing north, US31 meanders, following Richland Creek for a portion of the way, named Columbia Highway; naturally, as follows the typical naming trend for former connecting routes, halfway to Columbia, the name changes to Pulaski Highway. US31 runs by Lynnville in this process.
As US31 enters Columbia, upon crossing James Campbell Boulevard (also SR50), it is named Carmack Boulevard, at this point a decently wide road with two lanes on each side. While in Columbia, US31 changes names two more times, once to South Garden Street (also temporarily sharing routes with US412 and SR99 in this area), and then to Nashville Highway while SR7 departs from the street. It is a short stretch until US31 hits an intersection with Bear Creek Pike. This is the northern terminus of US43, and also the point at which US412/SR99 resumes its eastern trajectory, away from US31. US31 also picks up the path of SR6 here, in addition to the historical significance of being the former warpath of the Confederate forces during 1863 and 1864, during the American Civil War.
Upon leaving Columbia, US31 develops a median and a speed limit not too dissimilar from that on I-65, which is still only a few miles to the east of the highway. On the way up to Spring Hill, US31 passes straight through a small, corner town little-known to be called Neapolis. At this location, there is an on-ramp onto Saturn Pkwy (SR396), named as such because it was once a highway connecting I-65 to the assembly plant belonging to Saturn Corporation, which no longer acts independently from its parent company, General Motors. No more than two miles further up the highway, Saturn Pkwy has looped back around to begin its trajectory toward I-65, and there are more on and off ramps between SR396 and US31.
At this point, US31 returns to its original two-lane, narrow road format, and has entered the rapidly-growing city of Spring Hill, where it serves as Main Street, then as Columbia Pike in the adjacent Thompson's Station.
North of Thompson's Station, US31 intersects I-840, serving as exit28 for the southern loop around Nashville. Further up the highway, US31 shares an interchange with Goose Creek Pike, a direct route to I-65. US31 continues up through historic Franklin, as Columbia Avenue. In the middle of Franklin, US31 comes to a five-point intersection with the routes of US431 and SR96, and a roundabout two blocks further north which continues the route of SR96 to the east. US31 then proceeds out of Franklin and to the northeast.
As US31 passes through Brentwood, the road widens, again to two lanes per side, and intersects with SR254 at the point where it reaches less than a half of a mile from I-65 once again. At this point, US31 remains within this distance from I-65 until reaching its split in downtown Nashville, traveling through the sites of the Battle of Franklin and the Battle of Nashville in the process.
Entering Nashville, US31 first shares an interchange with SR155 (at this point Thompson Lane / Woodmont Boulevard), and, immediately afterwards, travels under an interchange between I-65 and I-440. After passing through Berry Hill, US31 yet again travels under an interchange, this time between I-65 and I-40. Then, US31 reaches another roundabout, where it intersects with US41, US31A, and US70S. Going through Nashville, US31 retains several names: 8th Avenue South, Rosa L Parks Boulevard, James Robertson Pkwy, and 4th Avenue North, respectively as US31 progresses northward. After making a semi-circle, crossing the Cumberland River, and passing under I-24, US31 makes the split into US31W and US31E.
Kentucky
US31E stays east of I-65, passing through Glasgow and Bardstown. It enters Louisville from the southeast, where it is named Bardstown Road for most of its length in the city, while US31W closely follows I-65 from the Tennessee state line, through Bowling Green, to Elizabethtown. From here, it diverges to the west and passes through Fort Knox. North of Fort Knox, US 31W joins with US60 in Kentucky and it roughly follows the Ohio River into Louisville. In southwestern Louisville, US 31W is called Dixie Highway. It is the major commercial street in this area.
In Downtown Louisville at Second Street, US31E and US31W rejoin to form US31 and immediately crosses the Ohio River on the Clark Memorial Bridge only traveling 0.912 miles (1.468km) before the route crosses into Indiana.
Indiana
US31 travels concurrently with I-65 in Jeffersonville, after having crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky. It splits off north of Jeffersonville at Clarksville and proceeds to Indianapolis. At I-465 on the south side of Indianapolis, US31 is now routed onto I-465 on the east side of the city. US31 exits I-465 in extreme southern Hamilton County, and continues northward. US31 then passes through or near Carmel, Kokomo, Rochester, Plymouth and Lakeville, often following a historic Native American trail to what was once a French fur-trading outpost on Mackinac Island and later the British Fort Holmes. As it passes Potato Creek State Park and approaches southern South Bend, US 31 travels concurrently with US 20 in Indiana and proceeds west then northward on the St. Joseph Valley Parkway, bypassing South Bend and proceeding into Michigan.
Michigan
US31 follows the St. Joseph Valley Parkway northward into southern Michigan to an interchange with I-94 near Benton Harbor–St. Joseph, then runs concurrently north to I-196. US31 then runs concurrently with I-196 along the shore of Lake Michigan north to the Holland area. US31 departs from I-196 as a divided highway with many Michigan lefts north to Grand Haven, where it becomes a freeway again. This freeway continues northward through the Muskegon area until Ludington, where the freeway ends and US31 turns east concurrently with US10 to Scottville before turning northward again toward Manistee.
At Beulah, US31 runs eastward into Grand Traverse County. South of Traverse City, US31 turns northward along M-37, running concurrently into the city. Next to Grand Traverse Bay, US31/M-37 turns easterly along M-72; the three highways run together along the bay before separating. M-37 turns northward up the Old Mission Peninsula, and M-72 turns easterly at Acme. US31 continues northward along the eastern shore of Grand Traverse Bay, running eastward through Charlevoix and along Little Traverse Bay into Petoskey. There, US31 intersects the northern end of US131 before rounding the bay and heading northward and inland toward Mackinaw City. US31 ends at a directional interchange with I-75 south of Mackinaw City.
History
In the 1930s, US31 continued from St. Ignace across the Straits of Mackinac, and intersected US2 (Mackinac Trail and what later became M-123).
Before the Interstate era, US31 was a major north–south highway. I-65 supplanted US31 and either US31W or US31E as a through route between Mobile and Indianapolis. South of Indianapolis, all segments of US31 not traveling concurrently with I-65 have been reduced to roads largely of local use. I-196 now carries the route of US31 between Holland, and St. Joseph, Michigan. All of US31 between Indianapolis and Ludington, Michigan, is divided highway—some of it is freeway, including a bypass route of South Bend, Indiana. The segment between Indianapolis and South Bend is scheduled for upgrade or replacement with Interstate-standard freeway. Environmental impact studies have shown that the fifth phase of the then-to-be-constructed freeway segment between Napier Avenue near Benton Harbor, Michigan, and I-94 would be completed in mid-November 2022; the segment officially opened on November 9.
The portion of I-75 north of US31's northern terminus toward the Mackinac Bridge was designated part of US31 prior to the 1990s and was US31's northernmost portion to be built to freeway status. Since its truncation at the I-75 interchange, however, the northernmost segment of the US31 freeway ends near Ludington.
Until 1975, the split of US31 into US31E and US31W took place in Sellersburg, Indiana about 10 miles (16km) north of its current split at the Kentucky end of the Clark Memorial Bridge.
In Alabama, US31 follows portions of the Pulaski Pike beginning at the Alabama–Tennessee State line at Ardmore, and was originally routed on what is now called Alabama State Route 251 (SR-251). It follows roughly along the Decatur Stage Road to the site of Rhodes Ferry in Decatur, and also intersected and follows portions of the Stouts Road to Birmingham. From Birmingham, it follows portions of the Columbiana Road and roughly parallels it in Hoover along the present widened route and intersects with the Ashville-Montevallo Road or the Cahaba Trail (SR-119) and follows it on a branch to Calera. US31, beginning in Chilton County, follows a branch of the Talladega-Montgomery Stage Road, a road that went from Talladega and went south from Columbiana to near present-day Clanton, Verbena, and Montgomery, and was operated by Jemison, Ficklin, & Powell, who operated stagecoaches on the road. US31 in Prattville came to the site of Reese's Ferry on the Alabama River, where it was replaced by the present bridge near Prattville. From Montgomery, US31 follows parts of the Federal Road, and is presently routed on the Greenville Branch of the Federal Road, and follows the Montgomery-Mobile Road through Conecuh, and Escambia Counties and also intersects with the Pensacola Trading Path or the "Old Wolf Trail" from Burnt Corn.
At its southern end, US31 originally traveled further west than it currently does, passing through Spanish Fort, Alabama. It crossed Mobile Bay via several narrow bridges, including the Admiral Raphael Semmes Bridge, a drawbridge spanning the Tensaw River. It turned north along the east bank of the Mobile River, crossing the river into Plateau, over the former Cochrane Bridge, another old drawbridge where the current Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge is now located. It then turned south to end at US90. It now officially ends at US98 in Spanish Fort.
Major intersections
Southern segment
Alabama US90/ US98 in Spanish Fort US29 in Flomaton. The highways travel concurrently to Brewton. US84 southwest of Evergreen. The highways travel concurrently to east of Evergreen. I-65 on the Hope Hull-Montgomery line US80 in Montgomery. US82 in Prattville I-65 north of Prattville I-65 in Clanton I-65 in Calera I-65 in Alabaster I-459 in Hoover I-65 on the Hoover-Vestavia Hills city line US280 in Homewood. The highways travel concurrently to Birmingham. US78 in Birmingham US11 in Birmingham I-20/ I-59/ US280 in Birmingham I-22 near Fultondale I-65 in Birmingham I-65 in Smoke Rise. The highways travel concurrently through the town. US278 in Cullman I-65 south-southeast of Lacon US72 in Athens I-65 in Athens. The highways travel concurrently to Ardmore, Tennessee. Tennessee US64 in Pulaski US31A in Pulaski US412 in Columbia US43 in Columbia I-840 in Thompson's Station US431 in Franklin. The highways travel concurrently through the city. US41/ US70S/ US31A in Nashville. US 31A joins US 41 and US 70S to intersect with US 31. US 41 and US 70S travel concurrently through the city. US70/ US70S/ US431 in Nashville. US31/US431 travels concurrently through the city. US31E/ US31W/ US41/ US431 in Nashville
Northern segment
Kentucky US31E/ US31W/ US60 in Louisville Indiana I-65 in Jeffersonville. The highways travel concurrently to west of Jeffersonville. I-65 south-southeast of Crothersville US50 in Seymour I-65 in Taylorsville I-69/ I-74/ I-465/ US36/ US40 in Indianapolis. I-69/I-74/US31/US36/US40 travels concurrently through the city. I-465/US31 travels concurrently to Carmel. I-65 in Indianapolis I-74/ US421 in Indianapolis. US31/US421 travels concurrently to Carmel. US52 in Indianapolis. The highways travel concurrently to Carmel. I-70 in Indianapolis I-69/ SR37 in Indianapolis I-465/ US52/ US421 in Carmel SR931 north south of Kokomo. SR 931 picks back up with US 31 north of US 35 US35 north in Kokomo. The highways travel concurrently to north-northeast of Kokomo. US35 south/ SR22 in Kokomo US24 in Peru US30 east of Plymouth US6 southeast of La Paz US20 in South Bend. The highways travel concurrently to west of the city. I-80/ I-90 in South Bend Michigan US12 in Bertrand Township I-94 in Benton Township. The highways travel concurrently through the township. I-196 in Benton Township. I-196/US31 travels concurrently to Laketown Township. I-96 in Norton Shores US10 in Amber Township. The highways travel concurrently through the township. US131 in Petoskey I-75 in Mackinaw Township