U.S. Route 23
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| U.S. Route 23 |
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| Length: | 1,536 mi[1] (2,472 km) | ||||||||
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| Formed: | 1926[1] | ||||||||
| South end: |   at Jacksonville, FL |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-95 at Jacksonville, FL
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| North end: |  at Mackinaw City, MI |
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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.
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[edit] Florida
US 23 uses the following unsigned state roads:
- SR 139 from downtown Jacksonville to the 20th Street Expressway in Jacksonville
- SR 15 from the 20th Street Expressway in Jacksonville to Georgia
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
- I-96
- I-75
[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
- Homeland, leave 301 and continue northwest with 1 but split from US 1 just north of Alma
- Hazlehurst intersect US 221 and US 341
- McRae intersect with US 280, US 319 and US 441
- Eastman instersect with US 341
- Cochran begin US 129 concurrency
- Macon intersect: US 41, US 80 and leaves US 129
- Enter Atlanta as Moreland Ave and leave as Buford Highway
- Gainesville intersect US 129
- Cornelia intersect US 123 and begin US 441 concurrency
- Clayton intersect US 76
- North Carolina state line
Though US 23 roughly parallels Interstate 75 from Macon to Atlanta, 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
The highway runs concurrent with U.S. 441 between the Georgia state line and Dillsboro, then with U.S. 74 through Waynesville, followed by U.S. 19 through Canton and Enka-Candler. North of Asheville, the highway follows I-26 to the Tennessee state line.
[edit] Tennessee
[edit] 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:
[edit] Kentucky
[edit] 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 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
- U.S. Route 52, in Portsmouth;
- Multiplexed with U.S. Route 35 and U.S. Route 50 in Chillicothe;
- U.S. Route 22, in Circleville;
- I-270, in Columbus and again in Worthington;
- U.S. Route 33, U.S. Route 40, U.S. Route 62, Interstate 70, Interstate 71, and I-670, all in the vicinity of Downtown Columbus;
- U.S. Route 36 and U.S. Route 42, in Delaware;
- Multiplexed with U.S. Route 30 in Upper Sandusky;
- U.S. Route 224, south of Fostoria;
- U.S. Route 6, near Bradner;
- Multiplexed with U.S. Route 20 from near Woodville to Perrysburg;
- Multiplexed with Interstate 75 around Perrysburg;
- Multiplexed with I-475 from Perrysburg to Sylvania;
- U.S. Route 24, in Maumee;
- Again with U.S. 20 near Holland.[2]
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 and I-475 in Perrysburg, south of Toledo, there is a wrong-way concurrency between US 23 and I-75.
[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), but it lets travelers to and from northern Michigan bypass the urban 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
[edit] Trivia
- 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.
[edit] Route 23 in popular culture
- 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.
- In horror movie, Final Destination 2, the opening scene was on Route 23 as well as the main accident (A multi-vehicle pile-up)
- North Carolina bluegrass band Chatham County Line's 2005 album and it's title track is named after Route 23
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
- ^ a b c 2003-2004 Official Ohio Transportation Map. Produced by the Ohio Department of Transportation.
- US-23 on Michigan Highways (Christopher Bessert)
Please provide rationale, including an explanation of what work needs to be done.
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| 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 87 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | ||
| 101 | 163 | 400 | 412 | 425 | |||||||||||||||
| Lists | U.S. Routes - Bannered - Divided - Replaced | ||||||||||||||||||
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<  NC 22 |
NC | NC 24  > |
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<  M-22 |
MI | M-23  > |
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Categories: U.S. route articles needing work | U.S. road articles lacking cleanup rationale | Freeways and expressways in Michigan | U.S. Highway System | U.S. Highways in Florida | U.S. Highways in Georgia (U.S. state) | U.S. Highways in Michigan | U.S. Highways in North Carolina | U.S. Highways in Ohio | U.S. Highways in Tennessee | Interstate 75 | Dixie Highway
