U.S. Route 79 in Kentucky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
US 41 near Guthrie
US 431 in Russellville
US 68 / US 68 Bus. / KY 80 in Russellville U.S. Route 79 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 79 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by KYTC | ||||
| Length | 26.80 mi[1][2] (43.13 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   US 79 / SR 13 at Tennessee state line near Guthrie | |||
| ||||
| North end | US 68 / US 68 Bus. / KY 80 in Russellville | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Kentucky | |||
| Counties | Todd, Logan | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 79 (US 79) enters Kentucky from Tennessee in Todd County west of Guthrie and runs northeast into Logan County, terminating at a junction with US 68, US 68 Business, and Kentucky Route 80 (KY 80) in Russellville. US 79 remains a two-lane road throughout Kentucky.
US 79 in Kentucky begins at the Tennessee state line west of Guthrie and travels northeast, forming a junction with US 41 0.497 miles (0.800 km) from the state line. The route continues to the northeast, passing north of Guthrie and Allensville in rural areas of Todd County. 10.606 miles (17.069 km) from the Kentucky-Tennessee border, US 79 crosses into Logan County where it becomes known as Clarksville Road. The route continues northeast through rural areas of Logan County until it comes to an intersection with US 431, the Russellville Bypass, on the south side of Russellville 10.713 miles (17.241 km) from the Todd County line. US 79 and US 431 run concurrently along the Bypass south of town where it intersects KY 96 and the concurrency ending at Nashville Road (US 431 continues south while KY 2146 begins and heads north). US 79 and the Bypass begin to curve back north where it intersects KY 100 at its western terminus (KY 100 formerly continued along the Bypass to US 79's current terminus). US 79 ends at an intersection with Bowling Green Road which carries US 68 and KY 80 to the east and US 68 Bus. to the west towards downtown Russellville.[3][4]
History
The current route in Kentucky was paved by 1939 but was not signed as US 79. The highway was originally designated as Kentucky Route 105. KY 105 originally ran the original alignment of U.S. Route 79 and the current alignment of Kentucky Route 79, from the state line to Russellville to the Rough River Lake State Resort Park area, and ending with KY 105's current alignment.[5] By 1958, the current route was signed as US 79, although, it extended a bit further northeast into the city of Russellville.[6] Its northern terminus at US 431 was created by the early 2010s with the construction of a segment of the Russellville Bypass from US 79 to US 68 on the western outskirts of Russellville.
In November 2017, US 79's northern terminus returned to the east side of Russellville when it was routed onto the southern section of the Russellville Bypass loop when it was completed.[7] A historical marker was erected at the eastern terminus in 2019 commemorating the importance of the highway's impact on early economical development in western Kentucky.[8]
