U.S. Route 41
U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41, is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, was US 94. The highway's southern terminus is in the Brickell neighborhood of Downtown Miami at an intersection with Brickell Avenue, and its northern terminus is east of Copper Harbor, Michigan, at a modest cul-de-sac near Fort Wilkins Historic State Park at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. US 41 is closely paralleled by Interstate 75 from Naples, Florida, all the way through Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Route description
Florida
In Florida, US 41 is paralleled by Interstate 75 all the way from Miami to Georgia, and I-75 has largely supplanted US 41 as a major highway.Between Miami and Naples, US 41 is signed east–west and cuts across the Florida peninsula, running through the vast Everglades wilderness. This section has been designated a National Scenic Byway. The byway runs east–west through the Big Cypress National Preserve, skirting the northern border of the Everglades National Park for about. The part of the highway between Tampa and Miami is known as the Tamiami Trail, thus, this section of the road is commonly known as the East Trail, as it runs east–west across the state, in contrast to the road's otherwise distinctively north–south route. In Naples, Route 41 changes direction at an intersection with 5th Avenue in Downtown Naples, turning from west to north towards Tampa.
As the Trail moves into Hillsborough County the historic communities of Ruskin, Florida and Gibsonton, Florida are south Hillsborough County high points. Ruskin was founded by the Commongood Society. Highway 41 from Ruskin's Little Manatee River to Big Bend Rd has been designated by the Florida Senate as the Trooper Kenneth E. Flynt Highway in Memory of Florida Trooper Flynt who was killed in the line of duty. Gibsonton was populated by carnival workers.
US 41 is in the process of being widened throughout the northern Tampa Bay suburbs. It is currently six lanes wide between Tampa, Lutz, and much of Land o' Lakes, and again between Garden Grove and Brooksville. It is also four lanes wide in Tampa south of BUS US 41, between a section north of Land o' Lakes, Masaryktown, and Garden Grove, and south of Inverness. A large portion of US 41 is co-designated along the unmarked State Road 45 between Belle Meade and High Springs.
From US 92 in Tampa to US 41 Business and State Road 676 near the unincorporated Palm River-Clair Mel, US 41 carries the unsigned State Road 599 designation. It contains the northern end of the Tamiami Trail at the SR 60 intersection. It is normally three lanes wide, but between Interstate 4 and the northern terminus of SR 569 it is only two lanes wide. The unsigned state highway is long. At the northern terminus, US 41 turns west. Major intersections include State Road 574, SR 569, I-4, SR 60, and the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway.
In Northern Florida, US 41 runs along the DeSoto Trail between Floral City and Williston and again between High Springs, and Lake City.
Georgia
In Georgia, US 41 is paralleled by Interstate 75 all the way from Florida to Tennessee, and I-75 has largely supplanted US 41 as a major highway.The first major city in Georgia north of Florida is Valdosta, and the primary US 41 has been rerouted to run along Inner Perimeter Road around Valdosta; there is a business route through Valdosta. The highway follows I-75 north of Valdosta from exit 22 to exit 29.
The highway proceeds through South and Central Georgia cities and towns including Adel, Tifton, Cordele, Unadilla, Perry, Warner Robins, Macon, Barnesville, and Griffin as it approaches the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Atlanta Motor Speedway is located on US 19 and US 41 in Hampton, south of Atlanta. Tara Boulevard and Metropolitan Parkway carry the highway, along with its co-signed partner US 19, north into the city. In Hapeville, just outside Atlanta, the highway serves the northeastern part of Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, passing near the headquarters of Delta Air Lines.
In Atlanta, Highway 41 was formerly carried on Spring Street near Five Points, but it has long been re-routed via Northside Drive around the downtown area. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Georgia World Congress Center, and State Farm Arena are located off Northside Drive. North of Atlanta, the stretch of Highway 41 between Atlanta and Marietta was the first four-laned highway in Georgia when it was completed in 1938. Now, the Northside Parkway and the Cobb Parkway carry US 41 through northern Fulton and Cobb counties. This thoroughfare is the home of Truist Park, the Big Chicken, Cumberland Mall, the Cobb Galleria, and the Six Flags White Water amusement park. US 41 also passes through Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth, Cartersville, Adairsville, Calhoun, and Dalton en route to Tennessee.
Tennessee
US 41, joined by US 76, enters Tennessee east of I-75 on the outskirts of East Ridge. It is called Ringgold Road through East Ridge up to the Bachman Tunnel, where it enters Chattanooga and then around the base of Lookout Mountain. It then heads through the towns of Lookout Valley, Jasper, and other communities before ascending the Cumberland Plateau, running through Tracy City and Monteagle, where it descends toward Manchester.After reaching Monteagle, US 41, included as part of the older Dixie Highway, continues northwest into Pelham, in Grundy County, then runs closely parallel with I-24 into Coffee County, going through Hillsboro, Manchester and Beechgrove, before entering Rutherford County. From there, the highway continues diagonally through Murfreesboro, where the Dixie Highway joins up with US 70S. The Stones River National Battlefield is located very near US 41/US 70S on the northwest side, standing as a monument of the Battle of Stones River which took place during the American Civil War. US 41/US 70S continues northwest through Smyrna, and LaVergne before reaching Davidson County. The road passes through Antioch, before reaching Nashville, where US 41 separates from US 70S. US 41 goes through Nashville as Murfreesboro Road, then Dickerson Pike, and comes out on the northeast side of the city joined with US 31W. US 41 continues northeast through Goodlettsville before breaking away from US 31W. US 41 then goes northwest and continues on into Robertson County, going through Springfield before heading west/northwest to the Kentucky border. Just before reaching Kentucky, US 41 briefly runs through Montgomery County.
Kentucky
US 41 enters the state as a two-lane highway in Guthrie where it intersects US 79 and continues through Todd County through Trenton. After crossing into Christian County, US 41 goes through Pembroke before reaching Hopkinsville. In Hopkinsville, US 41 intersects the US 68 bypass and the Pennryrile Parkway which leads into downtown Hopkinsville. In downtown, US 41 has a short concurrency with US 68/KY 80 and has an intersection with the northern end of US 41A. Finally, after an intersection with the northern Hopkinsville bypass, US 41 turns to Crofton and northern Christian County.After crossing into Hopkins County, US 41 has an incomplete intersection with the Pennyrile Parkway and goes through the small towns of Nortonville, Mortons Gap, Earlington. In Madisonville, US 41 is known as Main Street and has an intersection with the southern end of US 41 Alternate. After an incomplete interchange with I-69, US 41 continues onto Hanson. In eastern Webster, US 41 goes through the towns of Slaughters and Sebree. In Henderson County, US 41 enters Robards and remains a rural two-lane highway before reaching KY 425, just to the south of the Henderson city limits. At KY 425, US 41 turns to the east and intersects the current northern end of I-69 in Kentucky.
At this point, US 41 becomes a limited access four-lane highway with intersections with the Audubon Parkway, KY 2084, KY 351, and US 60. At US 60, US 41 becomes a four-lane surface road with stoplights as it crosses through the northern parts of Henderson and John James Audubon State Park. US 41 crosses the Ohio River on the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges, known locally as the "Twin Bridges." Due to natural fluctuations of the Ohio River's path, US 41 remains in Kentucky for about one mile north of the Twin Bridges. In this section, US 41 passes by Ellis Park Race Course before crossing into Evansville, IN.
Indiana
In the state of Indiana, US 41 runs from the Ohio River south of Evansville to Chicago with US 12 and US 20 beneath the termini of the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road. This is a distance of approximately 282 miles.For its entire length north of Evansville, US 41 passes through largely rural portions of far western Indiana. It overlaps US 150 and US 52 through some of these areas. US 41 is also the main north–south road through Terre Haute. However north of Terre Haute, US 41 becomes a secondary road, passing through smaller towns such as Rockville and Attica on the east side of the Wabash River. State Road 63 is the main route north of Terre Haute in this area since it is a four-lane highway on the west side of the Wabash River. US 41 returns to a four-lane divided highway just south of Boswell where SR 63 ends, staying as such until reaching Cedar Lake. From Cedar Lake north to the Illinois state line, US 41 is a well-travelled road with numerous stoplights, with the exception of the mile-stretch where it overlaps Interstate 80/94. Before leaving Indiana, US 41 travels through the city of Hammond where it is also known as Indianapolis Boulevard and Calumet Avenue. Hammond is the largest city traversed by US 41 between Evansville and Chicago.
Illinois
US 41 enters Illinois cosigned with US 12 and US 20 on Indianapolis Boulevard beneath the Chicago Skyway. At the Illinois–Indiana state line, US 41 enters the Chicago city limits. The three US routes run together northwest along Indianapolis Boulevard then cut north on Ewing Avenue on the south side. At 95th Street, US 12 and 20 head west. US 41 then runs along the lake amongst the newly developed extension of Lake Shore Drive, which extends from the intersection of Ewing Avenue and Harbor Drive and continues northwest until it reaches 79th St and South Shore Dr. US 41 then continues down South Shore Drive through the South Shore neighborhood and then turns and moves in a northerly direction at the intersection of South Shore Drive and Marquette DriveUS 41, as Lake Shore Drive, passes by the Museum of Science and Industry in the Hyde Park area. From here north, US 41 is a quasi-expressway with bridges too low to admit trucks, and a speed zone, and exits at 53rd Street/Hyde Park Boulevard, 50th Street, 47th Street, Oakwood Boulevard, 31st Street, Interstate 55, and 18th Street. After the I-55 bridges, US 41 passes McCormick Place, which is the largest convention center in North America. At this point, the roadway becomes a boulevard passing the Museum Campus and Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears; access to these attractions is provided at 18th Street.
The roadway continues north with a couple of signals as it passes through Grant Park and by Buckingham Fountain. After the signal at Monroe Street, the roadway becomes a quasi-expressway again with exits at Randolph Street/Wacker Drive, Illinois Street/Grand Avenue, and a signal at Chicago Avenue. The roadway then has a sharp S-curve called the Oak Street Curve where the suggested speed limit is. After the curve, US 41 is a full expressway. US 41 exits at Foster Avenue but Lake Shore Drive continues north to Bryn Mawr Avenue and Hollywood Avenue before ending.
At Broadway, US 41 intersects the eastern terminus of US 14. US 41 continues along Lincoln Avenue in the north side of the city, eventually meeting Skokie Boulevard/Cicero Avenue, where US 41 turns north and is paralleled by Interstate 94. In the northern suburbs of Chicago, US 41 joins I-94 just north of Lake Avenue for a short distance before splitting from the freeway just south of Lake–Cook Road and continuing north as the Skokie Highway for roughly to a point near the Wisconsin border. Just south of the border, US 41 rejoins I-94. The two co-signed routes continue northward into Wisconsin.