< US 42 | Home | US 44 >
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| ROUTE LOG AL STATE LINE: 0 - 0 TN 227 WB: 2.3 - 2.3 TN 227 EB: 4.6 - 6.9 TN 98: 7.9 - 14.8 US 64, TN 15: 3.2 - 18.0 TN 240: 16.1 - 34.1 Maury-Lawrence Line: 0.9 - 35.0 TN 20: 0.3 - 35.3 TN 243: 6.2 - 41.5 TN 166: 2.2 - 43.7 TN 6 CONN: 2.3 - 46.0 US 412 WB, US 412 Bus, TN 99: 5.8 - 51.8 TN 50: 1.3 - 51.3 TN 7 NB: 3.9 - 55.2 US 31, US 412 EB, TN 7 SB, TN 99: 1.6 - 56.8 |
Creation: US 43 has a very strange history with respect to Tennessee. In 1934 AASHO floated the new US 43 to run from Florence AL following TN 13 through Waynesboro, then following TN 48 through Hohenwald, Centerville, and Charlotte before picking up TN 13 again to Clarksville. Then US 43 would replace US 41W to Hopkinsville KY.
In Sept 1934, AASHO acquiesced to Tennessee's objection to this routing and agreed to have US 43 come up from Alabama to Columbia following TN 6 as it generally does now, plus follow US 31 to Nashville, then replace US 41W through Clarksville and into Kentucky. However, Tennessee did not post US 43 anywhere in the state, nor was it on state official maps. Some commercial maps, however, did jump the gun and put US 43 into Kentucky...
Adjustments: About 1939, despite working out an acceptible routing with AASHO in 1935, US 43 was finally welcomed by Tennessee, but only up to Columbia.
Around 1947, US 31 was moved onto its current alignment in Columbia, meaning US 43 was truncated from the courthouse one block further west on 7th St to the new US 31 on Garden St. Also in 1947, AASHO finally gave up on US 43 going to Clarksville and beyond, allowing Tennessee to renumber US 41W as US 41A. Interestingly, US 43 was shown on official Tennessee Route Logs with the full AASHO routing to Kentucky through at least 1962. About 1962, US 43 was removed from Alexander Springs Rd through Alexander Springs; Old Hwy 43 south of TN 240 In the 1970s, US 43 was removed from James Roy Rd and S Old Hwy 43 north of TN 20. Also about 1978, US 43 was put on its bypass of Mt Pleasant, tying back into the old road at the Maury County airport. It is unclear if the non-TN 166 part of the old route received a new state route designation but today it is part of TN 243. About 1989, US 43 was placed on more new alignment from the Maury County airport to US 412 west of Columbia, then followed US 412 east into Columbia. The connector to TN 243 at the airport became TN 6 CONN and the route to Columbia via Trotwood avenue became more TN 243. In 1999, US 43 was removed from Lawrenceville Hwy in the Sandy Hook area. In 2000, US 43 was given its full bypass of Columbia, leaving behind US 412 Bus and US 31 within Columbia, and changing US 43's north end from downtown Columbia to its current endpoint north of downtown.
About 2007, US 43 was removed from Shelton Dr in St Joseph Posting: Fully posted Secret TN Route Overlay: TN 6 (entire length) Comment: US 43 provides a multilane corridor from Columbia to the Florence/Muscle Shoals AL region. | ||||||||
Columbia (Maury County)
