US 41 Kentucky-Tennessee History Question

[Captain Jack]

I have some questions in regards to the history of US 41 in Kentucky and Tennessee.

In the original 1926 routings, US 41 from Hopkinsville to Nashville followed the current Alt-41 route through Clarksville, while US 241 was routed along the current US 41 route through Springfield.

Sometime shortly afterwards, US 241 was dropped, and that route became US 41E, while the Clarksville route became US 41W. This lasted until the late 40's, when the directionals were dropped, and 41W because 41-Alt, while 41E became mainline 41. Also about the same time, the US 41 route between Henderson and Madisonville was relocated to a more direct routing through Sebree, while the old 41 became an orphaned 41-Alt.

A couple of things have puzzled me in regards to this. For one, why was the directionals dropped? It's not like Kentucky and Tennessee aren't fond of the directional splitting of highways. I don't think any of the other ones have ever been changed like this.

Second, why was the 41W route through Clarksville chosen for 41-Alt? It seems to be the more direct routing between Hopkinsville and Nashville, serves a greater population, and was a better road. From what I recall before the parkways and interstates, most through traffic selected the 41-Alt route. I know we always did when going south. Based on all of that, plus the fact it was the original mainline 41, it seems like that route should have kept the mainline, and the Springfield road taken 41-Alt.

I have always had a fondness for this road as my Grandparents ran a couple of motels in Hopkinsville along it back in the 60's.

[Life in Paradise]

I have wondered the same, since I know of almost no reason to travel current US 41 at least between Hopkinsville and Springfield.  Until the extension to the Pennyrile Parkway was built to I-24, Alt-41 was very heavily traveled, and KY State Troopers just loved to drive that section between the Pennyrile and I-24 looking for anyone who was not comfortable driving 55 MPH between two 70 MPH freeways.

[RoadWarrior56]

Whoever made the decision as to which branch was the main route versus the alternate route is no-doubt long dead.  And unless there is documentation in the archives relating to it, we will likely never know.  However, I grew up in Evansville during the late 1960's through the 1970's.  And during that time, my family took frequent trips to Florida to see my grandfather, with this time period encompassing the years before the opening of I-24 northwest of Nashville.

I will say from first-hand experience, that US 41 was a much faster drive between Hopkinsville and Nashville than US 41A.  The primary reason was less travel time.  The US 41 route is slightly shorter, but the primary time savings included not having to travel in front of Fort Campbell which was congested even then and not having to drive through Clarksville, which seemingly took forever.  We had taken that route a couple of times and we found that nearly an additional hour was wasted due to the extra congestion, despite the four-lane section north of Clarksville.  US 41 was mostly rural and the biggest town north of Goodlettsville was Springfield, which was much easier to drive through.  US 41 over US 41A was an easy choice for my dad.

[hbelkins]

From an old webpage I used to have up, https://web.archive.org/web/19990128114435fw_/http://www.users.mis.net:80/~hbelkins/kyroads.html

"US 41E/US 41W/US 43 -- Alternate US 41 hasn't always existed. In 1935, the western branch of US 41 between Hopkinsville and Nashville, Tenn., which runs through Fort Campbell and Clarksville, Tenn., was known as US 43 (at least in Tennessee; the roads may have been numbered 41 and 43 in Tennessee, and 41E and 41W in Kentucky). By 1939, the US 43 designation has been removed from the road from Nashville through Clarksville to Hopkinsville, and US 43's northern terminus was at its present location south of Nashville. The roads then became US 41E and 41W. They kept these numbers until the late 1940s, when 41W was renumbered as Alternate US 41 and 41E became simply 41. The northern section of the existing Alternate US 41 was merely US 41 until the early 1950s, when a new road was built between Henderson and Madisonville. This road was numbered US 41 and the old road got the Alternate 41 designation."

[Captain Jack]

From an old webpage I used to have up, https://web.archive.org/web/19990128114435fw_/http://www.users.mis.net:80/~hbelkins/kyroads.html

"US 41E/US 41W/US 43 -- Alternate US 41 hasn't always existed. In 1935, the western branch of US 41 between Hopkinsville and Nashville, Tenn., which runs through Fort Campbell and Clarksville, Tenn., was known as US 43 (at least in Tennessee; the roads may have been numbered 41 and 43 in Tennessee, and 41E and 41W in Kentucky). By 1939, the US 43 designation has been removed from the road from Nashville through Clarksville to Hopkinsville, and US 43's northern terminus was at its present location south of Nashville. The roads then became US 41E and 41W. They kept these numbers until the late 1940s, when 41W was renumbered as Alternate US 41 and 41E became simply 41. The northern section of the existing Alternate US 41 was merely US 41 until the early 1950s, when a new road was built between Henderson and Madisonville. This road was numbered US 41 and the old road got the Alternate 41 designation."

Interesting webpage, thanks for the link. I never knew about US 37.

I have never seen either of these 41 routes designated US 43. Not doubting you, just have never seen it. In 1926, the original designations were US 41 through Clarksville and US 241 through Springfield. I have a 1939 map which shows the 41-W and 41-E routes. I don't know what year these came into existence. i have always assumed it happened when they dropped US 241.  Could US 43 have existed for a short time prior to the directionals?

Here is a link to the original 1926 map. 
https://www.cambooth.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/1926_USHighways_2500px.jpg

[hbelkins]

I saw a map that showed US 43 extending north through Nashville, which is where I got that information from. I wish I had though at the time to include a scan or other documentation. That page has been gone from the Web for a long time, but lives on due to the Wayback Machine.