U.S. Route 79 in Kentucky


U.S. Route 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 in Russellville. US 79 remains a two-lane road throughout Kentucky.

Route description

US 79 in Kentucky begins at the Tennessee state line west of Guthrie and travels northeast, forming a junction with US 41 from the state line. The route continues to the northeast, passing north of Guthrie and Allensville in rural areas of Todd County. 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 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 79 and the Bypass begin to curve back north where it intersects KY 100 at its western 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.

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 current designations of US Route 79 and 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. By 1958, the current route was signed as US 79, although, it extended a bit further northeast into Russellville. Its long-time northern terminus at US 431 was created by 1999 with the construction of the Russellville Bypass.
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.

Major intersections