End of US highway 241[I]
View a map showing this route.
Photo credits: Robert Brooks
| Approx. time period | North terminus | South terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1926-1929 | Hopkinsville, KY | Nashville, TN |
Today one would most likely use I-24 between Nashville and Hopkinsville. But before that freeway was built, there were two options between these cities: a western route via Clarksville, and an eastern one via Springfield. When the US highways were originally assigned in 1926, the western route was numbered as US 41, and the east route was known as US 241. At its south end, US 241 came into Nashville via the Woodland Street bridge. In the photo below, we've just crossed that bridge, heading southwest:
Google Maps
Street View, 2008
Today traffic veers left and then right again on Union Street. But originally the road continued straight ahead, connecting with Deaderick Street (which runs just to the right of the tallest building visible in that photo). Just ahead that direction, at 1st Avenue (which is also vacated now) was the end of US 241. Straight ahead on Deaderick was northbound US 41 (which then turned north on 5th Avenue), while southbound was to the left on 1st.
The photos below show the historic terminus of US 241 in Hopkinsville. Below, we're looking east on 9th Street, which serves as southbound US 41 and eastbound US 68:
Brooks, Dec. 2004
Today US 41 continues straight here, while US 41 Alternate begins to the right. But originally it was US 41 that turned right here, while the north beginning of US 241 was straight ahead. The driver of the white pickup would see the sign shown below:
Brooks, Dec. 2004
Today that's the north end of US 41A, and US 41 runs both directions across the photo. But originally this was northbound US 41, which continued to the left. To the right was US 241.
US 241 [I] lasted for only about three years. Its number was recycled and applied to a different highway serving another part of Tennessee (it's now decommissioned as well; you can view photos and get more info on this page). Meanwhile the two routes between Nashville and Hopkinsville were renumbered as US 41-E and US 41-W. That lasted until the mid-1940s, when the routes were renumbered again, to the way we know them today. Now mainline US 41 traffic is directed along the eastern route (via Springfield), while the western route through Clarksville is numbered as US 41 Alternate.