Kentucky Roads - I-24

I-24


EB across the Ohio River from Illinois. To the west (because EB is really heading south, and I-24 overall is a NW-SE route), there's a railroad truss from Metropolis, IL (on the right).


Who is Ky Dam, and why is he on a sign? Even if it were done correctly, why would Kentucky Dam be a destination? Cadiz, Hopkinsville, even Land Between the Lakes (not that anyone would want to spell that whole thing out)? The second sign is at the bottom of the EB Exit 4 ramp.


Continuing EB, did I take this photo for the old box gantry, or for the taped-on "1" on the patched left corner of the sign? The world (and even I) may never know.


Keep in mind that the next 4 EB exits are for these recreational areas. Those would be 25, 27, 31, and 40. I think the omission of the NB Purchase Pkwy. shield was accidental (incidentally, you could take either 25A or 25B and get to different areas of the... Areas), even though the Parkway ends right there at US 62, so there's no reason to sign it northward. (It either fell off or was pulled off, that much we know.)


Most of Kentucky does just fine with exit gores, so what happened to these two WB examples? In between, I-24 crosses the Tennessee River, which ironically drains Kentucky Lake.


The bridge over the Cumberland River is quite boring, but there's a beautifully tranquil view to the north. That river drains Lake Barkley, which, along with Kentucky Lake, was formed only when the rivers were dammed by the Tennessee Valley Authority during the Great Depression.


Let's just get this out of the way: if the entire name of the parkway is on the shield, it doesn't need to be written in text. Yeah, it's also confusing to say East Western KY Pkwy. However, that won't last for long, as this exit should already be signed for I-69, which took over the Parkway west of Pennyrile Pkwy.. (That would also change signage from E-W to N-S.) Finally, these photos are WB, so the brown sign comes just after Exit 42, meaning the next four exits are: 40, 31, 27, and 25. Scroll back up, and, magically, the signs are consistent!


Well, apparently it didn't take the first time, so let's try the same sign again EB, but with 3 exits this time. (The order of lakes keeps changing, but consistently remains the order in which you'd come across them by taking the exits.) The setup between the signs basically says, in total, "There are eight exits coming up, and they all lead to the lakes except for 42." This sign forgets the key pluralization of "Area," and after looking at a map, you realize that all of the signs were lying after all, because not every exit affords access to both lakes.


Hold the presses, did Kentucky misspell Kentucky? That's all I can imagine at Exit 45, but H.B. Elkins explains that it was likely "Eddyville" that was greened out. Farther east is just another older brown sign for the lakes.


Ending with a WB run from the state line, finally featuring a brown sign with no lakes on it. Exit 86 used to lead "To Pennyrile Parkway" until that highway was completed south of Hopkinsville to new Exit 81. Speaking of Hopkinsville, where is the H going and how did it get free?

Into Tennessee on I-24
Exit 4 to US 60
Exit 4 into Paducah
Exit 7 or 25B to US 62
Exit 7 to US 45
Exit 25 to Purchase Pkwy.
Exit 42 to Western Kentucky Pkwy.
Exit 86 to (regular) US 41
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