АҚШ 23 тас жолы: Флоридадан Мичиганға саяхат

Highway in the United States

U. S. Route 23 or U. S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has since been extended. It was formerly part of the major highway known as the Dixie Highway. The highway's southern terminus is in Jacksonville, Florida, at US 1/US 17. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I 75) in Mackinaw City, Michigan.

US 23 begins at US 1 (Main Street) at the northern end of downtown Jacksonville, starting as a one way pair, with the northbound lanes meeting with Florida State College at Jacksonville. It is also unsigned State Road 139 (SR 139) from its southern terminus to its interchange with US 1 in northwestern Jacksonville (SR 139 continues east along SR 10A from the end of US 23 to SR 115). West of I 95, US 23 ends the one way pair, continuing as Kings Road through northwestern Jacksonville, as an off grid road. A few miles to the west, US 23 meets with US 1/SR 15 (Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway), becoming concurrent with the highway through the rest of its journey through Florida. The road continues northwest, intersecting with I 295 and eventually makes its way out of Jacksonville. At Callahan, US 1/US 23 meets with US 301, beginning a three way concurrency as the road continues northward toward the St. Marys River, leaving Florida and entering Georgia.

In Georgia, US 23 enters from Florida running concurrently with US 1 and US 301 just south of Folkston. Within Homeland, US 301 branches off and US 23 continues northwesterly with US 1 as a divided four lane highway toward Waycross where it intersects US 82. US 23 splits from US 1 7 mile (11 km) north of Alma and continues to Hazlehurst as a two lane highway. In Hazlehurst, US 23 intersects US 221 and begins running concurrently with US 341, a divided four lane highway designated the Golden Isles Parkway. Continuing into McRae the highway intersects US 280, US 319, and US 441. In Eastman, US 23 leaves US 341 to intersect I 16 near Macon. US 23 is two lanes from Eastman to the community of Empire, then five lanes with a center turning lane to the Cochran bypass, which is two lanes. In Cochran, US 23 runs concurrently with US 129 Alternate (US 129 Alt.). North of Cochran, it is undivided four lanes for 13 mile (21 km) to the junction with State Route 96 (SR 96) in Tarversville, then two lanes for the next 24 mile (39 km) to the junction with I 16 near Macon near old Camp Wheeler. North of I 16, US 23, known as Ocmulgee East Boulevard, turns on Emery Highway and then turns onto Spring Street before crossing under I 75 and the Ocmulgee River. After the river, US 23 turns onto Riverside Drive, then parallels the Ocmulgee River and I 75, US 41, and US 80, and leaves US 129 Alt. US 23 then crosses I 75 again and continues to Jackson. In Henry County, US 23 continues north concurrently with SR 42. US 23 follows Moreland Avenue concurrently with SR 42 in Clayton County and Metro Atlanta, running for several miles in a perfectly straight and due north–south line, which is also the Fulton–DeKalb county line. The highway then turns onto Ponce de Leon Avenue, splitting from SR 42, to follow US 29, US 78, and US 278. Farther along, US 23 turns onto Clairemont Avenue and onto Buford Highway to leave Metro Atlanta. In Buford, US 23 turns right onto SR 20, then onto I 985. The highway intersects US 129 in Gainesville. At the end of I 985, US 23 then continues concurrently with SR 365 north. US 23 intersects US 123 in Cornelia and begins following US 441. In Clayton, the highway then intersects US 76. Though US 23 roughly parallels I 75 from Macon to Atlanta, and the two routes come within a few miles in Atlanta, US 23 only intersects with I 75 at the Riverside Drive exit in Macon. It crosses back over I 75 a few miles south. This is the only place that US 23 runs west of I 75 until many miles to the north, in Perrysburg, Ohio, (near Toledo).

The highway runs concurrent with US 441 between the Georgia state line and Dillsboro, then with US 74 through Waynesville as the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, followed by US 19 through Canton and Enka–Candler. West of Asheville, the highway follows I 26 to the Tennessee state line.

US 23 runs concurrently with the newly upgraded I 26 from the North Carolina state line past Johnson City and Kingsport. Just west of Kingsport, I 26 stops at the junction with US 11W, and US 23 continues to run north to the Virginia state line.

US 23 extends for 61 mile (98 km) through far Southwest Virginia with the southern point beginning at Weber City and the northern point ending at Pound. It runs concurrent with US 58 and US 421 from Gate City to Duffield. It crosses the Clinch River near Clinchport. From Duffield to Big Stone Gap, it passes through the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The entire route is a four lane divided highway. The stretch of highway is known as The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail and is a symbol of the highway's importance to country music. US 23 passes by the following towns, cities, and counties in Virginia as well: Gate City in Scott County; Norton (an independent city); and Big Stone Gap and Pound in Wise County.

US 23 is known as the "Country Music Highway" as it enters Kentucky from Virginia after crossing Pound Gap near Whitesburg. Loretta Lynn, Dwight Yoakam, Billy Ray Cyrus, Patty Loveless, Crystal Gayle, Chris Stapleton, Hylo Brown, and more are all noted along US 23's path through Kentucky. US 23 combines with US 119 near Pikeville and continues northward. Just south of Pikeville, it joins US 460 and Kentucky Route 80 (KY 80). It then passes through the Pikeville Cut Through and US 119 diverges from the route near Coal Run Village. KY 80 splits to the south from US 23 near Prestonsburg, and US 460 splits to the west in Paintsville. US 23 then passes through the outer edge of Louisa and intersects I 64 in Catlettsburg. The highway also begins to run concurrently with US 60 from Catlettsburg to Ashland. In Ashland, US 23 follows Winchester Avenue and then Greenup Avenue through downtown. Winchester Avenue continues north from 33rd Street as US 23 Business (US 23 Bus.) until rejoining US 23 at 6th Street. From here, US 23 passes the Ashland Town Center Mall and the Melody Mountain shopping district before exiting the city limits. Continuing north near Bellefonte, the highway passes AK Steel's Ashland Works then enters Greenup County. It passes several shopping centers and downtown Russell and then briefly enters Flatwoods before entering Raceland along the southern banks of the Ohio River. After passing through the cities of Wurtland, Greenup, and South Shore, the highway crosses the Ohio River at South Portsmouth and enters Ohio at Portsmouth. Since 1999, the entire Kentucky portion is a four lane divided highway; in some of the larger cities, there are additional traffic lanes present in both directions. In northeastern Kentucky, from the I 64 junction north into Ohio, some sections are four lanes undivided, with a double yellow line instead of a median. These are the oldest four lane sections of US 23 in Kentucky which were upgraded in 1950s and 1960s before divided highways became the design standard. They can be found on US 23 in the cities of Catlettsburg, Ashland, and Russell.