U.S. Route 45

U.S. Route 45
US 45 highlighted in red, US 45E in blue, US 45W in magenta
Route information
Length	1,297 mi[citation needed] (2,087 km)
Existed	1926[citation needed]–present
Major junctions
South end	US 98 at Mobile, AL
Major intersections	I-65 at Prichard, AL I-20 / I-59 at Meridian, MS I-22 at Tupelo, MS I-40 at Jackson, TN I-24 at Paducah, KY I-64 at Mill Shoals, IL I-57 / I-70 at Effingham, IL I-80 at Tinley Park, IL I-55 at Countryside, IL I-41 / I-43 / I-94 at Milwaukee, WI
North end	Ontonagon and River streets in Ontonagon, MI
Location
Country	United States
States	Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided
← US 44 → US 46

U.S. Route 45 (US 45) is a major north-south United States highway and a border-to-border route, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico. A sign at the highway's northern terminus notes the total distance as 1,297 miles (2,087 km).

US 45 is notable for incorporating, in its maiden alignment, the first paved road in the South, a 49-mile (79 km) segment in Lee County, Mississippi. Let to contract in July 1914, the concrete highway opened on November 15, 1915.^[1]

As of 2006, the highway's northern terminus is in Ontonagon, Michigan, at the corner of Ontonagon and River Streets, a few blocks from Lake Superior (M-64 formerly terminated there as well until its rerouting in October 2006 to use the newly built Ontonagon River Bridge). US 45's southern terminus is in Mobile, Alabama, at an intersection with U.S. Route 98.