State Route 43 (SR43) is a south to north highway in Tennessee that is long. It begins in Madison County and ends in Obion County. SR43 is little-known by the general public by this designation, as it is overlain by U.S. Route 45E (US45E) for most of its length; the "43" designation is seen largely on mileposts. Two short sections of this route at Martin and South Fulton are fully signed. SR43 from its southern terminus to Milan is designated as a Strategic Highway Network connector route servicing the Milan Arsenal.

Route description

Most of SR43 is a four-lane divided highway, which either overlies or bypasses its original route.

Madison County

SR43 begins in Madison County in Three Way at an interchange with US 45/US 45W/SR 5. It goes northeast as a divided four-lane highway, overlain by US 45E, and SR 186 for a short distance, before leaving Three Way and crossing into Gibson County.

Gibson County

US45E/SR43 immediately enters Medina, where they bypass downtown on the western side and have an intersection with SR 152. They then leave Medina and continue north to enter Milan and have an intersection with SR 187 before becoming an undivided four-lane highway as they pass through residential areas. US45E/SR43 then enters downtown and becomes concurrent with SR 104. They then have an intersection with US 70A/US 79/SR 76/SR 77, where SR77 joins the concurrency, before continuing north through downtown to an intersection with Front Street, where SR77 and SR104 split off to the west. US45E/SR43 continue north through residential areas to have an intersection with SR 425 before leaving Milan and continuing north through rural areas, where it becomes a divided highway again. US45E/SR43 cross a bridge over the Rutherford Fork of the Obion River before passing through Idlewild and Bradford, where it bypasses downtown to the west, becomes concurrent with SR 54, and has an intersection with SR 105. The highway then crosses the South Fork of the Obion River to enter Weakley County.

Weakley County

US45E/SR43/SR54 then becomes an undivided highway again and enters Greenfield, where it goes straight through downtown, having an intersection with SR 124 and SR54 splitting off and going east along Broad Street. US45E/SR43 then leave town and have an intersection with SR 445 before leaving Greenfield. The highway continues north through rural areas, becoming a divided highway again, before passing through Sharon, which it bypasses completely along its west side and has an interchange with SR 89. US45E/SR43 then enter Martin and come to an interchange with SR 216. Here, US 45E Bus/SR 372 begins and takes over the original route of US45E/SR43 through the city, US45E turns east to become concurrent with SR216, and SR43 becomes signed as a primary highway and turns west along SR216 and Skyhawk Parkway. SR43/SR216 go northwest as a 2-lane highway before SR216 breaks off along Baker Road and continues west. SR43 continues north to bypass the city along its west side to have an intersection with SR 431 after passing through a business district. SR43 then has an interchange with SR 22 before passing through a rural part of the city and coming to an intersection with US45E/SR372, where SR372 ends and SR43 rejoins US45E. US45E/SR43 then cross a bridge over the Obion River to enter Obion County.

Obion County

US45E/SR43 continue north through rural areas as a divided highway, where they have an intersection with SR 190, before entering South Fulton and coming to an intersection with unsigned SR 215. Here, US45E turns west along SR215 while SR43 breaks off again, this time as a signed secondary highway, to pass through town as a 2-lane highway. It then comes to the Kentucky state line, where SR43 ends at an intersection with KY 129 and KY 307 in downtown.

Signed segments

At Martin, SR43 breaks free from US45E as a signed primary highway and bypasses Martin to the west. This road is the original US45E around Martin. It is not limited access, and because of its location, it could not easily be converted into a four-lane limited access highway in the 1990s. As a result, a new divided, limited-access four-lane US45E was constructed around the east side of Martin, where more land was available, and the original SR43 designation was revealed on signposts.

North of Martin, SR43 rejoins US45E and continues as an undivided four-lane highway to South Fulton, where it breaks free again as a signed secondary highway and follows the original US45E Business route through town to the Kentucky state line, while US45E bypasses to the west.

Counties traversed (south to north)

State Route 43 traverses the counties shown in the table below.

Major intersections

External links

• Tennessee Department of Transportation

• Federal Highway Administration HEPGIS NHS Viewer

References