Embedded Files
100 years of US routes: 1926-2026
Endpoints of
1926-1949
North: Copper Harbor, MI
South: Naples, FL
1949-1952
North: Copper Harbor, MI
East*: Miami, FL
1952-present
North: Copper Harbor, MI
East*: Miami Beach, FL(official terminus)
2000-present
North: Copper Harbor, MI
East*: Miami, FL
(signed terminus)
*US 41 is signed north-south along its entire length, except along its southernmost extent in Miami-Dade County, which is signed east-west.
Mileage: in 1989 AASHTO listed a figure of 2297 miles for US 41... however, that included the mileage of US 41's associated business/bypass/alternate routes. According to the state subtotals on AASHTO's 1989 spreadsheet, mainline US 41's actual end-to-end total at the time was 2006 miles. That closely matches our own 2020 measurement, which yielded 2010.8 miles. That puts the midway point of US 41 right in downtown Nashville TN. Want historic mileages? Our handy reference book includes the mileages that were published in all 13 of AASHO/AASHTO's historic route logs (spanning the years 1927 to 1989).
Copper Harbor
US 41 is among the routes originally commissioned in 1926. At first its north end was right in Copper Harbor, but it was not long before it was extended at least to Ft. Wilkins State Park, if not to its current terminus, which is about 2.5 miles east of Copper Harbor. This photo is looking at the turnaround that marks the endpoint:
Allen, Jun. 2009
One can actually continue further east from here, all the way to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula, but the road is unpaved and open only seasonally. Here is a close-up of how the sign looked formerly:
Morrison, Jul. 2013 (unchanged since at least 2003)
That monument now has an extension honoring the memory of Byron Muljo, the man most directly responsible for this US 41 sign:
Bond, Jun. 2016
Sometime in 2018 or '19 that sign was replaced with a two-panel version, and it appears that Tennessee has fallen out of favor:
Schallenkamp, Sep. 2019
Facing the opposite direction from those photos, the first southbound US 41 sign is visible:
Allen, Jun. 2009
Dienhart, Aug. 2022
Even though that is correctly signed as "southbound" US 41, the road actually heads mostly west, but also slightly north, until the junction with M-26 in Copper Harbor, where there is another interesting sign:
Kasprzyk, Sep. 2009
It is uncommon to see mileages posted for cities nearly 2000 miles away, but MDoT is to be commended for doing their part to help travelers understand the scope of this highway. This junction actually marks the northernmost point on US 41. Many people find this hard to believe, but this part of Michigan (including all of this northernmost segment of US 41) is actually a little further north than the northernmost point in Maine. By 2013 that sign was replaced:
Morrison, Jul. 2013
Now we have the Clearview font; "Hancock" has been replaced by "Houghton"; no more mention of the Isle Royale ferry; and Miami-bound traffic is still not informed that they must turn left. US 41 continues by turning left here, but originally this junction marked the north beginning of US 41... and interestingly, that is where the state has posted a "Begin" sign:
Kasprzyk, Sep. 2009
US 41 actually began over two miles ago, but maybe the intention is that this is the beginning of the designated scenic route. It seems likely that is the same general area where the sign shown here was once posted:
Yooper
Miami
Originally US 41 went only as far as Naples FL. At the time, since the Naples-to-Miami leg runs east/west, that segment was assigned an east/west number: US 94.
But in 1949, US 41 was extended to Miami, replacing what had been US 94. Initially, the entire Naples-to-Miami segment was signed east-west...
Miami c. 1965, attribution unknown
...and that was also right about the time when Florida began using colored US route shields (as you can see in that photo). But those colors were phased out beginning in the 1990s, and currently north-south directional tabs are used everywhere along US 41 except within Miami/Dade County. More info on the Naples page and the Miami page. In 1952, the US 41 designation was extended east of Miami for another six miles:
c. 1952, FDoT
c. 1953, FDoT
US 41 now goes across the MacArthur Causeway over Biscayne Bay to FL hwy. A1A in Miami Beach. This first shot shows its terminus:
FDoT, 1994
That was looking east on 5th Street at Collins Avenue; FL hwy. A1A is to the left. Here, the view was south on Collins; US 41 begins to the right on 5th:
Summa, 1975
(Info about that strange colored shield.) Heading that direction, the first US 41 marker looked like this:
FDoT, 1994
Officially, that is still the terminus of US 41. However, for some reason, in 2000 FDoT decided to remove all references to US 41 east of its junction with US 1 in Miami. In fact, for several years there were even "End US 41" assemblies posted at Brickell Avenue. So by all appearances, US 41 was truncated back to its former terminus in downtown Miami. Then in late 2013, AASHTO approved FDoT's request to divert US 1 traffic off Brickell and instead onto I-95. Shortly thereafter, FDoT removed the "End US 41" signage at Brickell.
US 41 runs along SW 8th Street through some interesting sections of Miami, including Little Havana, where it is referred to as "Calle Ocho". The US 41 designation is still referenced from its junctions with US 441, I-95, and even Brickell. However, drivers following US 41 will be disappointed in the road's general lack of acknowledgement in Miami and environs. As of 2016, the last "East US 41" assembly was posted at 22nd Avenue, but by 2019 another one was installed just east of 8th Ave (US 441). For the remaining two miles to I-95 (and 2.5 miles to Brickell) there were no more trailblazers. So now it is unclear where FDoT wants travelers to think US 41 ends. And it is also unclear why they want the designation to officially continue all the way to Miami Beach, but they do not want to signpost its easternmost few miles.
Research and/or image credits: Patrick Allen; Chris Bessert; Sandra Bond; Paul Dienhart; Robert Droz; Martin Karner; Bruce Kasprzyk; Dan Moraseski; Jeff Morrison; Robert Mortell; Dale Sanderson; Dan Schallenkamp; Michael Summa
Page originally created 1998;last updated Apr. 30, 2025.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse