| State: | KY |
| Type: | KY |
| Route: | 181 |
| Map Custom: | yes |
| Map Notes: | KY 181 highlighted in red |
| Length Mi: | 42.840 |
| Length Ref: | [1] |
| Established: | 1929[2] [3] |
| Direction A: | North |
| Terminus A: | at Bremen |
| Junction: |
|
| Direction B: | South |
| Terminus B: | at Tiny Town |
| Counties: | Todd, Muhlenberg |
| Previous Type: | KY |
| Previous Route: | 180 |
| Next Type: | KY |
| Next Route: | 182 |
Kentucky Route 181 (KY 181) is a north–south state highway that traverses two counties in western Kentucky.
KY 181 starts at a crossroads junction with U.S. Route 79 and Kentucky Route 2128 located near the Tennessee state line in the town of Guthrie, in southern Todd County. This is about north of the state line separating Todd County from Montgomery County, Tennessee. KY 181 has junctions with KY 294 and then a crossroad intersection with US 41. KY 181 goes north to intersect with KY 848, and then KY 104 before making it into the Todd County seat of Elkton. It intersects US 68 Business at the Todd County Courthouse in downtown Elkton. Further north, it crosses the divided four-lane Jefferson Davis Highway, the mainline US 68, which runs concurrently with KY 80 just north of the city limits. Kentucky Route 106's western terminus is a junction with KY 181 almost immediately after the US 68 junction. Junctions with KY 171 and KY 507 follows after KY 181 leaves the Elkton area.[4]
At Clifty, KY 107 runs concurrent with KY 181 for through that community, with a junction with KY 890 located within that concurrency. At Tyewhopperty, it intersects KY 1785 shortly before entering Muhlenberg County.[5] [6]
After making its entrance into Muhlenberg County, KY 181 has a junction with Kentucky Route 973, which provides access to the Lake Malone State Park. Another junction with KY 890 follows, and then KY 1163 (Old Russellville Pike) before reaching the city of Greenville. In downtown Greenville, it meets U.S. Route 62 (US 62) and KY 176 at the town square. After the brief concurrency with US 62, KY 181 crosses the four-lane KY 189 by-pass before meeting the Exit 53 interchange of the Wendell H. Ford Western Kentucky Parkway. It then intersects KY 70 at Midland before reaching its northern terminus at the KY 81 junction in the community of Bremen just short of the McLean County line.[5] [6]
As a charter route in Kentucky's state highway system when it was introduced in 1929, KY 181's original alignment through Todd and Muhlenberg Counties ran the present-day alignments of the following highways:
KY 181 was reallocated to its current alignment by the mid-1940s.[10] [11] The extension of KY 181 from Greenville to Bremen was authorized no later than 1950.