# Kentucky Route 40

Kentucky Route 40 (KY 40) is a 42.339-mile-long (68.138 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The highway begins at an intersection with US 460/KY 7 in Salyersville, within Magoffin County, then continues eastward through Paintsville, within Johnson County. KY 40 ends in Martin County at an intersection with KY 292 and an access bridge to US 52 at the West Virginia state line.

## History

KY 40 originally extended west to Frankfort. US 460 replaced the entire route west of Paintsville in the 1940s. Around 1980, it was moved onto a new alignment east of Salyersville, and KY 40 was extended back west.

## Major intersections

| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| Magoffin | Salyersville | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 460 (South Church Street/West Maple Street) / KY 7 to Mountain Parkway – West Liberty, Paintsville | |
| Magoffin | Salyersville | 1.110 | 1.786 | KY 2020 east (Mashfork Road) | Western terminus of KY 2020 |
| Magoffin | Falcon | 4.567 | 7.350 | KY 1081 west (Mine Fork Road) | Eastern terminus of KY 1081 |
| Magoffin | ​ | 6.438 | 10.361 | KY 1437 north (Litteral Fork Road) | Southern terminus of KY 1437 |
| Johnson | ​ | 7.874 | 12.672 | KY 825 east | Eastern terminus of KY 825 |
| Johnson | Oil Springs | 8.473 | 13.636 | KY 580 east | Western end of KY 580 overlap |
| Johnson | ​ | 8.614 | 13.863 | KY 580 west | Eastern end of KY 580 overlap |
| Johnson | Barnetts Creek | 12.046 | 19.386 | KY 580 west – Paintsville Lake State Park | Eastern terminus of KY 580 |
| Johnson | ​ | 13.407 | 21.576 | KY 2275 west – Paintsville Lake State Park | Eastern terminus of KY 2275 |
| Johnson | ​ | 13.460 | 21.662 | KY 172 west – Flat Gap, Sandy Hook | Eastern terminus of KY 172 |
| Johnson | Paintsville | 14.880 | 23.947 | US 23 north – Ashland | Interchange; only northbound 23 can be accessed from 40 - the ramp to southbound 23 is off 460 |
| Johnson | Paintsville | 15.014 | 24.163 | US 460 west to US 23 south / US 460 east – Salyersville, Prestonsburg, Louisa | |
| Johnson | Paintsville | 15.459 | 24.879 | KY 321 | |
| Johnson | Paintsville | 16.831 | 27.087 | KY 321 Bus. south (College Street) | Eastern terminus of KY 321 Bus. |
| Johnson | Paintsville | 17.454 | 28.089 | KY 1428 south (Depot Road) | Northern terminus of KY 1428 |
| Johnson | Paintsville | 17.473 | 28.120 | KY 581 north – Jenny Wiley Grave, Johnson County Thealka Park | Southern terminus of KY 581 |
| Johnson | Paintsville | 17.812 | 28.666 | KY 3388 south (Ponderosa Drive) | Northern terminus of KY 3388 |
| Johnson | Paintsville | 18.744 | 30.166 | KY 1107 south – Van Lear | Western end of KY 1107 overlap |
| Johnson | ​ | 19.277 | 31.023 | KY 1145 south – Woodland Estates | |
| Johnson | ​ | 19.469 | 31.332 | KY 1107 north (Main Street) | Eastern end of KY 1107 overlap |
| Johnson | Meally | 20.312 | 32.689 | KY 3389 south (Dicey Branch) | Northern terminus of KY 3389 |
| Johnson | ​ | 25.156 | 40.485 | KY 2040 north – Offutt | Southern terminus of KY 2040 |
| Johnson | Boons Camp | 26.716 | 42.995 | KY 1596 south (Greasy Creek Road) | Northern terminus of KY 1596 |
| Johnson | ​ | 28.858 | 46.442 | KY 3390 north – Whitehouse, Chestnut | Southern terminus of KY 3390 |
| Martin | Tomahawk | 34.359 | 55.295 | KY 1224 south (Rockhouse Road) | Northern terminus of KY 1224 |
| Martin | Stidham | 35.909 | 57.790 | KY 1884 north (Milo Road) | Southern terminus of KY 1884 |
| Martin | ​ | 38.175 | 61.437 | KY 645 – Paintsville, Louisa, Prestonsburg | |
| Martin | Inez | 39.219 | 63.117 | KY 3 north (Rockcastle Road) – Clifford, Louisa | Western end of KY 3 overlap |
| Martin | Inez | 39.379 | 63.374 | KY 3 south (Holy Street) | Eastern end of KY 3 overlap |
| Martin | Inez | 39.869 | 64.163 | KY 908 north (Turkey Creek Road) | Western end of KY 908 overlap |
| Martin | ​ | 40.905 | 65.830 | KY 645 west | Interchange |
| Martin | ​ | 40.939 | 65.885 | KY 908 south (Coldwater Road) | Eastern end of KY 908 overlap |
| Martin | ​ | 44.499 | 71.614 | KY 2032 south (Little Rockcastle Road) | Northern terminus of KY 2032 |
| Martin | Beauty | 47.265 | 76.066 | KY 2031 north (Big Elk Road) | Southern terminus of KY 2031 |
| Martin | Warfield | 48.535 | 78.110 | KY 292 north (Riverfront Road) | Western end of KY 292 overlap |
| Martin | ​ | 49.245 | 79.252 | KY 292 south | Eastern end of KY 292 overlap |
| Martin | ​ | 49.270 | 79.292 | Virginia Avenue - Kermit, WV | West Virginia state line (Kermit Bridge over Tug Fork) |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus ||||||

## Popular culture

The highway is the subject of the Ricky Skaggs song "Highway 40 Blues." According to songwriter Larry Cordle, "A lot of people who hear it think it's about Interstate 40, which runs right through Nashville, but I actually wrote it about that little state highway in Kentucky."