Kentucky Route 118 also known as the Hyden Spur and the Tim Couch

Tim Couch

Timothy Scott "Tim" Couch is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Kentucky...

 Pass, is a 3.524 mile (5.671 km) long state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

 in southeastern Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, running entirely in Leslie County

Leslie County, Kentucky

Leslie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 12,401. Its county seat is Hyden. The county is named for Preston H. Leslie, Governor of Kentucky...

. The route originates at Exit 44 of the Hal Rogers Parkway

Hal Rogers Parkway

The Hal Rogers Parkway, formerly named the Daniel Boone Parkway, connects London and Hazard in southeastern Kentucky. This toll road opened in November 1971 and the tolls were removed June 1, 2003. The original extent of the highway was to be instead of today's 62.90, with that mileage to have...

 near the unincorporated community of Thousandsticks

Thousandsticks, Kentucky

Thousandsticks is an unincorporated community in Leslie County, Kentucky, United States. Thousandsticks is located at the junction of the Hal Rogers Parkway and Kentucky Route 118 northwest of Hyden. Thousandsticks has a post office with ZIP code 41766....

, and connects with US 421

U.S. Route 421

U.S. Route 421 is a spur route of U.S. 21. It runs for from Michigan City, Indiana, at U.S. 20, to Fort Fisher in North Carolina. The highway goes through the cities of Indianapolis, Indiana, Lexington, Kentucky, Boone, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Greensboro, North Carolina and...

 in the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Hyden

Hyden, Kentucky

Hyden is a city in Leslie County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 365 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Leslie County. It is located at the junction of U.S. Route 421 and Kentucky Route 80, along the Middle Fork of the Kentucky River....

.

Route description

The road, a modern two-lane road with an extra climbing lane where necessary, was originally the Hyden Spur of the Daniel Boone Parkway (now the Hal Rogers Parkway). Shortly after exiting the parkway, the road climbs a large hill for roughly a mile (1.6 km). The last mile into Hyden is a 7% downhill grade, with a runaway truck ramp

Runaway truck ramp

A runaway truck ramp, runaway truck lane, emergency escape ramp or truck arrester bed is a traffic device that enables vehicles that are having braking problems to safely stop. It is typically a long, sand or gravel-filled lane adjacent to a road with a steep grade, and is designed to accommodate...

 near its end at US 421.

The road is also known as Tim Couch

Tim Couch

Timothy Scott "Tim" Couch is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at the University of Kentucky...

 Pass, after the former University of Kentucky

Kentucky Wildcats

The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky , a founding member of the Southeastern Conference...

 and NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

quarterback, who is a Hyden native.

Major intersections

KYTC measures KY 118 from east to west.