Kentucky Route 242 is a 10.275 mile (16.536 km) long east–west 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...

 located south of the city limits of Bowling Green

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...

 in rural Warren County

Warren County, Kentucky

Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky, specifically the Pennyroyal Plateau and Western Coal Fields regions. It is included in the Bowling Green, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 113,792 in the 2010 Census. The county seat is Bowling Green...

, 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...

. The western terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 68

U.S. Route 68

U.S. Route 68 is an east–west United States highway that runs for from northwest Ohio to western Kentucky. The highway's western terminus is at U.S. Route 62 in Reidland, Kentucky. Its eastern terminus is at Interstate 75 in Findlay, Ohio...

 and Kentucky Route 80 northwest of Rockfield. The eastern terminus is at Kentucky Route 622 south of Plano.

Route description

The route begins at an intersection with the cojoined US 68/KY 80, known locally as Russellville Road. From US 68 and KY 80, KY 242 heads to the southeast, passing through the Rockfield community prior to turning eastward and traveling through rural country for 2.4 miles (3.9 km) to an intersection with U.S. Route 31W

U.S. Route 31W

U.S. Route 31W is the westernmost of two parallel routes for U.S. Route 31 from Nashville, Tennessee to Louisville, Kentucky. At one time, it split with U.S...

. After crossing US 31W, the route continues another 1.7 miles (2.7 km) through the Richpond community before intersecting with Kentucky Route 884

Kentucky Route 884

Kentucky Route 884 is a south-north highway in Warren County, Kentucky. Primarily a route serving rural areas southeast of Bowling Green, the route enters the city before its end at Scottsville Road. The route is known locally as Three Springs Road....

, named Three Springs Road.

Past KY 884, the route narrows considerably for the remainder of its length. Three miles after the junction with KY 884, the route traverses Interstate 65

Interstate 65

Interstate 65 is a major Interstate Highway in the United States. The southern terminus is located at an intersection with Interstate 10 in Mobile, Alabama, and its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 90 , U.S. Route 12, and U.S...

by way of an overpass. KY 242 then continues for another 2.1 miles (3.4 km) before ending at its eastern terminus at KY 622 just south of the Plano community.