US1

US Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States highway that travels along the East Coast from Key West, Florida to Fort Kent, Maine. The route covers about 2,300 miles (roughly 3,700 kilometers) and serves as a principal corridor linking coastal communities and metropolitan areas.

US 1 was established in 1926 as part of the original U.S. Highway System. The southern portion through the Florida Keys, commonly called the Overseas Highway, is a widely recognized scenic and engineering landmark. In many locales, US 1 remains the main street for towns that have bypassed the route with freeways, and it includes numerous business routes and city street segments.

US 1 traverses a long coastal corridor from the Southeast through the Mid-Atlantic to New England, passing through the District of Columbia and ending at the Canadian border in Fort Kent, Maine. In many stretches it runs near Interstate 95, while also serving urban streets, historic districts, and tourism corridors along the Atlantic seaboard. The highway connects a diverse set of communities, from dense urban cores to rural coastal towns, and it intersects numerous regional and local road networks.

Today US 1 functions as a backbone for regional travel, tourism, and local commerce. It carries commuter and commercial traffic, accommodates scenic byways in various segments, and is maintained by the individual state departments of transportation. The route’s historical significance remains evident in the communities it connects and in the legacy of the early U.S. Highway System.