A ramp directing Ellington Parkway's northbound traffic to I-65 north is provided at the Briley/Ellington junction.

The road is named for former Tennessee governor Buford Ellington, who served two non-consecutive terms from 1959 to 1963, the other from 1967 to 1971.

Going north from the Kentucky–Tennessee border, the highway goes through the towns of Scottsville (where the US 231 concurrency ends), Glasgow, Hardyville, Hodgenville, New Haven, Bardstown, and Mount Washington before arriving at its northern end in downtown Louisville at the junction of US 31W and US 31 just south of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge.

[5] Originally part of the Jackson Highway, the Works Progress Administration measured the total distance on US 31E in Kentucky as 147.8 miles (237.9 km).

[6] The American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) adopted a resolution against split routes in 1934.

A historic one was at Coxs Creek in Nelson County, where a post office had to be relocated so traffic could see each other.

[7] Other dangerous spots in Nelson County where emergency personnel consider notorious are Gobel Lake Curve, Hibbs Lane, and High Grove.

[8] As of August 23, 2017, the Hibbs Lane and High Grove reroute sections are almost complete and are in service.

U.S. Route 31E Business starts near the Southgate Shopping Center 0.379 mile north of the Exit 11 interchange of the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway, and intersects Kentucky Routes 249 and 63 before reaching the Barren County Courthouse at the Public Square.