:''For the U.S. Route 60 in the 1925 plan, which became
U.S. Route 66 in 1926, see
U.S. Route 60 (1925).''
'U.S. Route 60' is an east-west
United States highway, running 2,670
miles (4,300
km) from
Virginia to
Arizona. Despite the "0" in its number, indicating a transcontinental designation, the
1926 route ended in
Springfield, Missouri at the intersection with
Route 66. In fact, Route 66 was almost given the US 60 designation.
As of
2005, the highway's eastern terminus is in
Virginia Beach, Virginia at Pacific Avenue in the city's oceanfront resort district at the Rudee Inlet Bridge. Its western terminus was from 1932 to 1966 in
Los Angeles, California but was moved to east of
Quartzsite, Arizona at an intersection with
Interstate 10 after the highway was
decommissioned through California starting in 1964. US 60 signage can be seen at this intersection which is about 5 miles (8 km) west of Brenda, Arizona. I-10 and
California State Highway 60 replaced US 60 from Arizona to Los Angeles.
[2]
Route description
California
U.S. Route 60 has been decommissioned in California. In the
Los Angeles and
Inland Empire, it exists as a branch of
Interstate 10, designated as
State Route 60. In addition, many parts of it remain intact as 2-lane highway in the desert areas.
Arizona
The westernmost stretch of US 60 to the California border has been superseded by
Interstate 10. The western terminus of US 60 is near Brenda, where it travels northeast to
Wickenburg. From there it bears southeast to briefly rejoin the I-10 in
Phoenix before diverging as the
Superstition Freeway. While in Phoenix, the 60 turns into
Grand Avenue, and then becomes the 60 once again. East of the Phoenix area, US 60 bears roughly east-northeast through mountainous areas, passing through
Globe,
Show Low, and
Springerville before exiting the state at the New Mexico border.
New Mexico
Texas
Oklahoma
Missouri
U.S. 60 crosses the southern part of Missouri, south of
Interstate 44. Prior to the creation of the U.S. Highway System, U.S. Route 60 was
Route 16.
Portions of the route east of
Springfield are four-lane divided. Several stretches are freeway-grade. The
Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is in the process of upgrading U.S. 60 to four lanes along a 59-mile segment between
Willow Springs and
Van Buren. The project, which is expected to be complete in
2010, will complete U.S. 60 as a four-lane facility from Springfield to
Charleston, a distance of approximately 240 miles.
U.S. 60 intersects
Interstate 55 and
Interstate 57 just southeast of
Sikeston, and runs concurrently with I-57 from this junction to the east side of Charleston.
From Charleston to
Bird's Point, where the route leaves Missouri on a bridge crossing of the
Mississippi River, U.S. 60 is concurrent with
U.S. Highway 62 and, for a short distance,
Missouri Route 77.
William Jefferson Blythe, Jr., father of former president
Bill Clinton, died on Route 60 (now
Missouri Route 114) outside of
Sikeston, Missouri after being thrown from his car and drowning in a drainage ditch.
Illinois
Main articles: U.S. Route 60 in Illinois
U.S. 60 continues its concurrency with
U.S. Highway 62 for its entire length (which is less than a mile (1.6 km)) in Illinois. The routes enter Illinois at its very southern tip between the
Mississippi and
Ohio rivers.
The concurrent routes pass
Fort Defiance State Park, which lies at the southernmost point of
Illinois, then intersect with
U.S. 51 south of
Cairo, turning eastward along with southbound U.S. 51 to cross the
Ohio River into Kentucky.
Kentucky
Upon entering Kentucky, U.S. 60 is concurrent with U.S. 51 and U.S. 62 from the Ohio River bridge to the town of
Wickliffe. At Wickliffe, U.S. 60 separates from the other routes and heads generally northeast toward the city of
Paducah. Between Wickliffe and Paducah, the towns of
Barlow,
La Center and
Kevil are situated along the route.
Upon reaching Paducah, U.S. 60 intersects with
Interstate 24, and I-24's business loop enters the city concurrent with U.S. 60. In the downtown area, the route once again meets U.S. 62, and also meets
U.S. 45. Once out of the city of Paducah, U.S. 60 again veers to the northeast, generally following the
Ohio River until reaching
Smithland, where the route again turns to the east, passing through the small town of
Burna.
The next city along the route is
Marion. At Marion, U.S. 60 turns once more to the north, where it heads toward
Sturgis. From Sturgis, the route continues generally northward to
Morganfield. In recent years, a by-pass of U.S. 60 around the south and east sides of Morganfield has taken a great deal of traffic out of Morganfield proper.
U.S. 60 passes through
Waverly and
Corydon before reaching
Henderson. At Henderson, the route intersects
Kentucky Highway 136,
Kentucky Highway 425 and
U.S. Highway 41 Alternate. U.S. 41-A is concurrent with U.S. 60 along Green Street in the city of Henderson as it intersects with
Kentucky Highway 812 and
Kentucky Highway 351. At the
U.S. Highway 41/
Pennyrile Parkway interchange, U.S. 41-A ends and U.S. 60 continues alone.
Especially in the eastern and central part of the state, U.S. 60 has been largely replaced by
Interstate 64 for long distance travel, since both routes follow each other through much of this area. However, several cites in this area rely on U.S. 60 to connect them to the interstate. By contrast, in the western part of the state, U.S. 60 is not paired with an
interstate highway and serves a much more independent purpose, connecting communities located along and near the
Ohio River.
West Virginia
Prior to the U.S. Highway System, U.S. Route 60 was West Virginia Route 3. Portions of U.S. 60 are the
Midland Trail, a
National Scenic Byway.
Virginia
Main articles: U.S. Route 60 in Virginia
History
In the original
1926 routing, US 60's western terminus was in
Springfield, Missouri at its intersection with
Route 66.
During the fight over the numbering of the Chicago-Los Angeles Highway (which became US 66), the Virginia Beach, Virginia to Springfield, Missouri road was proposed as US 62. Proposed US 62 followed US 60 from Virginia Beach to Poplar Bluff, MO, but did not continue across southern Missouri on the accepted US 60 alignment. Instead, it followed what is now
U.S. Route 160 to
Doniphan,
Route 142 to
Thayer,
U.S. Route 63 to the junction with
Route 14 north of
West Plains, and Missouri 14 to
Ozark where it ended at what was once
U.S. Route 65 (now Business 65) south of the town (this intersection is now in the city limits of Ozark). The realignment was part of the compromise over the US 60 vs. US 62 numbering (for further see
Cyrus Avery).
Originally built as a "bypass route" around downtown
Louisville, Kentucky, Alt US 60 used several existing roads running through Louisville to get between the east and south sides of town without having to travel through the heavily congested downtown or west ends of town. 'Alt 60' runs northeast to southwest from
St. Matthews, Kentucky to
Shively, Kentucky; including a stretch on one of
Frederick Law Olmstead's last remaining parkways, Eastern Parkway.
See also
Related U.S. Routes
★
U.S. Route 160
★
U.S. Route 260
★
U.S. Route 360
★
U.S. Route 460
Bannered and suffexed routes
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Dexter, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Sikeston, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Poplar Bluff, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Van Buren, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Willow Springs, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Cabool, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Mountain Grove, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Mansfield, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Rogersville, Missouri
★ ''
U.S. Route 60 Business'' in
Springfield, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Aurora, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Monett, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Neosho, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Seneca, Missouri
★
U.S. Route 60 Business in
Versailles, Kentucky
★ ''
U.S. Route 60 Alternate'' in
Louisville, Kentucky
★
U.S. Route 60 Alternate in
Lexington, Kentucky
References
1. US Highways from US 1 to US 830 Robert V. Droz
2. Endpoints of US highways
External links
★
Illinois Highway Ends: US 60
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