US 60 highlighted in red | ||||||||||
Route information | ||||||||||
Length | 2,655 mi[1] (4,273 km) | |||||||||
Existed | November 11, 1926[2]–present | |||||||||
Major junctions | ||||||||||
West end | ![]() | |||||||||
Major intersections | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||||||||
East end | Harbour Point/Rudee Point Rd. inVirginia Beach, VA | |||||||||
Location | ||||||||||
Country | United States | |||||||||
States | Arizona,New Mexico,Texas,Oklahoma,Missouri,Illinois,Kentucky,West Virginia,Virginia | |||||||||
Highway system | ||||||||||
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U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling 2,655 miles (4,273 km) from southwesternArizona to theAtlantic Ocean coast inVirginia. The highway's eastern terminus is inVirginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Boulevard, just south of the city's Oceanfront resort district at the intersection of Rudee Point Road and Harbor Point. Its original western terminus was inSpringfield, Missouri; it was then extended toLos Angeles,California, but in 1964, it was truncated to end southwest ofBrenda, Arizona, at aninterchange withInterstate 10 (I-10) after the US 60 highway designation wasremoved from California. I-10 replaced US 60 fromBeaumont, California, to Arizona, andCalifornia State Route 60 (SR 60) replaced US 60 from Los Angeles to Beaumont.[3]
mi[1] | km | |
---|---|---|
AZ | 368 | 592 |
NM | 366 | 590 |
TX | 225 | 362 |
OK | 355 | 571 |
MO | 341 | 549 |
IL | 0.9 | 1.5 |
KY | 489 | 787 |
WV | 179 | 288 |
VA | 302 | 486 |
Total | 2,655 | 4,273 |
The westernmost stretch of US 60, to theCalifornia state line, has been replaced byInterstate 10 (I-10). The western terminus of US 60 is nearBrenda, from where it travels northeast toWickenburg. Once US 60 entersSurprise, it carries the nameGrand Avenue through thePhoenix metropolitan area before joiningI-17 and I-10 inPhoenix for approximately 14 miles (23 km). InTempe, US 60 exits I-10 and becomes theSuperstition Freeway, a significant part of thePhoenix freeway system that serves cities such asMesa,Gilbert, andApache Junction. East of the Phoenix area, US 60 bears roughly east-northeast through mountainous areas, passing throughGlobe,Show Low, andSpringerville before enteringNew Mexico.
US 60 enters New Mexico inCatron County east of Springerville, Arizona. The road makes an arc through Catron County, with the apex atQuemado, avoidingApache-Sitgreaves National Forest andEscondido Mountain. East ofPie Town, the road crosses theContinental Divide. Between the Divide andDatil, US 60 cuts through theDatil Mountains andCibola National Forest. In Datil, US 60 serves as the eastern terminus ofNM-12.
East of Datil, US 60 traverses the northern end of thePlains of San Augustin, then crosses the county line intoSocorro County. The road bisects theVery Large Array complex, and a track used in rearranging the antennas that make up the Array crosses the highway. 36 mi (58 km) into the county,[4] the highway passes throughMagdalena.
It then enters the county seat ofSocorro, where it meetsInterstate 25. US 60 heads north, beginning a concurrency with the Interstate.
US 60 splits off from I-25 nearBernardo, about 25 mi (40 km) north of Socorro. It turns back eastward, rising throughAbo Pass at the southern end of theManzano Mountains before crossing intoTorrance County and passing throughMountainair, where it intersectsNM-55. After passing throughWillard, it sets out across thePedernal Hills. InEncino, it begins a concurrency withUS-285. Just after crossing intoGuadalupe County,US-54 joins the concurrency. The three highways pass throughVaughn and then go their separate ways, with US 285 heading southeast towards the direction ofRoswell, US 54 heading northeast towards bothSanta Rosa andInterstate 40, and US 60 heading east towardsClovis.
US 60 angles southeast towardYeso, enteringDe Baca County en route. Curving back towards the east, the road entersFort Sumner, the county seat, 21 mi (34 km) later.[4] Just west of town, it serves as the northern terminus ofNM-20, and in Fort Sumner proper, it begins a concurrency withUS-84, which will persist for the remainder of the routes' miles in New Mexico. East of town the two highways encounterNM-212, a spur to Fort Sumner State Monument, andNM 252 inTaiban.
US 60/84 passes throughTolar near the De Baca–Roosevelt County line. The two routes do not stay in Roosevelt County for long, however, proceeding intoCurry County west ofMelrose. The highways pass through Melrose,St. Vrain, andGrier before widening out to a four-lane highway as they approachClovis, the Curry County seat. In Clovis, the home ofCannon Air Force Base, the highways meet up withUS-70, which joins the concurrency. The three highways proceed throughTexico, and then cross the state line nearFarwell, Texas.
For the distance of more than 300 miles (480 km) between Abo Pass and Amarillo, the highway parallels theSouthern Transcon, one of the busiesttranscontinental railroads in the west.
US 60 runs in a northeasterly direction across theTexas Panhandle. It enters the state as a four-lane divided highway atFarwell on the Texas-New Mexico border, and heads northeast, intersectingU.S. Route 385 atHereford. AtCanyon, the route begins a concurrency with bothU.S. Route 87 andInterstate 27; the three routes are united toAmarillo.
At Amarillo, the road crossesInterstate 40 and has a short concurrency withHistoric US 66 on Amarillo Boulevard. The road continues as a divided highway, heading northeast toPampa, where the road goes to two lanes. AtCanadian, the route briefly returns to four-lane status and forms a concurrency withU.S. Route 83. US 60 leaves Texas for Oklahoma 2 mi (3.2 km) east ofHiggins.
Except for three short sections nearEnid,Vinita, andPonca City, US 60 is a two-lane highway its entire length across Oklahoma. It enters the state 14 mi (23 km) west ofArnett and travels east toOrienta where it begins a concurrency withU.S. Highway 412. At Enid, it leaves the concurrency with US-412 and begins another withU.S. Highway 64 with which it is united for 24 miles (39 km). NearTonkawa, US 60 has an interchange withInterstate 35.
AtPonca City, US 60 entersOsage County, leaving it atBartlesville. From Vinita toAfton, the highway has a concurrency with HistoricU.S. Highway 66 andU.S. Highway 69. The road meetsInterstate 44 at Vinita and Afton. It passes throughTwin Bridges State Park about 12 miles (19 km) west of the Missouri state line.
US 60 crosses southernMissouri, south ofInterstate 44. It crosses the Missouri-Oklahoma state line near the Missouri townSeneca. It is concurrent withU.S. Route 62 fromCharleston and spans theMississippi River to enter Illinois. Prior to the creation of the U.S. Highway system, U.S. Route 60 was Route 16.
Between the Missouri-Oklahoma state line and south of Seneca andRepublic, US 60 is a two-lane highway, often splitting into alternating three-lane highways beginning atMonett. AtRepublic, the road becomes a four-lane divided highway, turning southeast onto theJames River Freeway in theSpringfield city limits.
Most of the route east of Springfield is four-lane divided and several stretches are freeway-graded. On July 9, 2010, TheMissouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) finished the process of upgrading US 60 to four lanes along a 59-mile (95 km) segment between the towns ofWillow Springs andVan Buren. This project's overall completion indicates that US 60 is now a four-lane facility from Springfield toCharleston, a distance of approximately 240 miles (390 km). A stretch of US 60 from east of US 65 in Springfield to Rogersville has been in long range plans on being upgraded to freeway status, therefore removing all at-grade crossings, installing overpasses and interchanges, and access roads.
AtMansfield, US 60 meetsMissouri Route 5, which runs south towardsAva. U.S. 60 is briefly concurrent with Route 5 north of Mansfield, after which Route 5 continues north towardsHartville. On the southeast side ofCabool US 60 encountersUS Route 63 and continues as a concurrency toWillow Springs, where the two routes separate with Route 60 continuing east toMountain View and Route 63 continues south towardWest Plains.
US 60 intersectsInterstate 55 andInterstate 57 just southeast ofSikeston. It runs concurrently with I-57 from this junction to the east side of Charleston.
From Charleston toBird's Point, where the route leaves Missouri on a bridge crossing of theMississippi River, US 60 is now concurrent withU.S. Route 62 and - for a short distance -Route 77.
William Jefferson Blythe Jr., the biological father of former U.S. presidentBill Clinton, died on Route 60 (nowRoute 114) outside ofSikeston, Missouri after being thrown from his car and drowning in a drainage ditch.
U.S. 60 continues its concurrency withU.S. Highway 62 for its entire length, 0.92 miles (1.48 km), in Illinois.[5] The routes enter Illinois at its very southern tip between theMississippi andOhio rivers.
The concurrent routes passFort Defiance, which lies at the lowest and southernmost point ofIllinois, then intersect withU.S. 51 south ofCairo, turning eastward along with southbound U.S. 51 to cross theOhio River into Kentucky.
US 60, along with US 51 and US 62, crosses into the Commonwealth of Kentucky fromCairo, Illinois. US 60 splits off from this concurrency atWickliffe, and heads northeast towardsPaducah. US 60 has an interchange withInterstate 24 and enters the city along with Business Loop 24. US 60 joins US 62 once again, and the routes head out of Paducah. US 60 splits off to the northeast and crosses theTennessee River, while US 62 heads southeast and serves as the western terminus ofUS 68.
From there, US 60 roughly follows theOhio River, traveling through the city ofSmithland, and junctionsUS 641 atMarion. US 60 continues northeast toMorganfield, and then toHenderson, where it joins US 41-A on the west side of town. The two routes head to northeast Henderson, where they have an interchange withUS 41. Kentucky's segment ofInterstate 69 ends south of Henderson, but construction has begun to connect it withIndiana, where the interstate will be concurrent with US 41 and share the rebuilt interchange with US 60. From that interchange, US 60 heads east towards the city ofOwensboro.
US 60 becomes theWendell H. Ford Expressway, around the south side of the city ofOwensboro. The route serves as the eastern terminus of theAudubon Parkway (future I-69 spur), as well as the northern terminus ofUS 431.US 231 joins US 60 and the routes serve as the northern terminus ofI-165 (formerly theWilliam H. Natcher Parkway). The routes travel north, leaving Owensboro, towardsMaceo. At Maceo, US 60 splits from US 231 and heads east along the Ohio River traveling through the cities ofLewisport,Hawesville, andCloverport. The route then goes southeast toHardinsburg, and then traverses northeast toUS 31W north ofFort Knox.
US 60 joinsUS 31W, and the routes travel north to the city ofLouisville. US 60 branches off an alternate route, Alt. US 60, which traverses the south side of Louisville, while the main US 60 travels through the north side. The routes head north through the city, having an interchange withI-264 along the way. At Bernheim Lane, US 31W splits off US 60 and parallels on the west side, while US 60 continues north, traveling further into the city. US 60 joinsUS 150, and the routes travel east out of the downtown area. The routes junctionUS 31E, and US 60 goes north on US 31E, while US 150 goes south on US 31E. Then, US 60 turns off ontoUS 42, has an interchange withInterstate 64, and then splits off of US 42 and heads out of Louisville. Before leaving, Alternate US 60 joins back, and US 60 has an interchange with I-264 once more, and then withI-265.
US 60 parallelsInterstate 64 as the route travels east throughShelbyville, and on into the capital city ofFrankfort. Here, US 60 junctionsUS 127, and heads on east into the city. US 60 crosses theKentucky River and continues east toUS 421 andUS 460. US 60 joins US 421, and the routes travel south for a bit, and then US 421 splits off of US 60 and heads east. US 60 heads southeast, crossing over to the south side of Interstate 64. US 60 joinsUS 62 once again in a strange concurrency (US 60 is heading east while US 62 is heading west, and vice versa). US 60 quickly splits off atVersailles, and then the route travels east towardsLexington.
US 60 entersLexington after having an interchange withKentucky Route 4 (KY 4). US 60 goes into the city, joiningUS 68 for a block, and then turns south ontoUS 25 andUS 421. The three routes travel through downtown Lexington, and then US 60 splits off and heads east out of the city. On its way out, US 60 has an interchange withUS 421 By-Pass and then withInterstate 75.
US 60 continues on east, parallelingInterstate 64. The route travels throughWinchester, and then junctions US 460 inMount Sterling. After leaving the city, US 60 crosses over to the north side of Insterstate 64, creating an interchange. From here, US 60 travels through the cities ofOwingsville,Morehead, andGrayson, before turning northeast to head to the city ofAshland. In the city, US 60 joinsUS 23, and the two routes head south along theOhio River. The routes continue toCatlettsburg, where US 60 leaves US 23 and heads east, crossing over theBig Sandy River on the Billy C. Clark Bridge into the state ofWest Virginia.
InWest Virginia, US 60 largely follows the path of theMidland Trail. It enters the state atKenova by crossing over theBig Sandy River from the city of Catlettsburg,Kentucky. From there, it heads throughHuntington east toCharleston.
FromCharleston, US 60 heads southeast on its own course apart fromInterstate 64, its replacement. The road first follows theKanawha River to its source atGauley Bridge, where US 60 then climbs out of the river valley and follows a twisting path throughRainelle and back toInterstate 64 atSam Black Church. This stretch was the last section of US 60 to be bypassed by the Interstate system in West Virginia. I-64 betweenBeckley and Sam Black Church, West Virginia, was not completed and open to traffic until July 15, 1988.[6] Due to its location, many miles away from I-64, US 60 still serves a large amount of traffic through the central part of the state, even though I-64 has replaced the highway for most through traffic. From the early 1970s, when I-64 was completed through Charleston to the West Virginia Turnpike until 1988, all east-west I-64 traffic was routed onto the mostly two lane U.S. 60 from Charleston to Sam Black Church where I-64 resumed. During this time U.S. 60 was signed by W.V.D.O.T. with a U.S. 60 shield and a "to I-64 (east or west)" sign in order to assure travelers they would eventually return to the interstate highway by following the federal designated route. This stretch of highway from Charleston to Sam Black Church is significant as it was the second to last segment of U.S. highway to be replaced by an interstate (of the original 1960s grid plan).
FromSam Black Church east throughLewisburg toWhite Sulphur Springs, US 60 lives in the shadow of I-64 and carries a very small amount of traffic. Just east of White Sulphur Springs, US 60 joins I-64 for the last 2 miles (3.2 km) in the state before they enterVirginia atAllegheny Mountain.
In Virginia, U.S. Route 60 runs 312 mi (502 km) west to east through the central part of the state, generally close to and paralleling theInterstate 64 corridor, except for the crossing of theBlue Ridge Mountains, and in theSouth Hampton Roads area.
BetweenLexington in theShenandoah Valley andRichmond, I-64 uses a lower elevation crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains located about 30 miles (48 km) further north, where it runs parallel toU.S. Route 250 throughRockfish Gap. In contrast, through this section, the older US 60 is mostly a rural two-lane road. With the crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains at a higher altitude in more rugged terrain, US 60 in this area offers much more challenging and weather-sensitive driving conditions, as well as a history of many crashes in the years before I-64 was completed.
East of north–southU.S. Route 29 (which runs parallel to the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge), the older US 60 and I-64 gradually converge as they pass through the rolling hills of the rockyPiedmont region in an easterly direction to reach theFall Line at Richmond, where they again become very close.
From Richmond east to the harbor area near the mouth ofHampton Roads, US 60 again essentially parallels I-64 throughWilliamsburg and theHistoric Triangle region, extending down theVirginia Peninsula east to theHampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel which it shares with I-64. Along the way inNewport News, a notable section of Huntington Avenue (the block between 25th and 26th streets) carries US 60 in both directions overlapping, and is possibly the only example of a highway in the United States with such a configuration. A few miles south of thebridge-tunnel, inNorfolk, US 60 diverges to the east to follow the south shoreline of theChesapeake Bay throughOcean View and past the south entrance to theChesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to reachCape Henry. There it curves south to run along theAtlantic Ocean shoreline to end near the south end of the Virginia Beach resort strip.
Location | Los Angeles, California toArizona state line nearEhrenberg |
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Existed | 1926 (1926)–1972 (1972) |
U.S. Route 60 has been fully decommissioned in California since 1972, whenInterstate 10 was completed in California. It had a clear east-west orientation and was so signed.
Between downtown Los Angeles (its western terminus at its interchange with Interstates 5 and 10) it had an existence separate from U.S. Routes 70 and 99, lying to its south. US 60 passed throughPomona andRiverside, meetingUS 70 and US 99 nearBeaumont, east of which it coincided with US 70 andUS 99 as far to the east asIndio. East of Indio, US 99 separated from US 60 and US 70, both continuing through theColorado Desert to the Arizona state line at the Colorado River nearBlythe almost entirely as a two-lane highway.[citation needed]
After theGreat Renumbering of 1964, US 60 remained intact east of Beaumont, but for only eight years. Meanwhile, US 70 and US 99 had disappeared completely in Southern California. West of Beaumont, the route that had been US 60 was re-signed asState Route 60 (although often on a somewhat different alignment than the later California 60, as the new freeway had not yet been completed). East of Beaumont, US 60 remained in existence while Interstate 10 supplanted it, with the course of US 60 being moved to Interstate 10 and some sections of the old highway being demolished. In 1972, California decommissioned whatever remained of US 60 within the state as the last segments of Interstate 10 were opened. Parts of old US 60 (which in places coincided with US 70 and US 99) remain as business loops of Interstate 10 in Indio and Blythe.
US 60 had its beginnings in theMidland Trail, anauto trail organized in 1912 by residents ofGrand Junction, Colorado.[7] The next year, this route was considered but rejected for theLincoln Highway,[8] after which the Midland Trail Association laid out and marked its own transcontinental highway, eventually connectingNewport News, Virginia withLos Angeles, California. When theJoint Board on Interstate Highways published its preliminary plan for a system of interstate routes in 1925, the Midland Trail was split among many numbers, including52,62,150,50, and40. East ofLouisville, where it would become US 60, it was assigned parts of 52 and 62. Route 52 began at Newport News and followed the Midland Trail toRichmond, but took a more southerly route toLexington, Virginia. The trail was used again throughWest Virginia toHuntington, where Route 52 split to the northwest. Route 62 began atAshland, Kentucky (near Huntington) and followed the Midland Trail across northeasternKentucky to Louisville, where the trail crossed theOhio River and became Route 150. Route 62 continued southwest along the south bank of the Ohio River toWickliffe in western Kentucky, and then crossed theMississippi River at the Ohio's mouth. The final portion of Route 62 crossed southernMissouri toSpringfield on an existing main highway that had been numbered 16 by the state.[9][10][11][12]
Kentucky GovernorWilliam J. Fields objected to the Joint Board's plan, which took most major east–west routes (multiples of ten) to theEast Coast, but sent Route 60 fromLos Angeles northeast to end inChicago, leaving none to cross Kentucky, the onlyMississippi Valley state without such a route. Proposals were considered for splitting US 60 into 60N and 60E at Springfield (MO) or using 62 for the Chicago route; Missouri had already prepared maps that showed the original plans for 60 and 62.[13] The final plan, agreed to by the affected states, assignedUS 66 to the Los Angeles-Chicago highway and US 60 to the route from Springfield toVirginia Beach (extended from Newport News), absorbing all of 62 and part of 52 from the 1925 plan.[14][2][15]
Location | Amarillo, TX–Enid, OK |
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Existed | 1928–1930 |
Although US 60 initially stretched less than halfway across the country, due to its late creation, it was soon extended west toLos Angeles. One auto trail — theAtlantic and Pacific Highway - and three other U.S. Highways played a part in this extension. The Atlantic and Pacific Highway had been organized in 1921,[16] and connectedNew York City with Los Angeles.[10] The original alignment ofU.S. Route 70 enteredClovis, New Mexico from the east, as it does now, but continued west toHolbrook, Arizona. Crossing US 70 at Clovis was theEl Paso-AmarilloU.S. Route 366.[2] Finally,U.S. Route 164 was created by 1928, stretching northeast and east from Amarillo toU.S. Route 64 andU.S. Route 81 inEnid, Oklahoma.[17] TheAmerican Association of State Highway Officials approved the first part of the extension in May 1930, following the rest of Missouri's Route 16 to the Oklahoma state line, and several state highways to Enid, before absorbing US 164 to a terminus at Amarillo.[18] The remainder to Los Angeles was approved at AASHO's June 1931 meeting, and involved a number of other changes. US 60 replaced US 366 from Amarillo to Clovis, where it continued west along US 70 toSpringerville, Arizona. The remainder of US 70 toHolbrook, Arizona became a newU.S. Route 260, while US 60 followed the Atlantic and Pacific Highway, which it had picked up atVaughn, New Mexico, southwest and west throughPhoenix to Los Angeles. US 70 was not truncated to Clovis, but was instead redirected southwest along US 366 to El Paso, and later reached Los Angeles itself, though most of the route west ofGlobe, Arizonaoverlapped US 60.[19]
After theInterstate Highway System was signed into law in 1956, the Midland Trail portion of US 60, fromLouisville east to theHampton Roads area, was bypassed byInterstate 64. FromPhoenix west toLos Angeles,Interstate 10 paralleled and, for the most part, replaced US 60. I-10 and I-64 were mostly completed by the late 1970s,[20] though part ofInterstate 64 in West Virginia, built on a new alignment east fromBeckley, did not bypass the old winding US 60 until July 15, 1988.[21] California decommissioned its portion of US 60 in 1972; most was replaced by I-10, while the independent piece in the Los Angeles area becameState Route 60.[22] In 1982, the portionoverlapping I-10 in western Arizona was removed.[23] US 60 between Phoenix and Louisville remains a major regional corridor in most places, and is not paralleled by an Interstate for any significant length.
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