Arizona The westernmost stretch of US 60, to the
California state line, has been replaced by
Interstate 10 (I-10). The western terminus of US 60 is near
Brenda, from where it travels northeast to
Wickenburg. Once US 60 enters
Surprise, it carries the name
Grand Avenue through the
Phoenix metropolitan area before joining
I-17 and I-10 in
Phoenix for approximately . In
Tempe, US 60 exits I-10 and becomes the
Superstition Freeway, a significant part of the
Phoenix freeway system that serves cities such as
Mesa,
Gilbert, and
Apache Junction. East of the Phoenix area, US 60 bears roughly east-northeast through mountainous areas, passing through
Globe,
Show Low, and
Springerville before entering
New Mexico.
New Mexico US 60 enters New Mexico in
Catron County east of Springerville, Arizona. The road makes an arc through Catron County, with the apex at
Quemado, avoiding
Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and
Escondido Mountain. East of
Pie Town, the road crosses the
Continental Divide. Between the Divide and
Datil, US 60 cuts through the
Datil Mountains and
Cibola National Forest. In Datil, US 60 serves as the eastern terminus of
NM-12. East of Datil, US 60 traverses the northern end of the
Plains of San Augustin, then crosses the county line into
Socorro County. The road bisects the
Very Large Array complex, and a track used in rearranging the antennas that make up the Array crosses the highway. into the county, the highway passes through
Magdalena. It then enters the county seat of
Socorro, where it meets
Interstate 25. US 60 heads north, beginning a concurrency with the Interstate. US 60 splits off from I-25 near
Bernardo, about north of Socorro. It turns back eastward, rising through
Abo Pass at the southern end of the
Manzano Mountains before crossing into
Torrance County and passing through
Mountainair, where it intersects
NM-55. After passing through
Willard, it sets out across the
Pedernal Hills. In
Encino, it begins a concurrency with
US-285. Just after crossing into
Guadalupe County,
US-54 joins the concurrency. The three highways pass through
Vaughn and then go their separate ways, with US 285 heading southeast towards the direction of
Roswell, US 54 heading northeast towards both
Santa Rosa and
Interstate 40, and US 60 heading east towards
Clovis. US 60 angles southeast toward
Yeso, entering
De Baca County en route. Curving back towards the east, the road enters
Fort Sumner, the county seat, later. The routes enter Illinois at its very southern tip between the
Mississippi and
Ohio rivers. The concurrent routes pass
Fort Defiance, which lies at the lowest and 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 US 60, along with US 51 and US 62, crosses into the Commonwealth of Kentucky from
Cairo, Illinois. US 60 splits off from this concurrency at
Wickliffe, and heads northeast towards
Paducah. US 60 has an interchange with
Interstate 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 the
Tennessee River, while US 62 heads southeast and serves as the western terminus of
US 68. From there, US 60 roughly follows the
Ohio River, traveling through the city of
Smithland, and junctions
US 641 at
Marion. US 60 continues northeast to
Morganfield, and then to
Henderson, where it joins US 41-A on the west side of town. The two routes head to northeast Henderson, where they have an interchange with
US 41. Kentucky's segment of
Interstate 69 ends south of Henderson, but construction has begun to connect it with
Indiana, 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 of
Owensboro. US 60 becomes the
Wendell H. Ford Expressway, around the south side of the city of
Owensboro. The route serves as the eastern terminus of the
Audubon Parkway (future I-69 spur), as well as the northern terminus of
US 431.
US 231 joins US 60 and the routes serve as the northern terminus of
I-165 (formerly the
William H. Natcher Parkway). The routes travel north, leaving Owensboro, towards
Maceo. At Maceo, US 60 splits from US 231 and heads east along the Ohio River traveling through the cities of
Lewisport,
Hawesville, and
Cloverport. The route then goes southeast to
Hardinsburg, and then traverses northeast to
US 31W north of
Fort Knox. US 60 joins
US 31W, and the routes travel north to the city of
Louisville. 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 with
I-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 joins
US 150, and the routes travel east out of the downtown area. The routes junction
US 31E, and US 60 goes north on US 31E, while US 150 goes south on US 31E. Then, US 60 turns off onto
US 42, has an interchange with
Interstate 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 with
I-265. US 60 parallels
Interstate 64 as the route travels east through
Shelbyville, and on into the capital city of
Frankfort. Here, US 60 junctions
US 127, and heads on east into the city. US 60 crosses the
Kentucky River and continues east to
US 421 and
US 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 joins
US 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 at
Versailles, and then the route travels east towards
Lexington. US 60 enters
Lexington after having an interchange with
Kentucky Route 4 (KY 4). US 60 goes into the city, joining
US 68 for a block, and then turns south onto
US 25 and
US 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 with
US 421 By-Pass and then with
Interstate 75. US 60 continues on east, paralleling
Interstate 64. The route travels through
Winchester, and then junctions US 460 in
Mount 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 of
Owingsville,
Morehead, and
Grayson, before turning northeast to head to the city of
Ashland. In the city, US 60 joins
US 23, and the two routes head south along the
Ohio River. The routes continue to
Catlettsburg, where US 60 leaves US 23 and heads east, crossing over the
Big Sandy River on the Billy C. Clark Bridge into the state of
West Virginia.
West Virginia In
West Virginia, US 60 largely follows the path of the
Midland Trail. It enters the state at
Kenova by crossing over the
Big Sandy River from the city of Catlettsburg,
Kentucky. From there, it heads through
Huntington east to
Charleston. From
Charleston, US 60 heads southeast on its own course apart from
Interstate 64, its replacement. The road first follows the
Kanawha River to its source at
Gauley Bridge, where US 60 then climbs out of the river valley and follows a twisting path through
Rainelle and back to
Interstate 64 at
Sam Black Church. This stretch was the last section of US 60 to be bypassed by the Interstate system in West Virginia. I-64 between
Beckley and Sam Black Church, West Virginia, was not completed and open to traffic until July 15, 1988. 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). From
Sam Black Church east through
Lewisburg to
White 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 in the state before they enter
Virginia at
Allegheny Mountain.
Virginia In Virginia, U.S. Route 60 runs west to east through the central part of the state, generally close to and paralleling the
Interstate 64 corridor, except for the crossing of the
Blue Ridge Mountains, and in the
South Hampton Roads area. Between
Lexington in the
Shenandoah Valley and
Richmond, I-64 uses a lower elevation crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains located about further north, where it runs parallel to
U.S. Route 250 through
Rockfish 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–south
U.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 rocky
Piedmont region in an easterly direction to reach the
Fall Line at Richmond, where they again become very close. From Richmond east to the harbor area near the mouth of
Hampton Roads, US 60 again essentially parallels I-64 through
Williamsburg and the
Historic Triangle region, extending down the
Virginia Peninsula east to the
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel which it shares with I-64. Along the way in
Newport News, a notable section of Huntington Avenue (the one-way block between 25th and 26th streets) carries US 60 in both directions overlapping, a very rare configuration possibly only shared with
US 19 Truck in
Pittsburgh. A few miles south of the
bridge-tunnel, in
Norfolk, US 60 diverges to the east to follow the south shoreline of the
Chesapeake Bay through
Ocean View and past the south entrance to the
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to reach
Cape Henry. There it curves south to run along the
Atlantic Ocean shoreline to end near the south end of the Virginia Beach resort strip. == History ==