Louisiana US 61 in
Louisiana is four-laned from its southern terminus in
New Orleans to the
Mississippi state line, where the highway continues to
Natchez as a four-lane highway. The section of US 61 from the Jefferson/Orleans Parish border to
Baton Rouge is known as the
Airline Highway. Although the road fronts the
former terminal of
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and passes near
Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, the name originally referred to the highway's straight route in contrast to that of the winding
Jefferson Highway, which often paralleled the
Mississippi River. Legend has it that former Louisiana Governor
Huey Long advocated the construction of the "airline" highway to provide him with a quick means of access from the capitol building in Baton Rouge to the bars and other pleasure establishments in New Orleans. On Airline Highway in
Jefferson Parish in 1987, Baton Rouge televangelist
Jimmy Swaggart was confronted by rival preacher Marvin Gorman as Swaggart exited the Travel Inn after seeing a
prostitute. This incident increased the area's reputation as a locale of "seedy motels". Partly because of that reputation, the section in Jefferson Parish was later renamed Airline Drive.
Mississippi inspired the song
Cross Road Blues. US 61 is divided from the
Tennessee state line to
U.S. 82 in
Leland. The highway south of
Vicksburg to
Natchez is mostly divided and four-lane; only short sections through
Port Gibson are two lane. From Natchez to the
Louisiana state line, US 61 is now divided and four lanes. The
Mississippi Department of Transportation is now widening the highway between Vicksburg and Leland to four lanes, beginning with replacement of the
Yazoo River bridge at
Redwood in
Warren County. The road is also known as the Blues Highway because it runs through the
Mississippi Delta country, which was an important source of
blues music. Highway 61 has been referenced in music by various artists with roots in the region. The former junction of US 61 and
U.S. 49 in
Clarksdale (North State Street and Desoto Avenue) is designated as the famous crossroads where, according to legend,
Robert Johnson supposedly
sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for mastery of
the blues. US 49 and US 61 are currently routed around the city on a freeway bypass. It was on this stretch of highway that blues singer
Bessie Smith died as a result of a car crash on September 26, 1937. Like
Route 66 in the Western U.S., the iconic US 61 sign is so strongly identified with the Clarksdale area that it is used to market different products and services. US 61 is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.
Tennessee US 61 enters
Memphis from
Walls as South 3rd Street in South Memphis, continues north to E.H. Crump Boulevard, then turns west, joining
US 64,
US 70,
US 78 and
US 79, then joins
I-55 as they cross the
Mississippi River to
West Memphis, a distance of approximately .
Arkansas US 61 runs through the state for from West Memphis to just north of
Blytheville, near the
Missouri border. The route enters
Arkansas in a concurrency with
I-55 and
US 64,
US 70,
US 78 and
US 79 near
West Memphis. The route skirts the northwest edge of the city, briefly meeting
Interstate 40 before continuing north with I-55 and US 64. US 61 overlaps I-55 until an area near
Turrell, when US 61 branches east but continues to run parallel to I-55. Southbound US 61 appears disconnected after the reconstruction of the
I-555/
US 63 interchange in the early 2000s. The old alignment of US 61 between West Memphis and Turrell is currently signed as
Arkansas Highway 77. The route runs through many small towns in
Mississippi County, and becomes a city street in
Osceola. Continuing north, the route crosses over I-55, south of Blytheville. In the city, US 61 becomes South Division Street until crossing
Main Street (AR 18). The route runs north through the rest of Blytheville and beyond until a junction with
AR 150 near
Yarbro. After this junction, the route continues due north to Missouri.
Missouri US 61 enters Missouri south of
Steele, passing under
a concrete arch that was constructed by the
Mississippi County,
Arkansas highway department in 1924. The alignment of the highway is closely followed by
I-55 between there and the
St. Louis area, with portions of the two highways overlapping. Between
Howardville and
Sikeston, US 61 overlaps with
US 62. At Sikeston, US 61 also meets
US 60. Crossing
Route 32 at "one of the oldest
French Colonial settlements west of the Mississippi River (1735)",
Ste. Genevieve, the road continues through Ste. Genevieve County. The highway then turns northwest and meets
US 67 at
Festus. The two highways overlap until separating in the St. Louis area in
Ladue, where US 61 meets
I-64 and
US 40. While in the St. Louis area, US 61 is on
Lindbergh Boulevard, which goes by the name of Kirkwood Road while in that municipality. After meeting I-64 and US 40, US 61 turns west with them and its overlap with the
Avenue of the Saints begins. At
Wentzville, the overlap with I-64 and US 40 ends when it meets
I-70, with the former ending at I-70. It continues in a general northwesterly route, meeting
US 54 at
Bowling Green and
US 36 and
I-72 at
Hannibal, an intersection which is I-72's western terminus. Northwest of Hannibal, US 61 meets
US 24 and the two overlap until they separate at
Taylor. US 61 continues north until near
Wayland, where the highway turns east at
Route 27 and the overlap with the Avenue of the Saints ends. Shortly before leaving Missouri, US 61 meets
US 136 and the two overlap until entering
Iowa. US 61 in Missouri was formerly known as
Route 9. US 61 runs along the western side of the Mississippi River between
Memphis, Tennessee, and
Dubuque, Iowa, and therefore never enters the state of
Illinois.
Iowa over the
Mississippi River. US 61 enters Iowa overlapped with US 136 near
Keokuk. They separate in Keokuk and US 61 turns north there and meets
US 218 in northwestern Keokuk. They overlap for , then US 218 turns northwest. US 61 goes north until crossing
Iowa 2 and becomes a four-lane
freeway bypass around
Fort Madison. US 61 then turns northeast and meets
US 34 in
Burlington. The highway goes north and overlaps
Iowa 92 from
Grandview to
Muscatine. At Muscatine, the highway turns east to go towards the
Quad Cities. At
Davenport, US 61 follows
I-280 and
I-80 around Davenport and meets Business 61. After I-80, the highway turns back north as a freeway until
De Witt, which is where it meets
US 30. It continues north from there to Dubuque as an
expressway except for a freeway section in the
Maquoketa area. The highway joins with
US 151 about south of
Dubuque. US 61 and US 151 are joined at the
Southwest Arterial in Dubuque by
US 52, which separates in
Key West. Also in Dubuque, a short connecting highway links US 61 and US 151 with
US 20. Together, US 61 and US 151 continue through Dubuque, where they cross the
Mississippi River and enter Wisconsin via the
Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge. A four-lane freeway bypass of
Fort Madison was completed and opened to traffic in November 2011. A project to widen a segment between the Louisa–Muscatine county line near
Letts and the south junction of Iowa 92 near
Grandview to a four-lane expressway was completed in December 2017. Construction on widening US-61 to a divided highway is under way between
Burlington and
Mediapolis. The remaining segments between Iowa 92 and Mediapolis, and between the northern end of the
Keokuk bypass and the Missouri state line have not been programmed yet by the Iowa DOT.
Wisconsin {{wide image|US 14-61 Round about in La Crosse.jpg|700px|US 14-61
roundabout in
La Crosse|45%|right On the opposite bank of the Mississippi, US 61 and US 151 enter
Grant County, with US 61 going north through Wisconsin about to
La Crosse. US 151 separates from US 61 at
Dickeyville, with US 61 proceeding through
Lancaster,
Fennimore, and
Boscobel. At
Readstown US 61 and US 14 join and proceed together to La Crosse. In 2004, a new two-lane
Mississippi River Bridge opened in La Crosse, creating a four-lane highway from downtown La Crosse to the
Minnesota state line. The new bridge brings traffic into La Crosse, and is located just south of the old Cass Street Bridge which continues to be used by traffic heading towards
Minnesota.
Minnesota from Minnesota's
John A. Latsch State Park The four-lane highway continues north to
La Crescent. US 61 follows the Mississippi River through southeast Minnesota through the cities of
Winona,
Lake City, and
Red Wing. It crosses the river at
Hastings using the
Hastings Bridge and joins
US 10 before entering St. Paul. Within the city, the route follows
I-94 for a short distance, and then follows Mounds Boulevard, East 7th Street, and Arcade Street through the east side of St. Paul. The section of US 61 from
La Crescent to
Cottage Grove is officially designated the
Disabled American Veterans Highway. The portion of US 61 north of
Duluth is now part of the Minnesota State Highway system, bearing the designation
MN 61 since 1991. Between the city of
Wyoming and Duluth, the highway has been turned back to local jurisdiction or supplanted by
I-35. ==History==