Arizona U.S. 70 begins in
Globe at a junction with
U.S. Route 60, concurrent with
State Route 77. SR 77 splits off east of town. U.S. 70 then enters the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation and runs southeast for 17 miles (27 km) to
Peridot, where it crosses
Indian Route 9. It has no other highway junctions until
Safford, where it begins a ten-mile (8 km) after crossing the state line, it serves as the southern terminus for
New Mexico State Road 92. U.S. 70 does not have another highway junction for 21 mi (34 km), The road then passes the entrance to
White Sands National Park, and shortly after that passes the southern end of
Holloman Air Force Base. It then turns northbound, and picks up a concurrency with
U.S. 54 upon entering
Alamogordo. On the north end of Alamogordo, US54/US70 intersects the beginning of
U.S. Route 82 near
La Luz. The concurrency with US 54 lasts until
Tularosa, and the highway remains divided until US 70 and US 54 diverge. After splitting off to the northeast, U.S. 70 begins an ascent into the
Sacramento Mountains and enters the
Lincoln National Forest. The road then runs across the
Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation and near the resort town of
Ruidoso. In
Hondo, it begins another concurrency, this time with
U.S. 380. U.S. 70 then bypasses
Roswell to the northwest, together with
U.S. 285. U.S. 70 then heads off to the northeast, running through
Portales and
Clovis before entering Texas at
Texico. From mile 170.6 to mile 197.25 on US 70 the speed limit is posted at 75 mph (120 km/h) across White Sands Missile Range. (26.6-mile stretch) just slightly longer than a standard marathon. US 70 is one of only two non-interstate roadways in New Mexico to receive a speed limit of 75 miles per hour (U.S. 285 between Roswell and Vaughn is also posted at 75 miles per hour).
Texas U.S. 70 enters Texas joins with
U.S. 60 and
U.S. 84. U.S. 60 splits off to the northeast in Farwell, just over the state line. U.S. 70/84 then angle southeast to
Muleshoe, where the two routes split. U.S. 70 heads due east, meeting
U.S. 385 at
Springlake, and having an interchange with
Interstate 27 in
Plainview. north of the state line, in the town of
Davidson. It then has an interchange (Exit 5) with
I-44, serving as the southern terminus of the
H.E. Bailey Turnpike, west of the town of
Randlett. U.S. 70 then passes south of
Waurika. U.S. 70 then becomes a four-lane divided highway near
Wilson and runs through
Lone Grove before entering the city of
Ardmore, where it briefly heads south on
Interstate 35, bypassing the central business district. US-70 serves as the southern terminus of
U.S. 177 in
Madill. U.S. 70 then heads to
Durant, where it has an interchange with the
U.S. 69/
75 freeway. (13 km) west of
De Queen, and crosses through the north part of the town where it meets the combined
U.S. 71/
U.S. 59 and overlaps with it for . It then heads northeast to
Dierks, where it begins a concurrency with
U.S. 278. U.S. 70 then heads east-northeast to
Hot Springs, which it bypasses to the south on a freeway alignment shared with
U.S. 270. U.S. 70 then heads east to join with
Interstate 30 at Exit 111 south of
Benton. The two highways run concurrently to the state capital,
Little Rock, where U.S. 70 splits off from I-30 at
Interstate 430 at Exit 129. U.S. 70 follows Interstate Highway 430 for 1 mile to Exit 1 (Stagecoach Road), where it overlaps Arkansas Highway 5 heading northeast into Little Rock, becoming Colonel Glenn Rd at the intersection with Arkansas Highway 300. Continuing northeast through Little Rock, U.S. 70 turns east again at Roosevelt Road, before turning north through downtown Little Rock as Broadway Street, with during which it crosses
Interstate 630 before crossing the
Arkansas River into
North Little Rock. It then crosses Interstate Highway 30, and serves as the northern terminus of
U.S. Route 165. U.S. 70 then crosses
Interstate 440 and leaves the Little Rock area, paralleled by
I-40.
Tennessee . (2008) US 70 enters
Tennessee, as well as the city of
Memphis, concurrent with
Interstate 55,
US 61,
US 64, and
US 79. At exit 12, the northernmost exit on I-55 in the state, I-55 turns south; however, the four US routes continue east onto the at-grade Crump Boulevard. US 61 splits from the concurrency soon afterward, heading south along 3rd Street to exit the city for
Walls, Mississippi and points south. US 64, 70 and 79, however, remain overlapped through downtown Memphis, following Danny Thomas Boulevard north to Union Avenue, Union east to East Parkway (briefly overlapping with
U.S. Route 51 along the western portion of Union), then East Parkway north to Summer Avenue, where the triple concurrency turns east. Near the city line, US 64/70/79 interchanges with
Interstate 40 at exit 12A. Past the Memphis city limits in the suburb of
Bartlett, U.S. 64 separates from U.S. 70/79, taking a more southerly routing through the state. U.S. 70 and US 79, meanwhile, head to the northeast, paralleling I-40 to
Brownsville. East of the city, U.S. 79 breaks from U.S. 70, following U.S. 70 Alternate out of the city to the northeast. U.S. 70, now concurrent with only its unsigned designation of
State Route 1, heads east, interchanging with I-40 at exit 66 before entering
Jackson. The route continues northeastward from the city, meeting I-40 once more at exit 87 just outside the city limits. At
Huntingdon, U.S. 70 Alternate rejoins US 70 as the main route turns to the east toward
New Johnsonville, where it crosses the
Tennessee River. From the river, U.S. 70 continues eastward through
Waverly and
Dickson to the
Nashville area. Southwest of the city near
Pegram,
U.S. Route 70S splits off from U.S. 70; however, U.S. 70 now continues to be signed as U.S. 70 instead of U.S. 70N, as it was formerly. U.S. 70 follows I-40 into Nashville, meeting the concurrent I-40/
I-65 immediately west of the city center. The route turns south, acting as
collector/distributor roads for I-40/I-65 for two blocks before joining
U.S. 431 and U.S. 70S on a brief overlap. At an intersection with the concurrent
U.S. 31/
U.S. 41, U.S. 431 and U.S. 70S split from U.S. 70. U.S. 70 progresses eastward, roughly paralleling the
Cumberland River to an interchange with
State Route 155 east of downtown. U.S. 70, now paired with
State Route 24, heads east out of Nashville to
Lebanon, where
U.S. Route 70N breaks from the main US 70. US 70 heads southeast, passing through
Smithville before rejoining U.S. 70S in
Sparta and U.S. 70N to the east in
Crossville. From Crossville eastward to the
North Carolina state line, U.S. 70 closely parallels I-40, passing through the
Roane County cities of
Rockwood and
Kingston. At
Dixie Lee Junction in eastern
Loudon County U.S. 70 intersects
U.S. 11 (also known as the
Lee Highway), and the two highways are concurrent from the junction intersection eastward through
Farragut and into
Knoxville. In Farragut and west of downtown Knoxville U.S. 70 carries the name
Kingston Pike. Neyland Drive carries U.S. 70 along the Tennessee River to a junction with Hall of Fame Drive. On the east side of Knoxville it becomes concurrent with
U.S. 25W and
U.S. 11E and carries the name Asheville Highway from Knoxville to the community of
Trentville in eastern
Knox County. At Trentville, U.S. 11E separates from the concurrency. U.S. 25W remains overlapped with U.S. 70 to
Newport, where U.S. 70 is joined by
U.S. 25E, which becomes
US 25. U.S. 25 and U.S. 70 remain concurrent into
North Carolina.
North Carolina US 70 enters North Carolina as a two-lane road in concurrency with
US 25. Going southeast, it widens to four-lane near
Marshall, merging farther down with
I-26/
US 19/
US 23 going into
Asheville. In the downtown area, it breaks from the US 19/23 freeway onto city streets and through
Beaucatcher Tunnel as it goes east; paralleling north of
I-40, going through the cities
Marion,
Morganton,
Hickory,
Conover and
Statesville. From there, it goes southeast to
Salisbury, where it starts to parallel
I-85 north through
Lexington,
Thomasville,
High Point and
Greensboro, in concurrency with
US 29. After some time in concurrency with US 29 through
Thomasville , it exits off with
NC 68 and goes north from there. After about 11 miles in concurrency with NC 68, it exits off at an intersection with Wendover Avenue. Now using the name Wendover Avenue, it heads in a northeasterly direction towards central
Greensboro and becomes a freeway. After intersecting Westover Terrace, it becomes a partial expressway, intersects US 29 and US 220, and heads east towards Burlington. It downgrades to a two lane rural road heading out of Greensboro, and again parallels north of
I-40/
I-85. Entering Alamance County, it expands to a four-lane
expressway through the city of
Burlington, then returns to 2 lanes through
Mebane, Efland and
Hillsborough. It joins I-85 briefly in Eno, then veers southeast through the downtown areas of both
Durham and
Raleigh. After a brief overlap with
I-40 near
Garner, it continues in a southeasterly direction, briefly concurrent with
Interstate 42, as it goes through or bypasses the cities of
Clayton,
Smithfield,
Selma,
Goldsboro and
Kinston. Near and through
New Bern, US 70 briefly becomes a
freeway but returns to
expressway grade after it bypasses
Havelock. After passing through
Morehead City and
Beaufort, it drops back to a two-lane rural road as it travels close along the
Core Sound. After passing the southern terminus of
NC 12 (which connects to the
Outer Banks), near
Sealevel, US 70 ends its seven state tour in the community of
Atlantic. ==History==