U.S. Route 60 (US 60) is a part of the

United States Numbered Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that runs from

Brenda, Arizona Brenda is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in La Paz County, Arizona, United States. It is located approximately east of Quartzsite and northeast of Interstate 10 on U.S. Route 60. Its population was 466 as of the ...

, east to

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. In the state of

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, US 60 is a main east–west highway that runs through the southern part of the state, from the Oklahoma border to the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

border.

Route description

US 60 enters Missouri from Oklahoma south of

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

and south of

I-44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

. It is a two-lane highway. It intersects Route 43 at a roundabout south of Seneca. Next, US 60 intersects I-49 exit 24 which is concurrent with

US 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Intersta ...

in Neosho. US 60 shares a concurrency with Route 59. Route 86 has a brief concurrency with US 60 and Route 59. US 60 will turn east and leave Route 59 at an interchange before passing through Granby. In Monett, US 60 intersects Route 37. After leaving Monett, US 60 from there to Republic has alternate passing lanes. US 60 bypasses

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

to the south. Then, it passes through Marionville and enters the Springfield metropolitan area and picks up a concurrency with Route 413 before entering

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Met ...

. In Republic, US 60 becomes a four-lane

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

and remains a four lane for until it reaches Charleston. US 60 enters Springfield and the concurrency with Route 413 ends. US 60 merges onto the

James River Freeway James River Freeway is a freeway located largely on the south side of Springfield, Missouri. Its western terminus is at Interstate 44 (I-44) north of Brookline and its eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 65 (US 65) in southeastern Springfie ...

where it has a brief concurrency with

US 160 U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizo ...

and Route 13. US 60 intersects

US 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of ...

known as the "Schoolcraft Freeway" before leaving Springfield and the James River Freeway ends. Between Springfield and Willow Springs, US 60 passes through various communities that are accessible by exits. US 60 also parallels the BNSF Railway tracks. US 60 intersects Route 125 at a stoplight. It passes through Rogersville and Fordland before leaving Springfield metropolitan area US 60 passes through Seymour. US 60 has a brief concurrency with Route 5 in Mansfield. US 60 passes through Mountain Grove. US 60 passes through Norwood and Cabool. Then, US 60 picks up a concurrency with

US 63 U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south United States Highway primarily in the Midwestern and Southern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at Interstate 20 (I-20) in Ruston, Louisiana; the northern terminus is at US&nbs ...

east of Cabool. US 60 passes through Willow Springs where US 63 departs from US 60 at a freeway-to-freeway interchange east of Willow Springs. At this point, US 60 no longer parallel the BNSF railway tracks. US 60 passes through Mountain View where the divided highway briefly ends. While passing through Mountain View, US 60 has left turn lanes and has a concurrency with Route 17. After leaving Mountain View, US 60 goes back to a divided highway. US 60 passes through

Birch Tree A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

where it intersects Route 99. Then it passes through Winona where it has a concurrency with Route 19. US 60 passes through Chicopee, Van Buren and Ellsinore. Next, US 60 has a concurrency with

US 67 U.S. Route 67 is a major north–south U.S. highway which extends for 1,560 miles (2,511 km) in the Central United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the United States-Mexico border in Presidio, Texas, where it continues ...

until it enters

Poplar Bluff Poplar Bluff is a medium city in Butler County in Southeast Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar B ...

as it leaves the

Ozark Plateau The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...

. In

, US 60 will separate from US 67 at a cloverleaf interchange. After leaving Poplar Bluff, US 60 intersects Route 51 north of Fisk. Next, US 60 passes through Dexter then intersects Route 114 east of Morehouse. US 60 bypasses Morehouse US 60 then enters

Sikeston Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the state of Missouri, United States. It is situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way ...

where it intersects

US 61 U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designat ...

before intersecting

I-55 Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The h ...

exit 66 and

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

exit 1 at a cloverleaf interchange. I-57 begins here and US 60 picks up a concurrency with I-57. In Charleston, US 60 will leave I-57 at exit 12 and has a concurrency with

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canada ...

and Route 77. At this point, US 60 becomes a two-lane highway. US 60 and 62 passes through Wilson City where Route 77 departs from US 60 and US 62. US 60 will leave Missouri crossing Cairo Mississippi River Bridge along with US 62 into Illinois.

History

Before the U.S. Highway system was created, US 60 was Route 16. On May 17, 1946, William Jefferson Blythe, Jr., the biological father of

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, died on US 60 in a car accident after he was tossed out of his vehicle and drowned in a ditch. US_60_in_Mountain_Grove,_MO_(facing_west)

There have been several improvements on US 60. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) completed the process of upgrading of US 60 from Willow Springs to Van Buren to a four-lane highway (two lanes in each direction) on July 9, 2010, marking the completion of a four-lane highway from Republic to Charleston, a total of approximately . East of US 60 and

interchange in Springfield, there used to be railroad crossings over the BNSF Railway tracks that have been replaced with overpasses over the railroad tracks. That project included redesigning the US 60 and US 65 interchange. It was completed in 2012. In 2016, US 60 through Rogersville was converted into a freeway. Between Springfield and Rogersville, the junction of Route NN/ J was converted into an interchange.

Future

The junction of US 60 and Route 125 west of Rogersville is currently a at-grade intersection with a stoplight. There are plans to convert it into an interchange. US 60 from

is planned to be upgraded to

. I-57 currently ends at

in Sikeston. I-57 will then continue south following

down to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Major intersections

References