U.S. Route 63

U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a 1,286-mile (2,070 km), 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 2 eight miles (13 km) west of Ashland, Wisconsin.

U.S. Route 63 marker

U.S. Route 63

US 63 highlighted in red
Route information
Length1,286 mi (2,070 km)
ExistedNovember 11, 1926 (November 11, 1926)[1]–present
Major junctions
South end I-20 / US 167 at Ruston, LA
Major intersections
North end US 2 west of Ashland, WI
Location
CountryUnited States
StatesLouisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Highway system
← US 62→ US 64

Route description

Louisiana
Main article: U.S. Route 63 in Louisiana

US 63 runs concurrently with US 167 for its entire route in Louisiana, from Ruston north, to Junction City, at the Arkansas state line, a distance of 35 miles (56 km).

Arkansas
Main article: U.S. Route 63 in Arkansas

U.S. 63 enters into Arkansas from Louisiana concurrent with US 167 in Junction City. Just a few miles into the state, the two highways run on the eastern edge of El Dorado as an expressway. US 167 splits here, traveling towards Hampton. US 63 bypasses the town of Warren, crossing US 270. US 63 passes through the rural Cleveland County, then enters into Jefferson County.

US 63 at the southern terminus of I-530 in Pine Bluff

In Jefferson County, US 63 serves the city of Pine Bluff. US 63 bypasses the city, running on the last 3 miles of I-530. Also in Pine Bluff, the highway overlaps with US 65 and US 79. US 63 runs northeast with US 79 until Stuttgart, where the highway runs north to Hazen. Just north of Hazen, US 63 overlaps with I-40 to Brinkley. In Brinkley, US 63 begins an overlap with US 49 north to Jonesboro. US 63 leaves US 49 and follows I-555 until I-555 terminates, together serving as a bypass for southern Jonesboro. In Hoxie, US 63 intersects with US 67 (Future I-57). Northwest of here near Portia the highway overlaps with US 412.

In Imboden US 62 joins this overlap. In Hardy, US 63 leaves the two highways. In Mammoth Spring, US 63 crosses into Missouri, traveling to West Plains.

US Highway 62 joins US 63 and 412 in Imboden

While historically there were many non-concurrencies on US 63, many of those have been resolved. In 2016, US 63 from Jonesboro (including the US 49 concurrency) to Turrell was designated as I-555. As a result, US 63 was rerouted to run concurrently with US 49 from Brinkley to Jonesboro. US 63 then runs concurrently with US 49 and I-555 until Southwest Drive in Jonesboro, where it then continues northwest alone to its concurrency with US 412 at Portia, just northwest of Walnut Ridge.

Missouri
Main article: U.S. Route 63 in Missouri
Jefferson City Bridge

The highway passes south-to-north through Missouri, from Arkansas to Iowa, serving cities such as Rolla, Jefferson City, Columbia, Moberly, Macon, and Kirksville. Notable routes that are intersected include US 60 in Howell County, I-44 at Rolla, US 50 (with which it shares a concurrency into Jefferson City south of the Missouri River until it reaches the junction with US 54), US 54 (which it overlaps in Jefferson City from the junction with US 50 and crosses the Missouri River with on the Jefferson City Bridge), I-70 at Columbia, US 24 at Moberly, US 36 at Macon, and US 136 at Lancaster.

Stonehenge next to US 63

US 63 in Missouri was Route 7 from 1922 to 1926.

Iowa
Main article: U.S. Route 63 in Iowa

US 63 passes south-to-north through Iowa. It enters the state from Missouri south of Bloomfield. Between Ottumwa and Oskaloosa, the highway overlaps Iowa Highway 163. This segment is an expressway which connects Des Moines with Burlington, with freeway bypasses of Ottumwa and Eddyville. Near Malcom, US 63 meets I-80. Only a few miles later, it joins US 6 westbound for several miles near Grinnell, then goes north again. At Toledo, it intersects US 30 and at Waterloo, US 63 meets US 20. An expressway section opened in October 2012, completing the four-lane link between Waterloo and New Hampton.[2] The highway enters Minnesota just north of Chester.

Minnesota
Main article: U.S. Route 63 in Minnesota

US 63 enters Minnesota from Iowa south of Spring Valley. After meeting I-90, US 63 serves the local airport and then intersects with US 52. In this area, US 63 is an expressway, but plans are to upgrade the highway to a freeway between Stewartville and the US 52 interchange. In 2014, US 63 was rerouted around downtown Rochester, running concurrently with US 52 to 75th St NW, jutting back to the east to the existing route. North of Rochester, the highway meets US 61 at Lake City. From there, the two routes run concurrently to Red Wing, where US 63 turns north and crosses the Mississippi River to enter Wisconsin over the Eisenhower Bridge.

The Minnesota section of US 63 is defined as Routes 59 and 161 in Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.115(92).[3][4]

Wisconsin
Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 63 in Wisconsin
KML is not from Wikidata

US 63 enters Wisconsin south of Hager City. Near Baldwin, US 63 intersects I-94. The highway briefly overlaps near Spooner with US 53. At Trego, they separate and US 63 runs southwest to northeast, passing through Hayward and Cable most notably, and ending near Ashland at US 2. According to a 2013 law, the road is referred to as the "Gaylord Nelson Highway" throughout Wisconsin. [5]

History

Though US 63 as a stand-alone highway had always ended at Turrell, Arkansas, before the 1999 extension, in the past it was concurrent with US 61/US 64/US 70/US 79 (and later I-55) on into Memphis, Tennessee, over the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge. Unlike the 1999 extension, this concurrency to Memphis was generally in line with the rest of US 63. Though some maps continued to show this concurrency until 1999, Arkansas had not recognized US 63 south of Turrell for many years, since at least the 1960s.

Major intersections
Louisiana
I-20 / US 167 in Ruston. US 63/US 167 travels concurrently to El Dorado, Arkansas.
Arkansas
US 82 in El Dorado
Future I-69 south of Warren
US 278 in Warren
I-530 / US 65 / US 79 in Pine Bluff. I-530/US 63/US 65 travels concurrently through the city. US 63/US 79 travels concurrently to Stuttgart.
I-530 / US 65 / US 425 in Pine Bluff
US 165 in Stuttgart
US 70 in Hazen. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
I-40 in Hazen. The highways travel concurrently to Brinkley.
US 49 in Brinkley. The highways travel concurrently to Jonesboro.
US 64 in Fair Oaks
I-555 in Jonesboro. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
Future I-57 / US 67 in Walnut Ridge. The highways travel concurrently to Hoxie.
US 412 southeast of Portia. The highways travel concurrently to Hardy.
US 62 in Imboden. The highways travel concurrently to Hardy.
Missouri
US 160 in West Plains. The highways travel concurrently through the city.
US 60 southeast of Willow Springs. The highways travel concurrently to southeast of Cabool.
I-44 in Rolla
US 50 north of Westphalia. The highways travel concurrently to Jefferson City.
US 50 / US 54 in Jefferson City. US 54/US 63 travels concurrently through the city.
I-70 / US 40 in Columbia
US 24 in Moberly
US 36 in Macon
US 136 south-southeast of Glenwood. The highways travel concurrently to Lancaster.
Iowa
US 34 in Ottumwa. The highways travel concurrently to east of Ottumwa.
I-80 south of Malcom
US 6 north of Malcom. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of Malcom.
US 30 in Toledo
US 20 in Waterloo
US 218 in Waterloo.
US 18 west of Fredericksburg. The highways travel concurrently to New Hampton.
Minnesota
I-90 in Stewartville
US 52 in Rochester
US 14 in Rochester
US 61 in Lake City. The highways travel concurrently to Red Wing.
Wisconsin
US 10 west of Ellsworth. The highways travel concurrently to east of Ellsworth.
I-94 in Baldwin
US 12 in Baldwin. The highways travel concurrently through the village.
US 8 in Turtle Lake. The highways travel concurrently through the village.
US 53 north-northeast of Spooner. The highways travel concurrently to Trego.
US 2 west of Ashland

[6]

See also

Special routes
Main article: Special routes of U.S. Route 63

References
  1. Bureau of Public Roads & American Association of State Highway Officials (November 11, 1926). United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials (Map). 1:7,000,000. Washington, DC: United States Geological Survey. OCLC 32889555. Retrieved November 7, 2013 – via Wikimedia Commons.
  2. Loecher, Ron (October 10, 2012). "Southbound US 63 Traffic Patterns to Change Monday Afternoon" (Press release). Iowa Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  3. "161.114, 2018 Minnesota Statutes". Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. November 2, 1920. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  4. "161.115, 2006 Minnesota Statutes". Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  5. "WI Stat § 84.1051 (2013 through Act 380)". Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  6. Rand McNally (2014). The Road Atlas (Walmart ed.). Chicago: Rand McNally. pp. 10–11, 39, 44, 55, 59, 114. ISBN 978-0-528-00771-2.
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