U.S. Route 60

U.S. Route 60
Name	U.S. Route 60
Type	U.S. Highway
Length mi	~2,670
Established	1926
Direction	A=West
Terminus A	Los Angeles, California
Direction B	East
Terminus B	Virginia Beach, Virginia
States	California; Arizona; New Mexico; Texas; Oklahoma; Missouri; Kentucky; Virginia; West Virginia (historically)

U.S. Route 60 is an east–west United States Numbered Highway established in 1926 that traverses the southern and central United States from the Pacific Coast at Los Angeles to the Atlantic Coast at Virginia Beach. The highway links major metropolitan areas, ports, industrial centers, and historic towns while connecting with Interstate Highways, state routes, and federal corridors. It has served as a backbone for regional transportation, commerce, tourism, and cultural exchange across multiple states.

Route description

U.S. Route 60 begins in Los Angeles and proceeds through Pasadena, passing near Long Beach and following corridors that intersect Interstate 10 and Interstate 5. In California the route traverses urban sections and desert approaches toward Arizona, linking with Phoenix-area arteries and crossing landscapes near Grand Canyon National Park access routes and Petrified Forest National Park corridors. Entering New Mexico, the highway connects Albuquerque suburbs, ties to Santa Fe routes, and provides access toward Texas Panhandle crossings and connections with U.S. Route 84 and U.S. Route 285 near regional hubs. Across Texas, the highway navigates near Amarillo and links with U.S. Route 66 historic alignments and railroad corridors like those of Burlington Northern Santa Fe.

Continuing into Oklahoma, the route intersects Tulsa-area highways and urban beltways, crossing the Arkansas River and joining corridors toward Missouri where it serves Springfield, Missouri and intersects Interstate 44 and U.S. Route 63. In Missouri it parallels the Missouri River in places and provides access to sites like Mark Twain National Forest and Branson, Missouri entertainment districts. Crossing into Kentucky, it traverses the Cumberland River basin, passes near Lexington, Kentucky and links to Blue Grass Airport access roads and horse-country corridors, while intersecting with Interstate 64 and Interstate 75 near metropolitan areas.

In West Virginia and Virginia the highway negotiates Appalachian foothills, follows historic river valleys such as the Kanawha River and James River watersheds, and serves cities like Charleston, West Virginia and Roanoke, Virginia. Approaching the Atlantic, the route moves through Norfolk metropolitan sprawl, crossing major bridges and connecting to coastal routes toward Virginia Beach and the Atlantic Ocean frontage at municipal and federal ports.

History

The 1926 designation of U.S. Route 60 was part of the original United States Numbered Highway System plan influenced by figures such as Benton McKaye-era conservation advocates and planners like Thomas H. MacDonald. Early routing debates involved prominent transportation leaders and state highway departments from Virginia to California, with alignments altered by economic priorities during the Great Depression and federal investment programs under the New Deal like the Works Progress Administration and Public Works Administration.

During the mid-20th century, the growth of the Interstate Highway System championed by Dwight D. Eisenhower and implemented by the Federal Highway Administration reshaped U.S. Route 60 alignments, leading to bypasses around cities such as Lexington, Kentucky, Springfield, Missouri, and Amarillo, Texas. War-time logistics in World War II involved coordination with agencies like the War Department and shipping routes at ports including Port of Los Angeles and Port of Norfolk. Postwar suburbanization, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, and civil infrastructure funding influenced the highway’s corridor upgrades, interchange construction with Interstate 10, Interstate 40, and Interstate 64, and safety improvements funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Environmental review processes in later decades engaged agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and state departments of transportation amid controversies tied to preservationists working with organizations like the Sierra Club and heritage groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Major intersections

U.S. Route 60 intersects numerous major highways and facilities including junctions with Interstate 10 in California, Interstate 17-adjacent corridors near Phoenix, and connections with Interstate 40 near Albuquerque. In the Texas and Oklahoma segments it meets Interstate 27 approaches and crosses Interstate 44 in Missouri near Springfield and Joplin, with further interchanges at Interstate 64 in Kentucky and Interstate 75 near Lexington, Kentucky. Eastward, major crossings include Interstate 81 around Roanoke, Virginia, Interstate 264 near Norfolk, and coastal connections toward Virginia Beach and the Virginia Beach Convention Center area. The route also interfaces with federal and state routes like U.S. Route 66 historic corridors, U.S. Route 84, U.S. Route 63, and state highways administered by departments such as the California Department of Transportation, Arizona Department of Transportation, and Virginia Department of Transportation.

Special routes

Spurs, business loops, and alternate alignments have existed in places including Los Angeles suburbs, Amarillo, Springfield, Missouri, Lexington, Kentucky, and Charleston, West Virginia. Historic alignments preserved as Business route (road)s and spur designations provide access to downtowns and tourist districts like Branson entertainment strips and Bluegrass equestrian areas. Many special routes were superseded by Interstate corridors or reclassified by state legislatures and agencies such as the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Missouri Department of Transportation; preservation efforts by local chambers of commerce and historical commissions often retain former alignments as scenic byways or heritage trails promoted by tourism bureaus and organizations like National Scenic Byways Program.

Cultural and economic significance

U.S. Route 60 has influenced cultural landscapes from the Dust Bowl migration routes and Route 66-era tourism crossovers to contemporary music, literature, and film references by creators in Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York City. The corridor supported industrial supply chains linking the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Hampton Roads, agricultural distribution from Kansas-adjacent plains into eastern markets, and energy transport near fields serviced by companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron. Local economies along the route include hospitality in Branson, Missouri, equine industries in Lexington, Kentucky, coal and chemical sectors in Charleston, West Virginia, and defense and shipbuilding employment in Norfolk.

Heritage tourism highlights include access to sites connected with historical figures and events like Daniel Boone country routes, Civil War battlefields reachable from corridor towns, and cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution-affiliated museums in regional capitals. Nonprofit organizations, state tourism offices, and metropolitan planning organizations coordinate initiatives to balance economic development with conservation, leveraging federal programs like the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act for corridor improvements.

Category:United States Numbered Highways