U.S. Route 61

U.S. Route 61
Route information
Length	1,406.99 mi (2,264.33 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
South end	US 90 in New Orleans, LA
	I-10 in New Orleans, LA; I-20 / US 80 in Vicksburg, MS; I-55 / US 64 / US 70 / US 79 in Memphis, TN; I-40 in West Memphis, AR; I-44 in St. Louis, MO; I-64 / US 40 from Frontenac, MO to Wentzville, MO; I-64 / I-70 / US 40 in Wentzville, MO; I-80 in Davenport, IA; I-90 in La Crescent, MN; I-94 / US 10 / US 12 / US 52 in Saint Paul, MN;
North end	I-35 in Wyoming, MN
Location
States	Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota
Highway system
	United States Numbered Highway System; List; Special; Divided;

U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) is a major United States highway that extends 1,400 miles (2,300 km) between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated the Great River Road for much of its route. As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus in Wyoming, Minnesota, is at an intersection with Interstate 35 (I-35). Until 1991, the highway extended north on what is now Minnesota State Highway 61 (MN 61) through Duluth to the Canada–U.S. border near Grand Portage. Its southern terminus in New Orleans is at an intersection with U.S. Route 90 (US 90). The route was an important south–north connection in the days before the interstate highway system.

The highway is often called the Blues Highway because of its long history with the Blues genre. It is the supposed location where singer-songwriter Robert Johnson made a deal with the Devil for his successes. Other notable songs named for the highway include a blues song recorded in 1957 by Sunnyland Slim; one in 1962 by Johnny Young; and a 1981 song, "61 Highway", by bluesman James "Son" Thomas. To denote US 61's significance in blues music history, there are two markers on the route which are part of the Mississippi Blues Trail: 61 Highway in Vicksburg, Mississippi and Highway 61 Blues in Tunica, Mississippi.[1][2] The road later gave its name to Minnesota native Bob Dylan's album Highway 61 Revisited and to the song of the same name, which imagines all sorts of fantastical events (including World War III) occurring alongside it.

Route description

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 New Orleans to Baton Rouge is known as the Airline Highway. Although the road fronts the 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.[3] 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.[4] 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

The legendary "Crossroads" at Clarksdale inspired the song Cross Road Blues.

US 61 with US 49 and US 278

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 need to be upgraded. From Natchez to the Louisiana state line, US 61 is now divided and four lanes. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is now upgrading 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 bypass. It was on this stretch of highway that blues singer Bessie Smith died as a result of a car accident 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, then joins I-55 as they cross the Mississippi River to West Memphis, a distance of approximately 15 miles (24 km).

Arkansas

US 61 runs through the state for 76 miles (122 km) 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, 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, US 63 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. 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

Bequette-Ribault Historic House
c1789, in Ste. Genevieve, MO

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 the "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. The two highways overlap until separating in the St. Louis area at Ladue, where US 61 meets I-64 and US 40, just north of the junction of US 61 and Old Route 66 (now Route 100), located in Kirkwood, which is referred to locally as "the rock 'n roll crossroads of America". While in the St. Louis area, US 61 is on Lindbergh Boulevard.

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 runs along the western side of the Mississippi River between Memphis, Tennessee, and Dubuque, Iowa, and therefore never enters the state of Illinois.

Iowa

The Dubuque-Wisconsin Bridge 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 6 miles (9.7 km), 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 up with 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 six miles (9.7 km) 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.

The 61 Drive In, one of the few drive-in theaters left in the nation, is located along US 61. The theater is located about five miles (8.0 km) south of Maquoketa, near exit 153 (the Delmar/Lost Nation exit). Another drive-in theater is located outside of Grandview and can be seen from US 61 just north of Grandview.

A four-lane freeway bypass of Fort Madison was completed and opened to traffic in November 2011. A project to upgrade a five-mile (8.0 km) 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 upgrading US-61 to a divided highway is underway 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

On the opposite bank of the Mississippi, US 61 and US 151 enter Grant County, with US 61 going north through Wisconsin about 120 miles (190 km) 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.

The La Crosse West Channel Bridge carrying US 14, US 61 and State Highway 16 across the Mississippi River between La Crescent, Minnesota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin. This is the river's West Channel.

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

Route 61 along the Mississippi River 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 High 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 120 miles (190 km) 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

US 61 once ran 1,714 miles (2,758 km) from New Orleans through Duluth, Minnesota all the way to the Canada–US border. The road has been shortened to 1,400 miles (2,300 km) ending now in the city of Wyoming, Minnesota at an intersection with I-35.

The northern section of US 61 in Minnesota was separated when I-35 was constructed, and decommissioned in 1991.