U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is a , north–south

United States Highway 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 ...

primarily in the

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

and

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. The southern terminus of the route is at

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Reeves County, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. B ...

(I-20) in

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 population was 22,166. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Ruston is the prin ...

; the northern terminus is at US 2 west of

Ashland, Wisconsin Ashland is a city in Ashland County, Wisconsin, Ashland and Bayfield County, Wisconsin, Bayfield counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat of Ashland County. The city is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon ...

Route description

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 .

Arkansas

U.S. 63 enters into Arkansas from Louisiana concurrent with

US 167 U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/ U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louisiana Highway 14. It goes through th ...

in Junction City. Just a few miles into the state, the two highways run on the eastern edge of

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

as an expressway. US 167 splits here, traveling towards

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

. US 63 bypasses the town of

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

, crossing

US 278 U.S. Route 278 (US 278) is a parallel route of US 78. It currently runs for from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, to Wickes, Arkansas at US 71/ US 59, passing through five states in the process. Landmarks along its route incl ...

. US 63 passes through the rural Cleveland County, then enters into Jefferson County. 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 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 I ...

and

US 79 U.S. Route 79 (US 79) is a United States highway in the Southern United States. The route is officially considered and signed as a north–south highway, but its path is actually more of a diagonal northeast–southwest highway. The highway's n ...

. US 63 runs northeast with US 79 until

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, where the highway runs north to Hazen. Just north of Hazen, US 63 overlaps with

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west transcontinental Interstate Highway in the southeastern and southwestern portions of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and ...

Brinkley Brinkley may refer to: People * Brinkley (surname) Places * Brinkley, Arkansas, U.S., a city ** Brinkley School District, the city's school district ** Brinkley High School, the city's high school * Brinkley, Nottinghamshire, England, a haml ...

. In Brinkley, US 63 begins an overlap with US 49 north to Jonesboro. US 63 leaves US 49 and follows

I-555 Interstate 555 (I-555) is an Interstate Highway connecting I-55 in Turrell with Highway 91 in Jonesboro. It provides a complete freeway corridor between Jonesboro, Arkansas's fifth-largest city, and Memphis, Tennessee. Formerly kno ...

until I-555 terminates, together serving as a bypass for southern Jonesboro. In Hoxie, US 63 intersects 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 Presidio is a c ...

(Future

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in two segments. It runs through Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois. I-57 parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route north of I-55. The Interstate ...

). Northwest of here near

Portia Portia may refer to: Biology * ''Portia'' (spider), a genus of jumping spiders *Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia *''Anaea troglodyta'' or Portia, a brush-footed butterfly Other uses *Portia (given name), the history and usage of the give ...

the highway overlaps with

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of th ...

. In Imboden

US 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) is an east–west United States Highway in the southern and northeastern United States. It runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian bo ...

joins this overlap. In

Hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, ...

, US 63 leaves the two highways. In

Mammoth Spring Mammoth Spring is a large, first magnitude karst spring that arises in the Ozark Plateau within the state of Arkansas. It is the largest spring in Arkansas and the third-largest spring within the Ozark Plateau region behind Big Spring and Gr ...

, US 63 crosses into

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, traveling to West Plains. While historically there were many non-concurrencies on US 63, many of those have been resolved. In 2016, US 63 from Jonesboro (including its original US 49 concurrency from Red Wolf Blvd. to Southwest Drive) to Turrell was designated as I-555. As a result, US 63 was rerouted to run concurrently with US 49 from

to Jonesboro. US 63 then runs concurrently with I-555 until it ends west of Jonesboro, where it then continues northwest alone to its concurrency with US 412 at Portia, just northwest of Walnut Ridge.

Missouri

The highway passes south-to-north through Missouri, from Arkansas to Iowa, serving cities such as Rolla,

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

, Columbia, Moberly, Macon, and

Kirksville Kirksville is the county seat of and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri, United States. Located in Benton Township, Adair County, Missouri, Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirk ...

. Notable routes that are intersected include US 60 in Howell County,

I-44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is an 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 Falls, T ...

at Rolla, US 50 (with which it shares a concurrency into Jefferson City south of the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

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 The Senator Roy Blunt Bridge is a twin continuous through arch truss bridge over the Missouri River at Jefferson City, Missouri, which carry U.S. Routes 54 (US 54) and 63 between Cole County and Callaway County. Before being officially ...

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

at Columbia, US 24 at Moberly, US 36 at Macon, and US 136 at

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

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

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 Iowa Highway 163 (Iowa 163) is a state highway (Iowa), state highway that travels from U.S. Highway 69 (Iowa), U.S. Highway 69 in Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines to US 63 (IA), US 63 near Oskaloosa, Iowa, Oskaloosa. The Iowa Department of Transpor ...

. This segment is an expressway which connects

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

with Burlington, with freeway bypasses of Ottumwa and Eddyville. Near Malcom, US 63 meets

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

. Only a few miles later, it joins US 6 westbound for several miles near Grinnell, then goes north again. At

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

, it intersects US 30 and at

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

, US 63 meets US 20. An expressway section opened in October 2012, completing the four-lane link between Waterloo and New Hampton. The highway enters Minnesota just north of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

Minnesota

US 63 enters Minnesota from Iowa south of Spring Valley. After meeting

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

, 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. North of Rochester, the highway meets US 61 at

Lake City Lake City may refer to: Places *Lake City, Arkansas * Lake City, California (disambiguation) *Lake City, Modoc County, California * Lake City, Nevada County, California *Lake City, Colorado *Lake City, Florida * Lake City, Georgia * Lake City, I ...

. From there, the two routes run concurrently to Red Wing, where US 63 turns north and crosses the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

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).

Wisconsin

US 63 enters Wisconsin south of Hager City. Near

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

, 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 Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

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.

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 Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, over the

Memphis & Arkansas Bridge The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge, also known as the Memphis–Arkansas Bridge or inaccurately as the Memphis–Arkansas Memorial Bridge, is a cantilevered through truss bridge carrying Interstate 55 across the Mississippi River between West Memphi ...

. 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 : in Ruston. US 63/US 167 travels concurrently to

El Dorado, Arkansas El Dorado ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Arkansas, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city is 17,755. El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...

. ;Arkansas : in El Dorado : south of

: in Warren : in Pine Bluff. I-530/US 63/US 65 travels concurrently through the city. US 63/US 79 travels concurrently to

. : in Pine Bluff : in Stuttgart : in Hazen. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Hazen. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in Brinkley. The highways travel concurrently to Jonesboro. : in Fair Oaks : in Jonesboro. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Walnut Ridge. The highways travel concurrently to Hoxie. : southeast of

. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in Imboden. The highways travel concurrently to Hardy. ;Missouri : in West Plains. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : southeast of Willow Springs. The highways travel concurrently to southeast of Cabool. : in Rolla : north of

Westphalia Westphalia (; ; ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the region is almost identical with the h ...

. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in Jefferson City. US 54/US 63 travels concurrently through the city. : in Columbia : in Moberly : in Macon : south-southeast of Glenwood. The highways travel concurrently to

. ;Iowa : in Ottumwa. The highways travel concurrently to east of Ottumwa. : south of Malcom : north of Malcom. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of Malcom. : in

: in

: in Waterloo. : west of Fredericksburg. The highways travel concurrently to New Hampton. ;Minnesota : in Stewartville : in Rochester : in Rochester : in

. The highways travel concurrently to Red Wing. ;Wisconsin : west of Ellsworth. The highways travel concurrently to east of Ellsworth. : in

: in Baldwin. The highways travel concurrently through the village. : in Turtle Lake. The highways travel concurrently through the village. : north-northeast of Spooner. The highways travel concurrently to Trego. : west of Ashland

Related routes

Iowa Highway 163

Iowa Highway 163 (Iowa 163) is state highway in the U.S. state of Iowa that was formerly a spur of US 63 numbered US 163 from US 69 in

to US 63 near Oskaloosa. It travels from

to US 34 at the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

state line in Burlington.

Special routes

References

External links

Endpoints of US 63
{{DEFAULTSORT:63

U.S. Route 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 ...

United States Numbered Highway System