U.S. Route 63 (US 63) is the portion of a north-south highway that runs through the U.S. state of

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 ...

from the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

state line near Thayer to the

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

state line near

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 ...

Route description

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. Notable routes that are intersected include U.S. Route 160 and U.S. Route 60 in Howell County,

Interstate 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,

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

(which it shares a concurrency with 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 U.S. 54),

US Route 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific and Rock Island Lines "Gold ...

(which it overlaps in Jefferson City from the junction with U.S. Route 50 and crosses the Missouri River with on the Senator Roy Blunt Bridge),

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

at Columbia,

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

at Moberly, U.S. Route 36 at Macon, and

U.S. Route 136 U.S. Route 136 is an east-west U.S. highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 36. It runs from Edison, Nebraska, at US 6 and US 34 to the I-74/ I-465 interchange in Speedway, Indiana. This is a distance of . Due to the removal of ...

. The road enters the state (passing the Oregon County line) at Thayer. Immediately after leaving Thayer, U.S. 63 intersects Route 19, then continues into Howell County on a two-lane highway with alternating passing lanes, then the highway enters West Plains. The highway then widens to a four-lane divided highway, bypassing West Plains to the south and west, intersecting U.S. Route 160 then continues on a divided highway to Willow Springs. The route then joins

US Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

, and the two highways run concurrently northwest to Cabool. US 63 North

North of Cabool, the highway returns to two-lane status (with alternating passing lanes), passing through

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and intersecting

Route 32 The following highways are numbered 32: International * AH32, Asian Highway 32 * European route E32 Australia * Great Western Highway * Barrier Highway * East Derwent Highway * Mitchell Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 32 * Manitoba Highway 32 ...

in Licking. The highway then enters Phelps County and passes through Rolla, the home of

Missouri University of Science and Technology Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T or S&T) is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 6,456 students (2023) study engineering, busin ...

, and becomes locally known as Bishop Avenue. In Rolla, Route 63 intersects Route 72, and later, Business Loop 44. The Business Loop runs concurrently with Route 63 past the University's campus to

, where the Business Loop ends. As it leaves Rolla, the highway quickly narrows to two lanes. US 63 between Rolla and US 50 is being studied for improvements. It crosses into Maries County toward

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, intersecting Highway 42. After entering Osage County, Route 63 passes through Freeburg and

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 ...

. A few miles north of Westphalia, Highway 63 widens to a four-lane divided highway, and almost immediately intersects

US Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

, and the two highways' head west toward

, the state capital. After passing through downtown on the Whitton Expressway, the route leaves Route 50, joining the eastbound direction of

to cross the

into

Callaway County Callaway County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 44,283. Its county seat is Fulton. With a border formed by the Missouri River, the county was organized Novemb ...

. After crossing the river, Route 63 exits Route 54, and heads north on a four-lane divided highway. About five miles north of US 54, the highway enters Boone County, then after five miles more, 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, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cov ...

and enters the Columbia metropolitan area. Highway 63 passes through the eastern edge of Ashland then passes along the eastern edge of Columbia, but gains freeway status for about 10 miles (16 km) through town. In the north part of town, Route 63 intersects

. There is no direct connection between Route 63 and I-70; access to and from the Interstate is via an at-grade connector road, which intersects I-70 at a simple

Diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade separation, grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. ...

. The route then leaves Columbia, returning to expressway status, and intersects Route 22 near Clark, right on the Boone- Randolph county line. After passing by Clark proper, U.S. 63 gains a Business Route, which passes through the otherwise-bypassed town of Renick, then passes through the city of Moberly. Mainline Route 63, meanwhile, upgrades to a freeway for about four miles as it passes through Moberly, intersecting

US Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

at an interchange on the northern end of town. Heading north, U.S. 63 leaves the Columbia metropolitan area and enters Macon County just north of

Jacksonville Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, and heads toward the city of Macon. Through town, the highway narrows to a two-lane city street, with a center left-turn lane. Near the northern edge of town, US 63 intersects US Route 36, which is part of the Chicago-Kansas City Expressway. Leaving Macon, the highway re-gains expressway status, and passes by

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

before crossing into Adair County. South of Kirksville, the route interchanges with a Business Route, which passes through the city proper, while mainline Route 63 narrows to two lanes and enters a newly-constructed bypass to the east of town. While on the bypass, the highway intersects Route 6 and Missouri Route 11, and the two east-west state routes form a three-mile long

Wrong-way concurrency Wrong way may refer to: * a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving * nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 * nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...

with each other following US 63. Leaving the Kirksville bypass, US 63 returns to a two-lane surface highway, and enters Schuyler County. Near

, the highway intersects US Route 136, which briefly overlaps with Route 63 into Lancaster itself. There, Route 136 turns east, while Route 63 continues north into

, exiting Missouri about five miles north of Lancaster.

History

U.S. 63 in Missouri was Route 7 from 1922 to 1926.

Junction list

References

External links