Everything about U S Route 67 totally explained
U.S. Route 67 is a 1,560 mile (2,511 km) long north-south
U.S. highway in the
Midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at the
United States-Mexico border in
Presidio,
Texas, where it continues south as
Mexican Federal Highway 16 upon crossing the
Rio Grande. The northern terminus is at
U.S. Route 52 in
Sabula,
Iowa.
US 67 crosses the
Mississippi River twice along its routing. The first crossing is at
West Alton, Missouri, where US 67 utilizes the
Clark Bridge to reach
Alton, Illinois. to the north, US 67 crosses the river again at the
Rock Island Centennial Bridge between
Rock Island, Illinois, and
Davenport, Iowa. Additionally, the route crosses the
Missouri River via the
Lewis Bridge a few miles southwest of the Clark Bridge.
Route description
Texas
Throughout Texas, US 67 runs from north to south, in a primarily east-west manner, apparently, but not actually, violating the norms for numbering U.S. highways as odd-numbered routes are typically north-south in orientation.
US 67 is part of the
La Entrada al Pacifico international trade corridor from its southern terminus to an intersection with
US 385 in
McCamey, where the corridor follows
US 385 to
Odessa, Texas.
Between Dallas and
Weaver, the highway runs
concurrent with
Interstate 30. From Weaver to
Texarkana, US 67 basically runs parallel to I-30.
| Major cities |
- Presidio, Texas
- Alpine, Texas
- Fort Stockton, Texas
- San Angelo, Texas
- Brownwood, Texas
- Stephenville, Texas
- Cleburne, Texas
- Midlothian, Texas
- Cedar Hill, Texas
- Duncanville, Texas
- Dallas, Texas
- Mesquite, Texas
- Garland, Texas
- Rowlett, Texas
- Rockwall, Texas
- Greenville, Texas
- Sulphur Springs, Texas
- Mount Pleasant, Texas
- Wake Village, Texas
- Texarkana, Texas
- Texarkana, Arkansas
- Hope, Arkansas
- Arkadelphia, Arkansas
- Malvern, Arkansas
- Benton, Arkansas
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Sherwood, Arkansas
- Jacksonville, Arkansas
- Cabot, Arkansas
- Beebe, Arkansas
- Searcy, Arkansas
- Bald Knob, Arkansas
- Newport, Arkansas
- Hoxie, Arkansas
- Walnut Ridge, Arkansas
- Pocahontas, Arkansas
- Corning, Arkansas
- Poplar Bluff, Missouri
- Greenville, Missouri
- Fredericktown, Missouri
- Farmington, Missouri
- Bonne Terre, Missouri
- Crystal City, Missouri
- Festus, Missouri
- Arnold, Missouri
- Mehlville, Missouri
- Florissant, Missouri
- Alton, Illinois
- Jerseyville, Illinois
- Jacksonville, Illinois
- Beardstown, Illinois
- Macomb, Illinois
- Monmouth, Illinois
- Rock Island, Illinois
- Davenport, Iowa
- Bettendorf, Iowa
- Clinton, Iowa
- Sabula, Iowa
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East of the
Interstate 35E/Interstate 30 "mixmaster" in
Downtown Dallas, U.S. Route 67 follows Interstate 30. West of the "mixmaster," U.S. Route 67 follows I-35E south through
Oak Cliff. Along this portion, the U.S. Route 67 shield is also alongside the Interstate shield. Just north of Kiest Boulevard, U.S. Route 67 breaks off from Interstate 35E and maintains controlled-access ("Interstate grade") status down to
Midlothian, where it becomes a four-lane divided highway to the western edge of
Cleburne.
Arkansas
In Arkansas, U.S. Route 67 runs parallel with Interstate 30 from
Texarkana to
Benton, where it then runs concurrent with I-30 to
North Little Rock. It then runs concurrent with Interstate 40 East for about, then branches off northeast as a freeway to
Newport U.S. Route 67 travels west a short distance along Arkansas Highway 18 at the end of the freeway to its old 2-lane alignment, where it continues north toward Hoxie. Just south of Hoxie, 67 is east routed along the U.S. Route 63 bypass for a short distance, then north on a short section of freeway bypassing Hoxie and Walnut Ridge. Just north of U.S. Route 412, the freeway ends at a large, partially complete interchange, and U.S Route 67 becomes a 5-lane undivided highway north to Pocahontas. The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department is currently constructing the future U.S. Route 67 freeway to the north from Newport which will eventually connect directly to the short stretch of freeway at Hoxie.
From Pocahontas, 67 turns northeasterly as a 2-lane highway to Corning, then turns north again and crosses into Missouri. The AHTD will one day construct the freeway north from its current end at U.S. Route 412 directly toward Corning, roughly paralleling the Union Pacific Railroad line and Arkansas Route 90, eliminating the "dogleg" in U.S. Route 67. However, no funds have been dedicated to this portion of the route at this time.
Missouri
Going from south to north, US-67 enters
Missouri at the
Arkansas state line. About north of the state line, it intersects
US-160. At the southwest corner of
Poplar Bluff, Business Route 67 goes into Poplar Bluff while US-67 bypasses Poplar Bluff to the west on a freeway-grade highway. It then joins
US-60 at the northwest corner of Poplar Bluff. Both 60 and 67 then follow a four-lane route to an interchange about northwest of Poplar Bluff, where US-60 heads west toward
Springfield, Missouri. Three miles north of the interchange with US-60, US-67 goes down to two lanes. From there, it continues north and passes through
Greenville, Missouri. Just south of
Fredericktown, Missouri, US-67 becomes a
four-lane highway again and remains as a four-lane highway until it reaches the
Illinois state line just north of
St. Louis. The Missouri Department of Transportation is currently working to expand US-67 to a 4-lane divided highway from Poplar Bluff to Fredericktown. This work is scheduled to be completed by 2012. From Fredericktown, US-67 passes through
Farmington, Missouri and
Park Hills, Missouri. About north of Park Hills, US-67 crosses
Interstate 55 and enters
Festus, Missouri and
Crystal City, Missouri and becomes known as Jeffco Boulevard from that point until it exits
Jefferson County, Missouri and enters
St. Louis County, Missouri.
St. Louis County
When US 67 reaches
St. Louis County, It travels Lemay Ferry Road (
Missouri Route 267) until it reaches Lindbergh Boulevard. There it travels Lindbergh Boulevard (known as Kirkwood Road in
Kirkwood and Highway 67 in
Florissant), named for aviator
Charles Lindbergh, until it reaches Lewis & Clark Boulevard (
Missouri Route 367). From there, it continues north to
West Alton, Missouri and then crosses the
Mississippi River and enters
Alton, Illinois.
The only vehicular tunnel in Missouri is located on US 67 at
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, where the road tunnels under the runway.
Illinois
In the state of
Illinois, U.S. 67 runs north from the
Clark Bridge in
Alton through the
Forgottonia region of western Illinois. It runs near the cities of
Jacksonville,
Beardstown,
Macomb and
Monmouth before crossing into Iowa across the
Rock Island Centennial Bridge.
Iowa
U.S. 67 enters Iowa in
Davenport. It follows an alignment through
Bettendorf and
Clinton which parallels the Mississippi River. Near
Sabula, U.S. 67 meets
U.S. Route 52 and ends.
History
US 67 is one of the older US highway corridors in
Madison County, Missouri. The northern terminus of US 67 was in Missouri under the original US highway numbering scheme of 1926, likely due to limited bridge crossings over the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. In Missouri, US 67 replaced
Route 23, created in 1922 from Arkansas to
Fredericktown. By 1932, with a Mississippi River crossing route determined, US 67 was extended north along
Illinois Route 3 to
Rock Island,
Illinois.
Even though the
old Clark Bridge had been opened to traffic across the
Mississippi River at
Alton in 1928, US 67 originally crossed the Mississippi River with
US 66 via the
McKinley Bridge from
St. Louis to Venice. From Venice, US 67 headed north along what had been
IL 3 via Alton to
Rock Island,
Illinois. The original route of IL 3 from Alton to Jacksonville that became US 67 went through East Newbern, Jerseyville, and Carrollton.
US 67 had several routes over the years. The Illinois section was likely not included in original US highways in 1926, due to limited bridge crossings. The history of US-67 through Illinois is almost as storied as the famous highway to its east
U.S. Route 66 that follows the old
Illinois Route 4.
Changes to routing
The northern terminus was at Alt. US 61 near
Fredericktown,
Missouri, in 1926. The route was extended north on Illinois Route 3 (through western Illinois) to its northern terminus in Rock Island, Illinois by 1932 . Sometime after 1940, US 67 was routed into Madison County. Then, it was co-signed with Route 66 as both routes went across the McKinley Bridge.
By the mid 1940s, US 67 had been rerouted from St. Louis to Alton via the
Lewis Bridge over the Missouri River and the
Clark Bridge (formerly the
Old Clark Bridge) over the Mississippi River. The Alton to Jerseyville section now passed through Godfrey and Delhi. By the mid 1950s, a more direct route for US 67 from Godfrey towards Jacksonville via Greenfield had opened. Heading north from Downtown Alton, US 67 was rerouted via an abandoned railroad grade to the north end of town.
Between Fort Bellefontaine, Missouri (near Lewis Bridge) and south of St. Louis, US 67 followed 2 different routes. US 67 originally followed Lewis and Clark Boulevard, Florissant Avenue, 7th Street, and Broadway south through St. Louis.
US 67 Bypass followed
Lindbergh Boulevard around the city.
Route 99 was an inner bypass within the city limits, following Kingshighway Boulevard and Riverview Boulevard between
Route 30 (Gravois Road) and US 67 (Florissant Avenue). US 67 replaced Route 99 in the mid-1950s, using Loughborough Avenue at the south end, and the old route south of downtown became an extension of
US 67 Alternate, which had begun downtown and crossed into Illinois towards
Alton. (The old US 67 north of downtown was mostly
US 66 City.) Later, in the late 1960s, US 67 moved to the bypass, and the old route, where not turned back to the city, became
Route 267 and
Route 367.
In 1962 another reroute occurred, due to the completion of a new river bridge over the
Illinois River at Beardstown. A new direct route was constructed from this bridge at Beardstown to Rushville, eliminating the earlier US-67 eastern route northeast along current IL-100 to Frederick then turing north to Rushville. A western by-pass of downtown Rushville was completed a couple of years later.
In 1964, US 67A was replaced by Route 3 as St. Louis started to get rid of highways such as 67A. A new four-lane Route 3 opened a few years later.
In 1968, US-67 was rerouted on a more western route between Jacksonville and Beardstown. The route was the existing IL-104 (Jacksonville to near Merodosia) and IL-100 (Near Merodosia to Beardstown). The original US-67 road passed through Virginia on what is now IL-78 (Jacksonville to Virginia) and then on IL-125 (Virginia to Beardstown), which follows the historic post road between Springfield and Beardstown.
Before 1994, US 67 went through Alton on Belle Street and crossed the river by the Colonial Bread store. After 1994, US 67 got a new bridge as well as a new route through Alton. In the summer of 1994, parts of the road were blown up in a span of 8 to 10 weeks. Today, planners from
Godfrey and
Jerseyville are talking about building a new US 67 that would take a western route along the current IL 267.
US 67 Branches: These branches remained relevant with the locals even after they were decommissioned in 1964.
- Alt US 67: There were two Alt US 67's in Madison County. The first started south of Alton, the second, north. When US 67 was switched to the Clark Bridge sometime before the mid 1940s, The earlier route of US 67 from St. Louis to Alton became Alt US 67. In the mid 1940s, Alt US 67 was switched from the McKinley Bridge to the MacArthur Bridge. By 1965, the Alt US 67 designation had been dropped and the IL 3 designation had returned to this route. The original IL 3 roadway had been replaced by new alignments in places over the years, however.
When US 67 was shifted to a more direct route north of Alton between Godfrey and Jacksonville by the mid 1950s, the old route via Jerseyville and Carrollton became Alt US 67. This designation lasted until around 1965 when the route became IL 267.
Illinois 267: This route was once Alt US 67 from the mid 1950s to 1965 as it went from Godfrey through Jerseyville on its way to meet up with US 67 about south of Jacksonville. This route, despite being one of the most dangerous in central Illinois, has remained unchanged over the years.
In 2001, IDOT rerouted US-67 back onto the original (1940) routing (western route) north of Alton to Murrayville and IL-267 was put onto the newer alignment (eastern route) from near Murrayville through Greenfield to Medora. South of Medora to Godfrey the road retained only IL-111, a second number on this section. The rerouting was to accommodate a future "Corridor 67" expressway that will be built within the next decade or so. IDOT construction began in 2004 near Jacksonville. The new expressway is supposed to follow the corridor through White Hall, Carrollton, and Jerseyville and will eventually end in Godfrey.
From Macomb north to Monmouth US-67 is currently a "Super Four" 65 MPH, 4 lane highway. The Roseville Bypass was completed in 2003.
Historic termini
When US 67 was commissioned in the original 1926 numbering plan, it extended from Fredericktown, Missouri to Dallas, Texas.
The route was extended across West Texas to its present-day southern terminus in 1930.
The route was extended north on Illinois Route 3 (through western Illinois) to its northern terminus in Rock Island, Illinois by 1932.
In 1934, US 67 was extended further north to Dubuque, Iowa. Between Davenport, Iowa and Dubuque, it incorporated the route of U.S. Route 55. The remainder of US 55 (to Minneapolis, Minnesota) was absorbed by U.S. Route 52.
The 1934 extension left the last 35 miles (56 km) of US 67, south of Dubuque, co-signed with the extended US 52. In 1967, the US 67 designation was removed from this section, ending US 67 at Sabula, Iowa.Further Information
Get more info on 'U S Route 67'.
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