U.S. Route 64


U.S. Route 64 is an east–west United States highway that runs for 2,326 miles from Nags Head in eastern North Carolina to just southwest of the Four Corners in northeast Arizona. The western terminus is at U.S. Route 160 in Teec Nos Pos, Arizona. The highway's eastern terminus is at NC 12 and U.S. Route 158 at Whalebone Junction, North Carolina.

Route description

Arizona and New Mexico

US 64's western terminus is Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, at US 160. It goes southeast from Teec Nos Pos and enters New Mexico. US 64 runs through Farmington, Taos, Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, Cimarron, and Raton. As it runs through Raton, it is co-signed with U.S. Route 87. It continues through to Clayton, where US 87 is replaced by U.S. Routes 56 and 412. The three routes then run concurrently into Oklahoma. northeast of Cimarron is Raton Municipal Airport.
It is one of the roads on the Trails of the Ancients Byway, one of the designated New Mexico Scenic Byways. At Angel Fire, US 64 runs past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial State Park.
Although US 64 does not technically cross into Texas, the New Mexico-Texas border does reach the shoulder of US 64 outside of Clayton at.

Oklahoma

Heading into the Oklahoma Panhandle, the three conjoined routes pick up a fourth two miles southwest of Boise City, as US-385 merges from the south. In Boise City, US-385 departs to the north along with U.S. 287, which replaces US-385 in the four-way concurrency on the way out of town to the east, before departing itself to the southeast two miles outside of town. Shortly thereafter, US-56 also departs the route, heading northeast into Kansas, while US-64 and US-412 continue their journey due east toward Guymon.
Near Guymon, the route turns due south to approach the town. US-412 then heads due east, while US-64 veers from due south to northeast, joining up with US-54. These two routes remain together for about, splitting at Hooker, with US-54 continuing northeast into Kansas while US-64 again veers due east. At Turpin, US-64 turns left, running north with US-83; three miles later, it again turns east, joining US-270 while US-83 and westbound US-270 continue north to Liberal, Kansas. to the east, US-270 departs to the south, and US-64 finally runs solo for a significant stretch save for very short concurrencies with US-283 near Rosston, US-183 through Buffalo, and US-281 in Alva.
Near Pond Creek, US-64 turns south, joined by US-60 and US-81. US-64 splits off just north of Enid, jogging through the city before rejoining US-412 on the east side of town. The two routes remain together until they meet Interstate 35, which US-64 joins briefly southbound while US-412 continues east, becoming the Cimarron Turnpike. US-64 departs I-35 at Perry, intersecting the parallel US-77 before continuing east.
On either side of Morrison the route intersects US-177 and US-412 before passing through Pawnee and Cleveland. It then veers southeast, rejoining US-412 yet again to head into Tulsa.
In downtown Tulsa, the route diverges from US-412 for the final time. It briefly is concurrent with Interstate 244 and US-75 before bearing southeast through the city while joining OK-51, intersecting Interstate 44 before briefly joining the southernmost five miles of US-169, disjoining OK-51 running southbound on the eastern edge of the city. It then proceeds south, crossing the Creek Turnpike, then crosses the Arkansas River in Bixby before turning to the southeast.
After passing through Haskell, US-64 and US-62 meet head-on, north–south; they join and head east toward Muskogee. The routes disengage at the intersection with US-69, with US-64 bearing south out of the center of town. At Warner, the route turns eastward again, where it will run parallel to Interstate 40 for the remainder of its path through Oklahoma. It passes through Webbers Falls, Gore, Vian, Sallisaw, Muldrow, and Roland before leaving the state.

Arkansas

The route enters Arkansas in Fort Smith and crosses the Arkansas River. The route continues following Interstate 40 through Clarksville, Russellville, and Conway, where I-40 turns south and US 64 continues east. US 64 runs with US 67 and US 167 near Searcy before passing through rural Eastern Arkansas fields. US 64 runs east to Marion and West Memphis, where it meets I-40 and Interstate 55 to continue east over the Mississippi River on the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge to Memphis, Tennessee. A segment of US 64 in Crittenden County is also known as Military Road and is the oldest road in the state. It was surveyed for the removal of Native Tribes known of as the Trail of Tears. A historical marker in Marion notes this information.

Tennessee

US-64 enters Tennessee on the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge at Memphis. The route shares the bridge with Interstate 55 and U.S. Routes 61, 70, and 79. The route traverses several streets in Memphis before becoming a rural divided highway in eastern Shelby County. The highway runs directly to the east through the county seats of Tennessee's most southern counties. US 64 then continues on past Lawrenceburg, the largest city on the State line between Memphis and Interstate 65, to Chattanooga. then US 64 runs from Chattanooga to Cleveland, where it duplexes with US 74 to the North Carolina state line. The Tennessee Department of Transportation is currently working to expand the highway to four lanes across the state. The easternmost portion of the highway in Tennessee is the Ocoee Scenic Byway, a winding, two-lane road through the Ocoee River gorge in Polk County. The steep terrain around the highway is subject to landslides, such as the massive slide in November 2009 that closed the highway for several months.

North Carolina

US 64 enters North Carolina in Cherokee County, west of Murphy. The highway serves the cities of Hendersonville, Brevard, Rutherfordton, Lenoir, Statesville, Lexington, Asheboro, Siler City, Cary, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Tarboro, Williamston, and Manteo.
The segment from Franklin to Highlands is a mountainous two-lane road limited to moderate-sized trucks. Large trucks are routed via Truck US 64 to Sylva, and Asheville.
Interstate 40 travels through Statesville on a route originally designed in 1950 as a bypass of US 64, intersecting with Interstate 77 at what was once intended to be a bypass of US 21.
Within the Raleigh city limits, US 64 follows the southern section of the Beltline. In 2006 a major section known as the Knightdale Bypass opened to ease traffic. After it was completed, US 64 became a divided freeway between Cary and Williamston, and carried at least four lanes between Asheboro and Columbia.
US 64 serves as a gateway to the Outer Banks, ending at Nags Head where it meets U.S. Route 158 and NC 12.
Overall, US 64 runs from the western edge of the state to the Outer Banks. It is the longest highway in North Carolina; a common way to express coverage of the entire state is to say, "". US 64 runs through both.

History

U.S. Route 485 was commissioned in 1926, looping west of US 85 between Santa Fe and Raton, New Mexico. In 1931, it became an extension of US 64. In 1959, the Arizona Department of Transportation submitted a proposal to extend US 64 west from Santa Fe, New Mexico to US 89 near Tuba City, Arizona, which was rejected. The portion south of Taos was removed in 1974, when US 64 was realigned and extended to Farmington, and became NM 68.

Major intersections

;Arizona
;New Mexico
;Oklahoma
;Arkansas
;Tennessee
;North Carolina

Special routes

Alternate routes

There are several sections of Business US 64 serving more as alternate routes of the main highway. While they go through towns and cities, they often run numerous miles through rural areas and often pass through more than one city.

Related routes