U.S. Route 60 (US60) is a major U.S. Highway in the American state of Kentucky. In the early days of the U.S. Highway System, US60 was originally to be numbered as US62. Following extensive lobbying and complaints filed by Kentucky governor William J. Fields to the American Association of State Highway Officials, the route was re-designated as US60 before the system was finalized. In Kentucky, US60 parallels the Ohio River (the northern boundary of the state). US60 enters Kentucky from Cairo, Illinois, traveling northeast to Louisville, then takes a direct eastward route (near Interstate 64, I-64) to rejoin the Ohio River in downtown Ashland, Kentucky. Both US60 and US23 run concurrently from Ashland to Catlettsburg where US60 turns east and enters Kenova, West Virginia. US 60 is the longest route in Kentucky, running 495 miles (797km) across the width of the state, passing through 22 of Kentucky's counties and through the cities of Paducah, Henderson, Owensboro, Louisville, the state capital of Frankfort, and Lexington.
US 60 is concurrent with US51 and US62 from the Ohio River bridge to the town of Wickliffe. At Wickliffe, US60 separates from the other routes and heads generally northeast toward the city of Paducah. Between Wickliffe and Paducah, the towns of Barlow, La Center and Kevil are situated along the route.[1]
In Paducah, US60 intersects with I-24, and I-24's business loop enters the city concurrent with US60. In the midtown area, the route once again meets US62, and also meets US45. Once out of the city of Paducah, US60 again veers to the northeast, roughly following the Ohio River until reaching Smithland, where the route again turns to the east, passing through the small town of Burna. From Burna, US60 passes through Salem.[1]
The next city along the route is Marion. At Marion, US60 turns once more to the north, where it heads toward Sturgis. From Sturgis, the route continues generally northward to Morganfield. In recent years, a bypass of US60 around the south and east sides of Morganfield has taken a great deal of traffic congestion out of the city.[1]
In Fort Knox, US60 connects with US31W, and they remain together until downtown Louisville. Originally built as a bypass route around downtown Louisville, US60 Alt. used several existing roads running through Louisville to get between the east and south sides of town without having to travel through the heavily congested downtown or west ends of town. US60 Alt. runs northeast to southwest from St. Matthews to Shively; including a stretch on one of Frederick Law Olmsted's last remaining parkways, Eastern Parkway. Before its completion and designation as I-264 in 1984, the Henry Watterson Expressway connecting Dixie Highway (US31W/US60) and Shelbyville Road (US60) was signed US60 Bypass.[1]
After passing Shelbyville, it continues through the state capital of Frankfort, becomes four lanes and then heads more south than east toward Versailles. In Versailles, US60's eastbound lanes are very briefly the westbound lanes of US62, which runs more south than west at that point. After turning east and intersecting the Bluegrass Parkway, US60 is one of the major routes through Lexington. At the intersection for Keeneland Race Course, the road becomes heavily traveled six-lane highway, Versailles Road. It passes Blue Grass Airport before intersecting with Lexington's beltway, New Circle Road (Ky 4) and becomes a four-road going into downtown Lexington. it once followed the one-way pair of Maxwell and High streets (and still so appears on Google Maps) but is now signed along Oliver Lewis Way to Main Street, which after a one-way pair with Vine Street becomes Richmond Road (US 25). US 60 follows Midland Avenue (named after the old Midland Trail, which US 60 generally follows in Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia). At the intersection with East Third Street US 60 bears right and becomes Winchester Road. It intersects I-75 and from there roughly parallels I-64 and goes to Winchester and passes just north of the terminus of the Mountain Parkway but does not intersect with the former toll road. It proceeds to Mount Sterling, Morehead, past Carter Caves State Resort Park, on to Grayson and finally to Ashland. US23 southbound follows US60 eastbound into Catlettsburg, where they split at 35th Street. US23 southbound continues straight as a four-lane highway, while US60 eastbound turns onto 35th Street, passes Oakland Avenue, and enters Kenova, West Virginia via the Billy C. Clark Bridge.[1]
History
When the first finalized proposal for the U.S. Highway System was presented by the Bureau of Public Roads in December 1925, the route between Ozark, Missouri and what would become U.S. Route 52 (US52) in West Virginia near Ashland, Kentucky was originally proposed as US62. The US60 designation was proposed along a different highway from Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois via Tulsa, Oklahoma.[3] On December 8, 1925, a complaint was registered by Kentucky governor William J. Fields over the placement of the US60 designation, being unhappy no major U.S. Highways ending with the number "0" were planned through his state. Major U.S. Highways ending in "0" were planned to be the main east–west routes of the system. The two closest major east–west routes, US50 and US70, were planned to run through states located north and south of Kentucky. Fields therefore proposed the US60 designation be re-routed through Kentucky.[4]
Fields' opposition to the original numbering plan led to an arranged meeting with the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) Executive Committee in Chicago. Attending was Cyrus Avery, an AASHO committee leader representing the state of Oklahoma and a proponent of the Chicago to Los Angeles route. Avery disagreed with Fields' complaint and stated the US60 designation should remain on the Chicago Los Angeles route. Following the meeting, the Executive Committee decided to retain the US60 designation for the Chicago to Los Angeles route, taking the side of Avery. The Committee however, did attempt to rectify Kentucky's complaints by extending the eastern terminus of the proposed US62 from its endpoint in West Virginia near Ashland to Newport News, Virginia. US62 would also be extended from Ozark to Springfield, Missouri. Fields was not pleased with the US62 extension and continued to campaign for US60 to be routed through Kentucky. Fields later returned to AASHO with support from Kentucky's Congressional delegation and presented his argument to AASHO's chairman Thomas H. MacDonald on January 25, 1926. MacDonald agreed with Fields' argument and AASHO subsequently exchanged the number of the Los Angeles to Chicago route with the Newport News to Springfield route.[4]
Following the change, Avery opposed removing "US60" from the Los Angeles to Chicago route, stating the state Oklahoma had already undergone extensive preparation for the "US60" designation, producing official signage and printing maps in anticipation for the new number. Avery was further upset that the decision to re-designate the Chicago to Los Angeles route had been done without his knowledge or consent. Officials from Missouri also heavily protested the change in numbering. AASHO officials rebutted against Avery's complaints citing he had consented to a possible number swap in the earlier Chicago meeting. Nevertheless, AASHO, tried to present a compromise to both Fields and Avery, returning the US60 designation to the route between Los Angeles and Springfield, but re-designating the Springfield to Chicago route as "US60N" and the Springfield to Virginia Beach route as "US60E". Neither side agreed with the compromise and demanded to have their way. Eventually, Avery and his allied proponents agreed to let Kentucky have "US60" so long as the Chicago to Los Angeles Route became "US66" instead of "US62". Fields had no objection to this proposal as it meant his route would now be designated as "US60".[4] When the finalized U.S. Highway system was approved on November 11, 1926, U.S. Route 60 was officially designated through Kentucky, giving the state a main U.S. Highway ending with the number "0".[5] US60 was later extended to Los Angeles on June 8, 1931.[6] The route would later be truncated to Brenda, Arizona.[7]
Until 2010, US60 passed through the city of Owensboro, while US60 Bypass (Wendell H. FordExpressway) skirted the city to its south. The city of Owensboro and state of Kentucky requested the decommissioning of US60 within the city, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials approved the request, making the expressway the main line of US60. As of April 2011, signage has been changed, and US60 now solely follows the expressway around Owensboro.
Especially in the eastern and central part of the state, US60 has been largely replaced by I-64 for long-distance travel, since both routes follow each other through much of this area. However, several cities in this area rely on US60 to connect them to the Interstate. By contrast, in the western part of the state, US60 is not paired with an Interstate Highway and serves a much more independent purpose, connecting communities located along and near the Ohio River.
Kelly, Susan Croce (Winter 2015). "'Kentucky Was Ignored Completely': Governor William J. Fields, the Midland Trail, and the Numbering of Highway 60". Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. 113 (1). Kentucky Historical Society: 3–26. doi:10.1353/khs.2015.0031.
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US 51 / US 60 / US 62 at Illinois state line near Wickliffe 
