U.S. Route 60 in Illinois

This article is about the sections of U.S. Routes 60 and 62 in Illinois. For the entire lengths of such routes, see U.S. Route 60 and U.S. Route 62.

U.S. Route 60 and U.S. Route 62 (US 60/US 62) run for a very short distance within the state of Illinois. The highways run concurrently for their entire existence within the state. The joint highway runs around Fort Defiance in Cairo, from the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge over the Mississippi River east to the Cairo Ohio River Bridge over the Ohio River; the Ohio River Bridge also carries US 51. The bridges cross the two rivers just north of the mouth of the Ohio.

U.S. Route 60 and U.S. Route 62
US 60 / US 62 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by IDOT
Length	0.92 mi[1] (1,480 m)
Major junctions
West end	US 60 / US 62 at Missouri state line in Cairo
East end	US 51 / US 60 / US 62 at Kentucky state line in Cairo
Location
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Counties	Alexander
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Illinois State Highway System Interstate US State Tollways Scenic
← IL 59 US 60 → IL 60
← IL 61 US 62 → IL 62

Route description

US 51/US 60/US 62 cross the Ohio River and land in Cairo near Fort Defiance

US 60/US 62 enters Illinois via the Cairo Mississippi River Bridge, a narrow, through truss bridge.^[2] The bridge deposits the highway onto a viaduct which rises above farmland in the alluvial plain. At the northern end of the causeway is the entrance to Fort Defiance Park, a former Civil War military post and later state park. Fort Defiance marks the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and Illinois' southernmost and lowest points. The lone intersection for US 60/US 62 is with US 51, which joins from the north. The three highway designations come together to head northeast and rise onto the Cairo Ohio River Bridge and into Kentucky.^[3][4]

The Great River Road's National Route overlaps US 60/US 62 from the intersection with US 51 to the Kentucky state line.

History

Until the Mississippi River Bridge opened c. 1929, US 60 used a ferry directly from Bird's Point, Missouri, across that river (below the Ohio) to Wickliffe, Kentucky.^[5] After that it ran into Cairo and used a ferry from roughly 22nd Street to East Cairo, Kentucky.^[6] US 62 was designated around 1930,^{[citation needed]} and the Ohio River Bridge replaced the ferry in 1937.

Originally, the Mississippi River bridge opened in 1929. It was a boon to economies of Southeast Missouri and Northern Arkansas.^[7] The toll drivers would have had to pay on the Mississippi bridge was $1.40 (equivalent to $26.35 in 2024^[8]).^[9]

Meanwhile, the Ohio River bridge was delayed. An Act of Congress gave them more time.^[10] It was eventually dedicated on November 11, 1938, and made toll free exactly ten years later. It had a cost of $3 million (equivalent to $50.9 million in 2023^[11]).^[12]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Cairo, Alexander County.

mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
0.00– 0.55	0.00– 0.89	US 60 west / US 62 west to I-57 south – Charleston, Sikeston	Continuation into Missouri
		Cairo Mississippi River Bridge Missouri–Illinois state line
		Great River Road info / Lincoln Heritage Trail (Southern Branch) south (Ohio River Scenic Byway south)	Western end of Lincoln Heritage Trail concurrency
0.72	1.16	US 51 north / Great River Road (National Route) north / Lincoln Heritage Trail (Southern Branch) north (Ohio River Scenic Byway north) to I-57 north – Cairo	Eastern end of Lincoln Heritage Trail concurrency; western end of US 51/Great River Road concurrency
0.75– 0.92	1.21– 1.48	Cairo Ohio River Bridge Illinois–Kentucky state line
		US 51 south / US 60 east / US 62 east / Great River Road (National Route) south – Paducah	Continuation into Kentucky
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus