Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
U.S. Route 61
U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends 1,400 miles (2,300 km) between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated the Great River Road for much of its route. As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus in Wyoming, Minnesota, is at an intersection with Interstate 35 (I-35). Until 1991, the highway extended north on what is now Minnesota State Highway 61 (MN 61) through Duluth to the Canada–U.S. border near Grand Portage, then continued to Thunder Bay, Canada, as Ontario Highway 61. Its southern terminus in New Orleans is at an intersection with U.S. Route 90 (US 90). The route was an important south–north connection in the days before the interstate highway system.
The highway is often called the Blues Highway because of its long history in blues music; part of the route lies on the Mississippi Blues Trail and is denoted by markers in Vicksburg and Tunica. It is also the subject of numerous musical works, with the route inspiring the album Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan.
US 61 in Louisiana is four-laned from its southern terminus in New Orleans to the Mississippi state line, where the highway continues to Natchez as a four-lane highway.
The section of US 61 from New Orleans to Baton Rouge is known as the Airline Highway. Although the road fronts the former terminal of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and passes near Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, the name originally referred to the highway's straight route in contrast to that of the winding Jefferson Highway, which often paralleled the Mississippi River. Legend has it that former Louisiana Governor Huey Long advocated the construction of the "airline" highway to provide him with a quick means of access from the capitol building in Baton Rouge to the bars and other pleasure establishments in New Orleans. On Airline Highway in Jefferson Parish in 1987, Baton Rouge televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was confronted by rival preacher Marvin Gorman as Swaggart exited the Travel Inn after seeing a prostitute. This incident increased the area's reputation as a locale of "seedy motels". Partly because of that reputation, the section in Jefferson Parish was later renamed Airline Drive.
US 61 is divided from the Tennessee state line to U.S. 82 in Leland. The highway south of Vicksburg to Natchez is mostly divided and four-lane; only short sections through Port Gibson are two lane. From Natchez to the Louisiana state line, US 61 is now divided and four lanes. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is now[when?] widening the highway between Vicksburg and Leland to four lanes, beginning with replacement of the Yazoo River bridge at Redwood in Warren County.
The road is also known as the Blues Highway because it runs through the Mississippi Delta country, which was an important source of blues music. Highway 61 has been referenced in music by various artists with roots in the region.
The former junction of US 61 and U.S. 49 in Clarksdale (North State Street and Desoto Avenue) is designated as the famous crossroads where, according to legend, Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for mastery of the blues. US 49 and US 61 are currently routed around the city on a freeway bypass. It was on this stretch of highway that blues singer Bessie Smith died as a result of a car crash on September 26, 1937.
Like Route 66 in the Western U.S., the iconic US 61 sign is so strongly identified with the Clarksdale area that it is used to market different products and services. US 61 is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.
Hub AI
U.S. Route 61 AI simulator
(@U.S. Route 61_simulator)
U.S. Route 61
U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends 1,400 miles (2,300 km) between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated the Great River Road for much of its route. As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus in Wyoming, Minnesota, is at an intersection with Interstate 35 (I-35). Until 1991, the highway extended north on what is now Minnesota State Highway 61 (MN 61) through Duluth to the Canada–U.S. border near Grand Portage, then continued to Thunder Bay, Canada, as Ontario Highway 61. Its southern terminus in New Orleans is at an intersection with U.S. Route 90 (US 90). The route was an important south–north connection in the days before the interstate highway system.
The highway is often called the Blues Highway because of its long history in blues music; part of the route lies on the Mississippi Blues Trail and is denoted by markers in Vicksburg and Tunica. It is also the subject of numerous musical works, with the route inspiring the album Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan.
US 61 in Louisiana is four-laned from its southern terminus in New Orleans to the Mississippi state line, where the highway continues to Natchez as a four-lane highway.
The section of US 61 from New Orleans to Baton Rouge is known as the Airline Highway. Although the road fronts the former terminal of Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and passes near Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport, the name originally referred to the highway's straight route in contrast to that of the winding Jefferson Highway, which often paralleled the Mississippi River. Legend has it that former Louisiana Governor Huey Long advocated the construction of the "airline" highway to provide him with a quick means of access from the capitol building in Baton Rouge to the bars and other pleasure establishments in New Orleans. On Airline Highway in Jefferson Parish in 1987, Baton Rouge televangelist Jimmy Swaggart was confronted by rival preacher Marvin Gorman as Swaggart exited the Travel Inn after seeing a prostitute. This incident increased the area's reputation as a locale of "seedy motels". Partly because of that reputation, the section in Jefferson Parish was later renamed Airline Drive.
US 61 is divided from the Tennessee state line to U.S. 82 in Leland. The highway south of Vicksburg to Natchez is mostly divided and four-lane; only short sections through Port Gibson are two lane. From Natchez to the Louisiana state line, US 61 is now divided and four lanes. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is now[when?] widening the highway between Vicksburg and Leland to four lanes, beginning with replacement of the Yazoo River bridge at Redwood in Warren County.
The road is also known as the Blues Highway because it runs through the Mississippi Delta country, which was an important source of blues music. Highway 61 has been referenced in music by various artists with roots in the region.
The former junction of US 61 and U.S. 49 in Clarksdale (North State Street and Desoto Avenue) is designated as the famous crossroads where, according to legend, Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for mastery of the blues. US 49 and US 61 are currently routed around the city on a freeway bypass. It was on this stretch of highway that blues singer Bessie Smith died as a result of a car crash on September 26, 1937.
Like Route 66 in the Western U.S., the iconic US 61 sign is so strongly identified with the Clarksdale area that it is used to market different products and services. US 61 is defined in Mississippi Code Annotated § 65-3-3.