End of US highway 63

View a map showing this route.

Photo credits: Jody Aho; Josh Bumgardner; Steven Nelson; Greg Osbaldeston; me
Additional research: Chris Bessert; Jeff Morrison

Approx. time period North terminus South terminus signage ended at
1926-1934 Des Moines, IA
Turrell, AR
1934-1940 Ashland, WI
Turrell, AR
1940-1960s Ashland, WI Memphis, TN* West Memphis, AR?
1960s-1990 Ashland, WI Memphis, TN* Marion, AR?
1990-1999 (near Ashland, WI) Memphis, TN* (near Gilmore, AR?)
1999-present (near Ashland, WI)
Ruston, LA
*although Memphis may have been the south end according to AASHTO, I'm unaware of any evidence that US 63 was ever actually signed anywhere beyond West Memphis AR.

US 63 was an original 1926 route, but it ran only from Des Moines IA to US 61 at Turrell AR. Did I say Des Moines? Yes: north from Oskaloosa, US 63 essentially followed what is now IA 163, ending at US 32 (and later US 6) in Des Moines. You can view photos and read about more details on this page. In Turrell, US 63 ended at its junction with US 61. The photo below is looking north on Hammond Avenue, or historic US 61:

me, Oct. 2007

US 61 continued by gently curving to the right, following the east side of the railroad. US 63 began to the left by crossing the railroad on Barton Street, then turning north on Eureka Road, which is visible in the distance at far left. Below we're looking east on Barton:

me, Oct. 2007

US 63 crossed the railroad here, and immediately ended at US 61, which ran just beyond the railroad.

In 1934, the US 63 designation was truncated at Oskaloosa, and traffic was instead directed north along its current route: through Waterloo IA, Rochester MN, and northwest Wisconsin. Originally US 63 was signed along the roads that are now designated WI hwys. 112 and 118, ending at US 2 right in Ashland (more on that below).

In about 1940, the south end of US 63 was officially extended to Memphis TN... although it may have never been signed anywhere east of West Memphis AR, where during the 1950s signage apparently ended on what is now AR hwy. 77 at US 70:

me, Oct. 2007

The photo below is looking east on Broadway (US 70); in the distance you can see some of the skyscrapers in downtown Memphis:

me, Oct. 2007

Officially US 63 continued to somewhere in the vicinity of those buildings, but signage probably began to the left on Missouri Street, where AR 77 begins today. Below we're looking the opposite direction (west on Broadway):

me, Oct. 2007

To the right was probably the southernmost beginning of US 63. By the 1960s, it appears that signage for US 63 had been truncated to Marion AR, where it junctioned with US 64. The photo below is looking east on Military Road:

me, Oct. 2007

This was eastbound US 64, which continued to the right. To the left was the south beginning of US 63. (Incidentally, that was also the east end of US 64 during the early 1930s.)

Below we're looking north on AR 77:

me, Oct. 2007

Westbound US 64 continued to the left on Military, while straight ahead was the south beginning of US 63. Later still, the US 63 designation was truncated to I-55's interchange 23 near Gilmore AR. Below we're looking north on I-55:

me, Oct. 2007

The photo below was taken looking northwest on AR 77:

me, Oct. 2007

US 63 began straight ahead. The shot below is south on US 63:

me, Oct. 2007

That's where US 63 ended. Effectively, it still ends there, as there is no signage to indicate US 63's implied route continuing along southbound I-55. But in 1999, the south end of US 63 was officially extended that way - an entirely new direction - to a new endpoint in Ruston LA. To many highway enthusiasts, this seems like an unnecessary and ill-advised move (to learn more, you can refer to Jeff Morrison's great commentary and photos here). The photo below shows the last US 63 sign heading south on the mainline...

Bumgardner, June 2007

...although Josh reports there are also US 63 signs on some of the intersecting highways ahead. The junction with I-20 is now the endpoint of US 63:

Bumgardner, June 2007

Heading back the other way, the first northbound US 63 sign is also at that interchange:

Bumgardner, June 2007

Josh reports that US 63 is not mentioned on the exit signage from I-20.

For several decades, US 63 ended right in downtown Ashland WI. It came north via what is now WI hwy. 112 (Sanborn Avenue), and then went east with US 2 (which originally was on 2nd Street, not Front Street as it is today). The US 63 designation ended at the junction with WI 13 at Vaughn Avenue. Here's a vintage photo showing the classic gas station that used to be on that corner:

undated, from here

The photo below is looking northeast on 2nd:

Nelson, May 2008

That was where US 63 ended. Eastbound US 2 continued ahead, while WI 13 began to the right on Vaughn (better known today as 5th Avenue). The shot below is from northbound 5th:

Nelson, May 2008

This was originally WI 13. Eastbound US 2 was to the right. To the left was not only westbound US 2, but also the north beginning of US 63.

In 1990 the US 63 designation was truncated back to its current terminus at the junction with US 2, about 10 miles west of Ashland. In the photo below, Ashland is to the east (right); to the west lie the twin ports of Superior WI and Duluth MN:

Aho, May 2000

The photo below shows the north beginning of US 63 as seen from westbound US 2...

Osbaldeston, June 2001

...and the one below shows the beginning from the opposite direction:

Long, July 2006