End of US highway 64
View a map showing this route.
Photo credits: Jeremy Lance; Steven Nelson; Mike Roberson; me
| Approx. time period | East terminus | West terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1926-1930 | Conway, AR | Capulin, NM |
| 1930-1932 | Marion, AR | Capulin, NM |
| 1932-1933 | Chattanooga, TN | Santa Fe, NM |
| 1933-1951 | Ft. Landing, NC | Santa Fe, NM |
| 1951-1974 | (near Nags Head, NC) | Santa Fe, NM |
| 1974-1989 | (near Nags Head, NC) | Farmington, NM |
| 1989-present | (near Nags Head, NC) | Teec Nos Pos, AZ |
US 64 started out as a relatively short road, running through the midsection of the country. But over the years, it has been extended in both directions, and it's now a rather signifcant highway (see chart above). It's hard to believe, but the original west end of US 64 was at what was then US 385 in Capulin NM. (Incidentally, "capulin" is Spanish for "chokecherry". In that language it's pronounced cah-poo-LEEN, but apparently the locals have Americanized it to CAP-yuh-lin.) US 385 was routed along what is now US 64/US 87; US 64 followed what is now NM hwy. 325 north from Capulin to Folsom, and NM 456 from Folsom to the Oklahoma panhandle. This road is quite primitive even today; it's hard to imagine what it must've been like in the late 1920's. Which begs the question: why did we even need a US route west of Boise City OK? Best I can tell, there are a couple factors to consider: 1.) since there was no other US route in Boise (pronounced "Boyce") at the time, that wasn't a logical place for US 64 to end; and 2.) apparently there wasn't a decent road between Boise and Clayton NM, so US 64 couldn't be routed that direction. Perhaps those are the reasons why US 64 was routed through northeastern New Mexico. This first shot is looking south on NM 325 at US 64/87:
me, Feb. 2002
That would've been the view of someone at the original west end of US 64; the crossroad was US 385. If one were heading southeast on US 385, and wanted to continue east via US 64, the photo below shows that view:
me, Feb. 2002
Southbound US 385 was ahead, while the west beginning of US 64 was to the left (the red suv has just reached the original west end of US 64). If you turned that way, perhaps the first eastbound US 64 marker would've been where the first NM 325 marker is today (below):
me, Feb. 2002
This last shot is looking west on US 64/87. The car is turning north onto the beginning of NM 325 - and the original west beginning of US 64:
me, Feb. 2002
If you're ever through here, the volcano is an interesting and worthwhile side trip (don't worry - it's dormant!)
Originally the east end of US 64 was at its junction with US 65 in Conway AR. The photo below is looking east on US 64; AR hwy. 25 begins to the left (it goes under I-40, the embankment for which is visible at left):
Lance
Today US 64 continues ahead (curving to the right), but originally it ended here. Jeremy explains that AR 25 was the original alignment of US 65, so northbound used to be to the left, and to the right was southbound US 65 heading to downtown Conway.
Four years after US 64 was commissioned, its east end was extended to Marion AR (you can view a couple photos from there on my US 63 page). A couple years later, it was extended further east, by turning south with US 61 and going through Memphis on its way to Chattanooga (read more on that page). The year after that (1933), US 64 was extended still further east, to Ft. Landing NC, where it remained for almost the next 20 years. The photo below shows the end of the road:
Roberson, Apr. 2008
It appears US 64 ended here, not because there was a ferry, but simply because this was the easternmost settlement before reaching the Alligator River, across which there was no bridge. But then in 1951 a ferry was established at Sandy Point (that's south of Ft. Landing, across the Little Alligator River, where US 64 runs today). The ferry went across the Alligator to East Lake. The US 64 designation was extended east via this ferry, and then on to its current terminus at the Atlantic Ocean. This occurs at a place known as Whalebone Junction - on the Outer Banks of NC, a little south of Nags Head. You can view photos from there on this page.
For many years, the west end of US 64 was in a city it no longer even serves: Santa Fe. At Taos, instead of heading up to Tres Piedras, US 64 was routed down modern NM 68, to its junction with US 84/US 285 near Espanola. South from there, it was co-signed with those two highways down to Santa Fe (you can view photos from there on this page). That changed in 1974, when a new road allowed travelers to get from Tres Piedras over to US 84 at Tierra Amarilla. Then US 64 was truncated at Taos, and instead changed to its modern route to Farmington. Its path from Chama through Dulce and Bloomfield had been NM 17. In Farmington, US 64 ended at its junction with US 550. You can view maps and photos from there on this page.
In 1989, the US 64 designation was extended west of Farmington. It swallowed up what had been US 550 from there to Shiprock, and it continues further west, to the junction with US 160 near Teec Nos Pos AZ. The photo below is facing south on westbound US 160, which continues to the right (those are the Carrizo Mountains in the distance):
me, July 2004
The west beginning of US 64 is to the left. Note that traffic coming from this direction has a stop sign. Below we're looking east on US 160, which continues to the left:
me, July 2004
US 64 begins straight ahead; the first confirming marker visible in the distance is shown close-up below:
me, July 2004
The first item on the mileage sign says "State Line: 4". It strikes me as kind of odd when boundaries are used as control points - I mean, is there anyone for whom the state line is actually their destination? Anyway, below is a view from the opposite direction (west):
me, July 2004
In my opinion, this is a situation that cries out for renumbering. If I were with AZ DoT, I'd be petitioning AASHTO to change the designations so that - instead of US 64 ending at this junction - it would be US 160 that ends here, and US 64 would continue ahead. Even if it only went through Tuba City and ended at US 89 (where US 160 ends now), it would create several positive improvements:
- The mainline at Teec Nos Pos is set up such that there is no stop sign for east-west traffic, so it seems more logical for that movement to have a single route number.
- Westbound US 160 has to stop, so that makes a logical point for the route to end.
- The numbers for AZ highways 264 and 564 (which connect with current US 160) would make more sense.
- In fact, those highways are numbered as such because the number "64" has an historical presence through here: old AZ 64 was replaced by US 160 in 1970.
- Personally, I think it's not quite right for a long 2-digit US route (such as US 64) to end at a mid-length 3-digit route (such as US 160).
But even better yet, an extended US 64 could continue south from Tuba City about 16 miles with US 89 to Cameron, and then west again on current AZ hwy. 64 (note the same number). It could replace all of AZ 64, ending at I-40 outside Williams. The "End" sign would then be here:
me, July 2004
Additional benefits under this scenario:
- It seems fitting that Grand Canyon National Park should be served by a US route.
- US 180 could then end at a major cross-country route (US 64 at Valle), or at least it could be co-signed with US 64 (instead of AZ 64) at the point where it quietly disappears at the south entrance to the Park (near Tusayan).