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Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at the Bowers Hill Interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bower's Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. I-64 connects Greater St. Louis, the Louisville metropolitan area, the Lexington–Fayette metropolitan area, the Charleston, WV metropolitan area, the Greater Richmond Region, and Hampton Roads.
The Columbia metropolitan area is the region centered around the City of Columbia in the U.S. state of Missouri. Located in Mid-Missouri, it consists of five counties: Boone, Audrain, Randolph, Cooper, and Howard. The population was estimated at 256,640 in 2017, making it the 4th largest metropolitan area in Missouri. Columbia is home to the University of Missouri, and is Missouri's fourth most-populous and fastest growing city, with an estimated 121,717 residents as of 2017. Other significant cities in the area include Moberly, Mexico, Boonville, Vandalia, Centralia, and Fayette. There is also a 9-county Columbia–Jefferson City–Moberly combined statistical area with 415,747 residents.
The area was originally called the Boonslick and settled mainly by Kentuckians following the Boone's Lick Road starting around 1812. The town of Franklin, now washed into the Missouri River, was an early commercial center and start of the Santa Fe Trail. Columbia was founded as county seat of Boone County in 1821. The region was considered for the location of the Missouri State Capitol, but eventually a site was chosen 30 miles (48 km) south of Columbia and Jefferson City was created to serve that purpose. Today, Interstate 70, and U.S. Highways 63, 54, 24, and 40 link the urban areas. The U.S. census defines the Columbia MSA as Boone, Cooper, and Howard counties while the addition of the Jefferson City MSA along with Audrain and Randolph form the combined statistical area.
Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two most voluminous rivers in the United States: the Mississippi below its connection with the Missouri River to the west and the Ohio River to the east and south, with the tributary Wabash River, extending the southeastern border. Some areas of Southern Illinois are known historically as Little Egypt. Although part of the Midwest, certain areas of Southern Illinois more closely align culturally with neighboring parts of the Upland South (i.e. Kentucky, Tennessee, Southern Indiana, and Missouri).
Southern Illinois' most populated city is Belleville at 44,478. Other principal cities include Alton, Centralia, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Godfrey, Granite City, O'Fallon, Harrisburg, Herrin, West Frankfort, Mt. Vernon, Marion, and Carbondale, where the main campus of Southern Illinois University is located. Residents may also commute to St. Louis and Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Evansville, Indiana; and Paducah, Kentucky. The region is home to Scott Air Force Base, a major military installation.
U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching 3,019 miles (4,859 km) from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic Ocean. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended (by way of Stockton, the Altamont Pass, and the Bay Bridge) to San Francisco, near the Pacific Ocean. The Interstates were constructed later and are mostly separate from this route. It generally serves a corridor south of I-70 and I-80 and north of I-64 and I-40.
The route runs through mostly rural desert and mountains in the western United States, with the section through Nevada known as "The Loneliest Road in America". In the Midwest, US 50 heads through mostly rural areas of farms as well as a few large cities including Kansas City, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the largest city in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in western Colorado and the 17th most populous Colorado municipality overall.
As western Colorado's largest city, Grand Junction is the economic and cultural center of the Western Slope region. The city is a transportation hub situated at the convergence of Interstate 70, U.S. Highway 50 and U.S. Highway 6. Grand Junction is also home to Colorado Mesa University, enrolling nearly 10,000 students annually.