Great River Road

thumb|right|The distinctive route marker displayed along the entire 10-state routing of the Great River Road

The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River. It begins at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, and passes through Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi, before terminating in Venice, Louisiana. It formerly extended north into Canada, serving the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. The road is designated as both a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road in several states along the route.

The term "Great River Road" refers both to a series of roadways and to a larger region inside the US and in each state, used for tourism and historic purposes. Some states have designated or identified regions of state interest along the road and use the roads to encompass those regions.

It is divided into two main sections: the Great River Road and the National Scenic Byway Route. The eponymous segment runs on both sides of the river from Louisiana through the state borders of Kentucky/Illinois and Missouri/Iowa, excepting the full length of the road in Arkansas. A five-state section of the road has been designated a National Scenic Byway, running through Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In 2021, eight of the 10 state routes were designated All-American Roads by the Federal Highway Administration, highlighting their national significance and one-of-a-kind features.

Developed in 1938, the road took 30 years of planning until it was built. It has a separate commission in each state. These in turn cooperate through the Mississippi River Parkway Commission (MRPC). The 2,340 miles (3,765 km) are designated with a green-and-white sign showing a river steamboat inside a pilotwheel with the name of the state or province. The over-all logo reads "Canada to Gulf" where the local name would be, and most MRPC publications denote the route as beginning at Lake Itasca in Minnesota and ending in Louisiana.

Route description

right|thumb|Looking north along the Great River Road in Wisconsin, with Minnesota in the distance on the west side of the Mississippi River

The Great River Road is not a single road but a designated route along connected segments of named and numbered highways and streets maintained by state, county, or local jurisdictions.

National and other routes

Until the early 1980s, a single Canada-to-Gulf alignment of the Great River Road, serving all ten states, was eligible for special federal funding. The states posted "National Route" plates above the markers on this route and marked their own alternate routes across the river, creating two alignments between New Orleans and Hastings-Point Douglas. Signs marking the National Route are now used only in Illinois and Minnesota.

Venice to Port Allen, Louisiana on the west bank
Huey P. Long Bridge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Greenville, Mississippi on the east bank
Benjamin G. Humphreys Bridge (replaced by the Greenville Bridge in 2010)
Lake Village to West Memphis, Arkansas on the west bank
Memphis & Arkansas Bridge
Memphis, Tennessee through Kentucky to Chester, Illinois on the east bank
Chester Bridge
McBride to Hannibal, Missouri on the west bank
Mark Twain Memorial Bridge (replaced by the modern Mark Twain Memorial Bridge in 2000)
East Hannibal to Niota, Illinois on the east bank
Fort Madison Toll Bridge
Fort Madison to Muscatine, Iowa on the west bank
Muscatine High Bridge (replaced by the Norbert F. Beckey Bridge in 1972)
Illinois City to East Dubuque, Illinois on the east bank
Julien Dubuque Bridge
Dubuque to Lansing, Iowa on the west bank
Black Hawk Bridge
De Soto, Wisconsin to Point Douglas, Minnesota on the east bank
single route from Point Douglas to Lake Itasca

More recently, much of the Great River Road, including a portion in every state, has been designated a National Scenic Byway.

Western route

;Louisiana

Few if any signs are present in Louisiana, which carries the National Route to the east bank (with access via LA 987-1).

A state alternate route begins along LA 986, becoming LA 415 near Lobdell and continuing along the river to Hermitage. LA 416 takes the route inland along the False River, an oxbow lake, to LA 1 near Knapp. LA 1 is followed through New Roads to Keller, where LA 15 splits to continue along the river to southwest of Vidalia. LA 131 leads northeast to Vidalia, from which US 425 and US 65 take the Great River Road to Arkansas. Highway 44 begins again at Bear Creek Lake and takes the route northwest across Crowley's Ridge into Marianna, where it turns north on Poplar Street, west on Chestnut Street, and north on US 79. At Hughes, the Great River Road leaves US 79 and turns east on Highway 38, then north on Highway 147 around the north shore of Horseshoe Lake and on to US 70 at Lehi. US 70 leads east into West Memphis, where the National Route historically crossed the Memphis & Arkansas Bridge. The final leg of Arkansas's Great River Road turns north at West Memphis and uses Highway 77 and US 61 north into Missouri. The Great River Road follows the entire length of CR X56 (including former Iowa 340) to McGregor, and then continues north on Iowa 76 and CR X52 (partly former Iowa 364) to Lansing, where the National Route crosses the Black Hawk Bridge (Iowa 9) to Wisconsin.

Some sources show the Great River Road continuing south from New Orleans along the east bank on LA 46 and LA 39 to Pointe à la Hache or even further down to Venice.

;Mississippi

In Mississippi, much of the Great River Road follows US 61. Between Onward and west of Lula, it runs nearer to the river on MS 1. The routing in the vicinity of Lula is not marked; the only state-maintained road connecting to US 61 is US 49.

Signs are present for an alternate route that runs inland through Fulton, Clinton, and Arlington along KY 125, KY 166, KY 1648, US 51, and KY 80. It leaves the main route at Hickman and ends north of Columbus.

County 12 continues along the Mississippi, becoming County 42 in Wright County. The route jogs north on MN 101 and then turns west on County 39 along the river to Monticello. There it picks up former MN 152 (which has been supplanted by I-94), now known as County 75 to St. Cloud. Through that city, the Great River Road follows Clearwater Road and 9th Avenue, crossing the Mississippi into Sauk Rapids on the Sauk Rapids Regional Bridge. County 33 (Benton Drive) leads to Sartell and another river crossing, the Sartell Bridge (County 29 / County 133), from which it uses the short County 78 to reach County 1. This road and its continuations in Morrison County - County 21, 25, and 52 - follow the west bank of the Mississippi to Little Falls, where it jogs east on MN 27 to County 213, which ends at MN 115 at the Camp Ripley entrance. The Camp Ripley Bridge takes MN 115 east to its terminus at MN 371, which the Great River Road follows north to Baxter, crossing the Mississippi at the south city limits. However, the left turn from College Drive onto East River Road is no longer permitted due to a reconstruction project.

The Great River Road leaves Brainerd to the north on County 3 (former MN 25), crossing the Mississippi again at the city limits. North of Merrifield it turns east on County 19, which leads to County 11 and then MN 6 south across the Mississippi and into Crosby. MN 210 leads east to Aitkin, where the route turns back to the north on County 1 and crosses the river yet again, then follows the unpaved County 21 and County 10 (separated by a bit of US 169) to Palisade. County 10 continues as a paved road from that city, north across MN 200 near Jacobson and northwest to Grand Rapids (becoming County 3 in Itasca County). The Great River Road does not cross the river in the Grand Rapids area, turning south on 7th Avenue, west on 10th Street and County 23, north on County 76, and west on County 63. At MN 6 the route jogs south to County 28, where it turns west and soon enters Cass County as County 65. Several more turns—north on County 74, west on County 3, and north to remain on County 3—take it to another Mississippi crossing onto County 18, from which it turns west on US 2 into Ball Club. County 39 and a bit of MN 46 lead to County 9, which runs southwest across the river at the Lake Winnibigoshish outlet and back to US 2, where it turns west to and beyond Bena. the Great River Road then followed Highway 12 north to near Ste. Anne, Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) to Winnipeg, and Highway 59 to near Victoria Beach, where it turned southeast on Highway 11 to near Seven Sisters Falls, Provincial Road 307 to near Rennie, Highway 44 to near West Hawk Lake, and finally east on the Trans-Canada Highway (Highways 1 and 17) to join the Ontario branch at Kenora.

History

The Mississippi River Parkway Planning Commission was formed in 1938 to develop plans for what was to become the Great River Road. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes urged the governors of the 10 states along the Mississippi River to form the commission. State planning officials had been developing the concept of a Mississippi River Parkway as an extension of an idea for a recreational river road that had been first put forward by the Missouri Planning Board in 1936.

The commission was instrumental not only in the early planning and development of the parkway but also in its construction, promotion, marketing, and development. (Now known as the Mississippi River Parkway Commission and headquartered in Minneapolis, the commission continues to promote, preserve, and enhance the resources of the Mississippi River Valley and the Great River Road. Representatives of the 10 states and two Canadian provinces serve on the commission's board of directors, and they serve as chairpersons of their state Mississippi River Parkway commissions.)

The U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Public Lands held hearings in 1939 and 1940 to discuss a bill that would have authorized a feasibility study of the Mississippi River Parkway concept. While popular, the parkway idea was soon overshadowed by World War II.

It wasn't until 1949 that Congress approved funding for a feasibility study. The study, "Parkway for the Mississippi River", was completed by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) (predecessor agency to the Federal Highway Administration) in 1951.

The study concluded that a parkway for the Mississippi River would benefit the nation as a whole. However, the report made an important distinction. Because it would be too expensive to build an entirely new parkway, BPR recommended instead that the project be designated a scenic route.

The scenic route would consist of existing riverside roads, and new construction would be limited to connecting the existing roads so that a continuous route could be developed. The existing roads would be upgraded to parkway quality. The modified approach would save a great deal of land acquisition and new construction costs. Another consideration was that some of the most scenic locations along the river had already been preempted by existing highways, railroads, and towns and cities.

The concept of a scenic route rather than a national parkway was adopted. As a result, the Great River Road is not owned by the National Park Service, as is the case with true national parkways, such as the Blue Ridge and Natchez Trace Parkways. Instead, the states have developed the Great River Road through a nationally coordinated program. BPR recommended "that the selected route shall be improved in a superior manner and that it should be dedicated to recreational purposes as well as to moving traffic". The needed construction and improvements "can be done with regular apportionments under the federal highway act or by the states on their own..."

With the Federal Highway Act of 1954, Congress responded to the recommendations of BPR by appropriating planning funds. BPR was authorized to work with each of the states to develop specific criteria for the parkway and to determine one specific route within each state for the Mississippi River Parkway. By the late 1950s, the familiar green-and-white pilot's wheel marker began to spring up on various sections of the designated route. Planning continued through the 1960s. The 1961 Iowa highway map was the first map in that state to highlight the route.

With the completion of all the planning reports in early 1970, actual development of the Great River Road was ready to begin. Although a number of states put up Great River Road highway signs and used available state funds for scenic bluff protection and road improvements, full-scale development funds were not yet available. Legislation to fund the development of the Great River Road was included for the first time as part of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973. From 1973 to 1982, Congress authorized a total of $314 million for the Great River Road. Most of those funds ($251 million) were allocated directly to the states.

With funds available, development could begin in earnest. In 1976, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued program guidelines setting criteria for the Great River Road. The states then set up their own procedures for selecting the route of the Great River Road within their state boundaries.

"The Great River Road should be located within designated segments to take advantage of scenic views and provide the traveler with the opportunity to enjoy the unique features of the Mississippi River and its recreational opportunities", the guidelines said. The criteria also specified that the Great River Road should provide for a variety of experiences or themes, including history, geology, and culture, and that the road should provide convenient access to larger population centers. Protection of the Mississippi River corridor was required by "appropriate route selection, effective control and development, and scenic easement acquisition".

The route of the federal Great River Road consists of sections that conform to the FHWA guidelines and that were eligible for the Great River Road funds in the 1970s and early 1980s. The states have designated alternative routes that include sections with significant scenic, historic, and recreational interest. While the federal Great River Road crisscrosses the river within each state, the alternative routes provide Great River Road routes on both sides of the river from the headwaters to the gulf. The Mississippi River Parkway Commission makes no distinction between the federal and state routes in its promotional efforts. However, some states do use highway signs that distinguish between a federal and state route.

In 2021, eight of the 10 state Great River Road National Scenic Byways were named All-American Roads by the Federal Highway Administration.