Upon entering Kentucky, U.S. 60 is concurrent with U.S. 51 and U.S. 62 from the Ohio River bridge to the town of Wickliffe

Wickliffe, Kentucky

Wickliffe is a city in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 794 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Ballard County.Wickliffe is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Wickliffe is located at ....

. At Wickliffe, U.S. 60 separates from the other routes and heads generally northeast toward the city of Paducah

Paducah, Kentucky

Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...

. Between Wickliffe and Paducah, the towns of Barlow

Barlow, Kentucky

Barlow is a city in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 715 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Barlow is located at ....

, La Center

La Center, Kentucky

La Center is a city in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,038 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:La Center is located at ....

 and Kevil

Kevil, Kentucky

Kevil is a city in Ballard County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 574 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Kevil is located at ....

 are situated along the route.

Upon reaching Paducah, U.S. 60 intersects with Interstate 24

Interstate 24

Interstate 24 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It runs diagonally from Interstate 57 to Chattanooga, Tennessee, at Interstate 75....

, and I-24's business loop enters the city concurrent with U.S. 60. In the downtown area, the route once again meets U.S. 62, and also meets U.S. 45. Once out of the city of Paducah, U.S. 60 again veers to the northeast, generally following the Ohio River until reaching Smithland

Smithland, Kentucky

Smithland is a city in Livingston County, Kentucky, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. The population was 401 at the 2000 census...

, where the route again turns to the east, passing through the small town of Burna. From Burna, U.S. 60 passes through Salem

Salem, Kentucky

Salem is a city in Livingston County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 769 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Paducah, KY-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area....

.

The next city along the route is Marion

Marion, Kentucky

Marion is a city in Crittenden County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,196. It is the county seat of Crittenden County...

. At Marion, U.S. 60 turns once more to the north, where it heads toward Sturgis

Sturgis, Kentucky

Sturgis is a city in Union County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,030 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1886 and named for Samuel Sturgis, who owned the land now occupied by the city.-Geography:...

. From Sturgis, the route continues generally northward to Morganfield. In recent years, a by-pass of U.S. 60 around the south and east sides of Morganfield

Morganfield, Kentucky

Morganfield is a city in Union County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 3,494 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union County...

 has taken a great deal of traffic congestion out of the city.

U.S. 60 passes through Waverly

Waverly, Kentucky

Waverly is a city in Union County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 297 at the 2000 census. Founded in 1870, the city was named for founder Hugh McElroy's nephew.-Geography:Waverly is located at ....

 and Corydon

Corydon, Kentucky

Corydon is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 744 at the 2000 census. Settled in 1848, the city is named for the hero of the song Pastoral Elegy.-Geography:Corydon is located at ....

 before reaching Henderson

Henderson, Kentucky

Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The population was 27,952 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area often referred to as "Kentuckiana", although "Tri-State Area" or "Tri-State" are more...

. At Henderson, the route intersects Kentucky Highway 136, Kentucky Highway 425 and U.S. Highway 41 Alternate. U.S. 41-A is concurrent with U.S. 60 along Green Street in the city of Henderson as it intersects with Kentucky Highway 812 and Kentucky Highway 351. At the U.S. Highway 41/Pennyrile Parkway interchange, U.S. 41-A ends and U.S. 60 continues alone, by-passing the cities of Owensboro

Owensboro, Kentucky

Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...

, Lewisport

Lewisport, Kentucky

Lewisport is a city in Hancock County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1639 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Owensboro, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area.Founded in 1839, Lewisport is named for an early settler....

, Hawesville

Hawesville, Kentucky

Hawesville is a city in Hancock County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 971 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Owensboro, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, and Hardinsburg

Hardinsburg, Kentucky

Hardinsburg is a city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,345 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Breckinridge County. By Kentucky state law, it is classified as a fifth class city...

.

Until 2010, U.S. 60 passed through the city of Owensboro, while the U.S. 60 By-Pass (Wendell H. Ford

Wendell H. Ford

Wendell Hampton Ford is a retired politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. He served for twenty-four years in the U.S. Senate and was the 53rd Governor of Kentucky. He was the first person to be successively elected lieutenant governor, governor, and U.S. senator in Kentucky history...

 Expressway) skirted the city to its south. The city of Owensboro and state of Kentucky requested the decommissioning of 60 within the city, and AASHTO approved the request, making the expressway the main line of U.S. 60. As of April 2011, signage has been changed, and US 60 now solely follows the expressway around Owensboro.
In Fort Knox, U.S. 60 connects with U.S. 31W, and they remain together until downtown Louisville. Originally built as a "bypass route" around downtown Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, Alt US 60 used several existing roads running through Louisville to get between the east and south sides of town without having to travel through the heavily congested downtown or west ends of town. 'Alt 60' runs northeast to southwest from St. Matthews

St. Matthews, Kentucky

St. Matthews is the 20th largest city in Kentucky, United States and is a prominent suburb of Louisville. It is located 8 miles east of downtown Louisville in Jefferson County. It is one of the state's major shopping areas, being home to second and fifth largest malls in Kentucky St. Matthews is...

 to Shively

Shively, Kentucky

Shively is a city in Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 15,157 at the 2000 census. It is located southwest of Louisville, Kentucky and directly adjoins the larger city. Shively is centered around the junction of US 60 and the Dixie Highway.-History:Shively was first...

; including a stretch on one of Frederick Law Olmsted's last remaining parkways, Eastern Parkway. Before its completion and designation as Interstate 264

Interstate 264 (Kentucky)

The Henry Watterson Expressway, also known as the Georgia Davis Powers/Shawnee Expressway west of US 31W, is one of two Interstate Highways in the United States designated as Interstate 264 . It is 22.93 miles in length, and runs an open circle around central Louisville, Kentucky...

 in 1984, the Henry Watterson Expressway connecting Dixie Highway

Dixie Highway

The Dixie Highway was a United States automobile highway, first planned in 1914 to connect the US Midwest with the Southern United States. It was part of the National Auto Trail system, and grew out of an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final result is better understood as a small network of...

 (U.S. 31W/U.S. 60) and Shelbyville Rd (U.S. 60) was signed Bypass U.S. 60.

After passing Shelbyville

Shelbyville, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,085 people, 3,822 households, and 2,549 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,333.5 people per square mile . There were 4,117 housing units at an average density of 544.4 per square mile...

, it continues through the state capital of Frankfort

Frankfort, Kentucky

Frankfort is a city in Kentucky that serves as the state capital and the county seat of Franklin County. The population was 27,741 at the 2000 census; by population it is the 5th smallest state capital in the United States...

, becomes four lanes and then heads more south than east toward Versailles. The more direct route to Lexington is two-lane US 421, Leestown Pike (once designated KY 50), which is technically southbound but runs more east than south in this area. In Versailles

Versailles, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...

, U.S. 60's eastbound lanes are very briefly the westbound lanes of U.S. 62, which runs more south than west at that point. After turning east and intersecting the Bluegrass Parkway

Bluegrass Parkway

The Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Parkway is a controlled-access highway running from Elizabethtown, Kentucky to Woodford County, Kentucky, for a length of 71.134 miles . It intersects with Interstate 65 at its western terminus, and U.S. Route 60 at its eastern terminus. It is one of nine...

, U.S. 60 is one of the major routes through Lexington. It intersects I-75 and goes to Winchester

Winchester, Kentucky

Winchester is a city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,724 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 and the Mountain Parkway. It proceeds to Mount Sterling

Mount Sterling, Kentucky

The Mt. Sterling-Montgomery County Library was established in 1871. The Mt. Sterling – Montgomery County Library moved to the current location, accessible from both Main and Locust Streets, in July 1984. The building was officially dedicated on September 30, 1984...

, Morehead

Morehead, Kentucky

As of the census of 2010, there were 6,845 people, households, and families residing in the city. The population density was 726.2 people per square mile. There were 2,356 housing units at an average density of 253.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 93.2% White, 3.2% African...

, past Carter Caves State Resort Park

Carter Caves State Resort Park

Carter Caves State Resort Park is located in Carter County, Kentucky, United States, along Tygarts Creek. It is formed by Carter Caves, and nearby Cascade Caves, which were added to the park in 1959. On December 16, 1981, of the park were designated as nature preserves...

, on to Grayson

Grayson, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,877 people, 1,415 households, and 938 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,549.1 people per square mile . There were 1,538 housing units at an average density of 614.5 per square mile...

 and finally to Ashland

Ashland, Kentucky

Ashland, formerly known as Poage Settlement, is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States, nestled along the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 21,981 at the 2000 census. Ashland is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of the 2000 census, the...

. U.S. 23 South follows U.S. 60 East into Catlettsburg

Catlettsburg, Kentucky

Catlettsburg is a city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States and is the county seat of Boyd County. The city population was 1,960 at the 2000 census. The city's postal ZIP code serves a greater population of 10,029, which is a better reflection of the community's size. Catlettsburg is a part of...

, where they split at 35th St. U.S. 23 South continues straight as a 4-lane highway, while U.S. 60 East turns left on 35th St., passes Oakland Avenue, and enters Kenova, West Virginia

Kenova, West Virginia

Kenova is a city in Wayne County, West Virginia, at the confluence of the Ohio and Big Sandy Rivers. The name of the town comes from its unique position where the borders of Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia meet. Founded in 1859 but not incorporated until 1894, the town's early history and...

 via the Billy C. Clark Bridge.

Especially in the eastern and central part of the state, U.S. 60 has been largely replaced by Interstate 64

Interstate 64

Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. 40, and U.S. 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. As I-64 is concurrent with...

 for long distance travel, since both routes follow each other through much of this area. However, several cites in this area rely on U.S. 60 to connect them to the interstate. By contrast, in the western part of the state, U.S. 60 is not paired with an interstate highway and serves a much more independent purpose, connecting communities located along and near the Ohio River

Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...

.