Route 59 is a highway in southwest Missouri running from
Interstate 44
Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...
/
Interstate 49
Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in multiple segments: the original portion entirely within the state of Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas s ...
/
U.S. Route 71
U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstat ...
at
Fidelity
Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London f ...
to the
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
state line where it continues as
Highway 59. It replaced a large section of U.S. Route 71 and
Alternate US 71 in sections. The first section was designated in 1960 between Lanagan and the Arkansas state line when US 71 was moved down the former
Route 88. In the 1990s, US 71 was moved and upgraded to interstate standards from Neosho to Lanagan and Route 59 was extended north to Neosho. When US 71 was moved east of Joplin in the late 1990s, Alternate US 71 was deleted, and Route 59 was extended north to replace that highway. The highway was numbered after Arkansas Highway 59.
Route description
Route 59 is a two-lane highway for its entire length except for a short section in southern Neosho where it forms a
concurrency with Business I-49.
The highway begins at the Arkansas state line where it is continued from
Arkansas Highway 59
Arkansas Highway 59 is a north–south state highway in Northwest Arkansas. The route runs from Arkansas Highway 22 in Barling north to the Missouri state line through Van Buren, the county seat of Crawford County. Highway 59 parallels US ...
. The road runs ''under'' some of the bluffs along the Elk River (with signs warning of low clearance for trucks). It also runs into a very scenic area, squeezed between steep bluffs and the railroad then passes through
Noel and briefly has a
concurrency with
Route 90 then curves east where it runs next to the
Kansas City Southern Railway
The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and ...
for several miles then passes through
Anderson
Anderson or Andersson may refer to:
Companies
* Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910
* Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car
* Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer
* Anderson ...
. At Anderson, there is a short concurrency with
Route 76 then has a concurrency with
Business US 71 and turning into a windy road until it intersects with
I-49
Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in multiple segments: the original portion entirely within the state of Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from Interstate 220 (Louisiana), I-220 in S ...
at a
partial interchange
Terminology related to road transport—the transport of passengers or goods on paved (or otherwise improved) routes between places—is diverse, with variation between List of dialects of the English language, dialects of English. There may also ...
.
Then, it leaves
McDonald County before passing through
Goodman
Goodman or Goodmans may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Goodman Games, American publisher.
* Goodman Global, an American HVAC manufacturer.
* Goodman Group, an Australian property company.
* Goodmans Industries, a British electronic co ...
. In
Neosho, Route 59 picks ups a concurrency with
U.S. Route 60 and then picks up
Route 86 for a brief moment. There is an interchange with the northern junction with
U.S. Route 60 northeast of Neosho where US 60 concurrency ends. The road remains two-lane (US 60 is also two-lane here) for the interchange, which was built due to numerous accidents at the former intersection. Next, Route 59 passes through
Diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
. Finally, the highway ends at I-44/I-49/US 71 at a
cloverleaf interchange
A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...
in
Fidelity
Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of ''fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word ''fidēlis'', meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London f ...
where the road continues north as I-49/US 71 heading towards
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
.
Major intersections
References
{{Reflist
059
U.S. Route 71
Transportation in Jasper County, Missouri