Route 13 is a highway in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

which runs almost the entire north–south length of the state. Its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 69/ 136 in

Bethany Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West B ...

. Its southern terminus is at 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 in downtown Blue Eye, Missouri–

where it continues as Highway 21. It is one of the original state highways of Missouri. The road serves as an important corridor between Springfield and

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 ...

, two of the three largest cities in the state. Heading north from Springfield, Route 13 intersects Route 7 at Clinton which in turn carries traffic to

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 Harrisonville. I-49/US 71 then continues on into downtown Kansas City. Route 13, Route 7, and I-49/US 71 now provide a four-lane highway (much of it

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

) between Springfield and Kansas City since the completion of the final widening project between Collins and Clinton. Several sections from north of Reeds Spring through Branson West have been widened, rebuilt, moved, and renamed to help ease traffic congestion through the towns. Drivers regularly use these routes to get to many of the lakes in southern Missouri and this has caused a major headache in recent years. One section of road has been renamed Route 413 and travels north to Springfield. In June 2009, the nation's first

diverging diamond interchange A diverging diamond interchange (DDI), also called a double crossover diamond interchange (DCD), is a subset of diamond interchange in which the opposing directions of travel on the non-freeway road cross each other on either side of the inte ...

, a style of interchange where traffic crosses to the left-side of the road, opened to traffic. The interchange is located at the I-44/MO-13 junction in Springfield. In 2006 the portion through

Caldwell County, Missouri Caldwell County is a County (United States), county located in Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county's population was 9,424. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Its county seat is King ...

was named the ''

Zack Wheat Zachariah Davis Wheat (May 23, 1888 – March 11, 1972), nicknamed "Buck", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder from 1909 to 1927, most notably as a member of the Brooklyn Do ...

Memorial Highway'' in honor of the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

playe

Route description

Route 13 begins at the

state line in Blue Eye, Missouri, Blue Eye. After leaving the town, it travels through the rugged countryside of the southwest Missouri

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

, part of the

Mark Twain National Forest Mark Twain National Forest (MTNF) is a U.S. United States National Forest, National Forest located in the southern half of Missouri. MTNF was established on September 11, 1939. It is named for author Mark Twain, a Missouri native. The MTNF cover ...

. Route 13 forms a concurrency with Route 86 before bridging

Table Rock Lake Table Rock Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas in the United States. Designed, built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lake is impounded by Table Rock Dam ...

south of the town of Kimberling City. In Branson West, it leaves the national forest and forms a concurrency with Route 76 and Route 265. North of this, Route 13 travels concurrently with Route 248 for . At Reeds Spring Junction is the southern terminus of Route 413, and old alignment of Route 13, changed in the early 2000s. Also at Reeds Spring Junction, U.S. Route 160 (US 160) joins to form another concurrency with Route 13. At

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

, the two highways are joined by a third, Route 176. US 160 and Route 13 intersect Route 14 in Nixa. The two highways continue north into Greene County, where they enter Springfield traveling along Campbell Avenue. At the

James River Freeway James River Freeway is a freeway located largely on the south side of Springfield, Missouri. Its western terminus is at Interstate 44 (I-44) north of Brookline and its eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 65 (US 65) in southeastern Springfie ...

, US 160 and Route 13 turn off Campbell to travel along the freeway with US 60. Route 13 splits off the freeway at the next exit to turn north along Kansas Expressway. At Sunshine Street is the northern terminus of Route 413. On the north side of Springfield, Route 13 crosses Route 744 (Kearney Street) and Interstate 44 (I-44) less than north. It then passes near the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds and the Dickerson Park Zoo and leaves the city as a

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

. A project begun in 2009 and completed on June 21 of that year, turned the existing I-44 interchange into a diverging diamond, which was the first of its kind in the nation. In addition to costing $2.5 million compared to around $8 million for a complete rebuild, this has also helped ease congestion at the interchange by making lefts onto the on-ramps "free lefts" by lanes shifting into opposite lanes when passing over the bridge. South of Bolivar, the divided highway splits apart, with the northbound lanes being the older highway, though an even older alignment travels further to the east. Because of the situation, numerous " Do not enter" signs are posted to help prevent local traffic from driving on the wrong lanes of the highway. Near

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

is a short concurrency with Route 215. Construction began in summer of 2008 to build new northbound lanes next to the straighter southbound lanes. This project was completed in 2010 and the old northbound lanes will be designated county roads when the project is completed. At Bolivar, in addition to the intersection with Route 32, is another business route. The business route ends, along with Route 83 at an interchange on the southern part of the town. South of Humansville is the intersection with Route 123. At

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

is an interchange with US 54. At

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

, Route 13 crosses a branch of the Harry S. Truman Reservoir. At Deepwater, Route 13 forms a concurrency with Route 52. The two highways cross Harry S. Truman Reservoir twice before heading into Clinton. Route 13 and Route 52 serve as the eastern terminus of Route 18. Route 7 joins the concurrency at the same intersection, and the three highways continue around the northeastern part of the town, where Route 52 splits off, and eventually Route 7 and Route 13 go their separate ways. North of Post Oak, the highway has an intersection with Route 2. East of Warrensburg is an intersection with US 50. South of Higginsville, Route 13 crosses

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the c ...

/ US 40. At Higginsville is the western terminus of Route 20. Route 13 then forms a complicated interchange with US 24 and Route 224 east of Lexington, the site of a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

battlefield, then crosses the Missouri River. From US 24 in Lexington to the intersection with Route 10 in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, the highway is a four-lane

limited access road A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, dual-carriageway, expressway, limited access freeway, and partial controlled access highway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which ...

. North of Richmond, it returns to a two-lane highway flanked by

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

land. At

Polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

the road forms a short concurrency with Route 116, and further north, at

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

is an intersection with US 36. Near Gallatin, it turns east forming a concurrency with Route 6 for , then turns north again. A few miles north is an interchange with I-35. Then, Route 13 ends at US 69/ US 136 in

History

The original southern terminus of the highway (as laid out in 1922) was at Route 71 (now

U.S. Route 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of ...

) in Buffalo. By 1925, it was realigned to absorb the Bolivar- Springfield Route 69, which had been created in 1922; the former piece from Bolivar to Buffalo became an extension of

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

, which became part of

US 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific and Rock Island Lines "Golden ...

in 1927 (and is now part of Route 32). Route 13 took over Route 43, established in 1922 from Marionville south to the Arkansas state line, in about 1930. Route 123 is the old alignment of Route 13 between Humansville and

Fair Play Fair play or Fairplay usually refers to sportsmanship. Fair play or Fairplay may also refer to: Media * ''Fair Play'' (1925 film), an American silent film * ''Fair Play'', a 1972 TV movie starring Paul Ford * ''Fair Play'' (2014 film), a Czech ...

, where Route 13 turned east on to what is now Route 32 (Route 64 prior to 1956)https://www.modot.org/sites/default/files/documents/1955002_reduced%5B1%5D_0.pdf back to Bolivar.

Route 13 Business

* Lexington * Higginsville * Warrensburg * Clinton *

* Bolivar * Branson West

Major intersections

References