Route 45 is a highway in northwest

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 ...

, US in Buchanan County and Platte County which is largely in the bottom land alongside the Missouri River.

Route description

Its northern terminus is

U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south United States highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway Sy ...

just east of

Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city and county seat of Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator David Rice Atchison from Missouri an ...

where 59 turns sharply to

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

north while 45 heads south towards

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. It overlaps Route 273 until just south of

Weston, Missouri Weston is a town in Platte County, Missouri within the United States. The population was 1,641 at the 2010 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition stopped at "Bear Medison" island, near the location of today's city hall. Weston was the ol ...

where 273 breaks off to head east. At

Beverly, Missouri Beverly is an unincorporated community in Platte County, in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is within the Kansas City metropolitan area. The community is located at the confluence of Bee Creek with the Missouri River Floodplain. Missouri Route ...

, in what is referred to locally as the "Beverly Curve", it intersects Route 92 going east to

Platte City, Missouri Platte City is a city in and the county seat of Platte County, Missouri within the United States. The population was 4,691 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. History Platte City was founded by Zadock ...

and west to

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

. About three miles (5 km) later at East Leavenworth, Missouri, Route 45 intersects its spur which goes northwest to Leavenworth. The spur, which is signed as "Route 45" and also known as the "Leavenworth cutoff", was built as a shortcut from

to Kansas City during the construction of the

Centennial Bridge (Leavenworth, Kansas) The Centennial Bridge is a through arch bridge road bridge over the Missouri River connecting Leavenworth, Kansas, and Platte County, Missouri. Constructed in 1955, it was initially a toll bridge. The bridge opened in 1955, a year after Leavenw ...

. Even though it is in Missouri it was maintained by the city of Leavenworth until the tolls were removed from the Centennial Bridge in May 1977. This is now maintained by MODOT. The length of the highway between the convergence of the spur and the intersection with I-435 to the south was quite narrow, each lane being less than 11 feet wide. In addition, there were large ruts just off the edges of the highway in some areas. This width shrank even more over the Platte River bridge just south of Farley, which was finally replaced after 79 years—the original bridge was built in 1933 and the replacement bridge (built just to the east of the old bridge) was completed in 2012. Recent construction in the spring months of 2013 has widened the road and eliminated the danger of ruts, although as of May 2013, there has not been a change in the painted lanes. South of

Farley, Missouri Farley is a village in Platte County, Missouri, within the United States, along the Platte River. The population was 269 at the 2010 census. It lies within the Kansas City metropolitan area. History A post office called Farley has been in opera ...

, the road leaves the Missouri River bottoms and heads southeast past

Interstate 435 Interstate 435 (I-435) is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States. Route description I-435, a loop route of I-35, is long and in ...

. The section between

and

Interstate 29 Interstate 29 (I-29) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with I-35 and I-70, to the Canada–US border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba ...

that passes the

National Golf Club of Kansas City The National Golf Club of Kansas City is an exclusive golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cann ...

is named the Tom Watson Parkway after the Kansas City native champion golfer who also designed the club's course. At the intersection with

, the road widens to become a four-lane concrete avenue. The road's southern terminal point is

. The road, which is almost exclusively rural until entering Kansas City suburban development at I-435, is frequently listed as a "scenic route" as it stays close to the Missouri River bluffs and has commanding views of

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

History

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist 045 Transportation in Buchanan County, Missouri Transportation in Platte County, Missouri Transportation in the Kansas City metropolitan area Transportation in Kansas City, Missouri