U.S. Route 71 (US 71) is a major north–south U.S. Highway that runs from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. US 71 enters

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

from

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 O ...

in the town of

Jane Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * Jane (1915 film), ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * Jane (2016 film), ''Jane'' (20 ...

. US 71 serves the cities of Joplin,

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 th ...

and St. Joseph. At noon on December 12, 2012, the section of US 71 between Pineville, Missouri and Bannister Road in south Kansas City was also designated as a northern extension of

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 st ...

(I-49).

Route description

US 71 enters Missouri in

coming from Arkansas. A new bypass known as the Bella Vista Bypass, goes around Jane and

Bella Vista, Arkansas Bella Vista is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. First established in 1917 as a summer resort destination, Bella Vista has evolved and redesigned itself over the succeeding years. Bella Vista became a retirement community in 1965 ...

to connect with the freeway section of US 71 near Pineville opened October 1, 2021. At this point,

begins its concurrency with US 71. I-49 and US 71 pass through many smaller communities before reaching Joplin. In Joplin, I-49 and US 71 interchanges with

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 ...

and begin a short concurrency from I-44 exits 11 through 18. A few miles east of Joplin, I-49 and US 71 leave I-44 and heads north and enters

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

. Due to the freeway being built, old sections of the highway have been bypassed and become county roads. I-49 and US 71 pass through

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

and other communities before reaching the

area. In south Kansas City, at Bannister Road just north of the Grandview Triangle, US 71 ends its concurrency with I-49, and continues into downtown Kansas City as Bruce R. Watkins Memorial Drive. US 71 loses its freeway status for 3 blocks in Kansas City before becoming a freeway again and entering

Downtown Kansas City Downtown Kansas City is the central business district (CBD) of Kansas City, Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area. It is between the Missouri River in the north, to 31st Street in the south; and from the Kansas–Missouri state line east ...

. It is very unlikely that the freeway will continue all the way through, as a court order prevents the stoplights to be bypassed, even though MoDot has the necessary right of way to do so. In northern Kansas City, US 71 shares many overlaps with interstates, including

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 ...

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

, and

I-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 ...

. US 71 runs with I-29 through Kansas City north of Downtown until St. Joseph. Once in St. Joseph, US 71 leaves I-29. US 71 runs north to Maryville. US 71 serves the small community of Clearmont before running through countryside into

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

History

In 1971, the highway was mostly two lanes south of Harrisonville, with the present-day bypass of Nevada and a brief segment between Butler and Rich Hill being the only other four-lane sections open between Harrisonville and Joplin. However, by the end of the decade, much of the highway would be upgraded to four lanes, with a continuous four-lane highway now existing between Kansas City and the Bates-Jasper county line. Additionally, a short segment between Carthage and Webb City (present day Route 171) had been upgraded to four lanes. By 1987, a continuous four-lane link existed between Kansas City and Carthage, including a bypass around Carthage, as well as an upgrade of Alt. US-71 south of Carthage to I-44, creating the present-day I-49 bypass around Carthage and Joplin. Save for a four-mile section of four-lane highway south of Neosho that was completed in the 1960s, the entire portion of US-71 (including Alt. US-71) south of Joplin to the Arkansas state line remained two lanes until 1999, when the present-day expressway from I-44 south to Neosho was completed. At this time, Alt. US-71 was decommissioned entirely, with the southern segment south of I-44 replaced by Route 59. By 2004, the present-day expressway had been extended south to Pineville. Upgrades to the highway were also made in the northern part of the state around this time, as US-71 was upgraded from two to four lanes between Savannah and Maryville, with various sections opening between 2001 and 2004. The future of part of the Bella Vista Bypass is on hold. On August 5, 2014, voters in Missouri defeated Amendment 7 at the polls, which would have provided funding various road construction projects in the state. After the measure's defeat, the funding for the connection from the existing southern end of I-49 in Missouri along the Bella Vista Bypass to the state line is in doubt, but Arkansas is moving ahead to construct all but the last connection to the state line. In March 2019, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved the remaining funding needed to complete the Bella Vista Bypass. Contracts will be let in 2020. Construction began May 11, 2020 on Missouri's portion of I-49 and opened October 1, 2021. I-435 north to I-70 west was alternate a via route for traffic to Avoid the 3 at-grade crossings.

Major intersections

References

External links

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links