U.S. Route 36 (US 36) in the state of

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 ...

is an

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

with many

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 ...

sections, connecting

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. From

Cameron Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 197 ...

to the Illinois state line, it forms part of the principal route between

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 ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, known as the

Chicago–Kansas City Expressway The Chicago–Kansas City Expressway is a highway that runs between Chicago, Illinois, and Kansas City, Missouri. The road is known as Route 110 in Missouri and Illinois Route 110 (IL 110) in Illinois. IL 110 was created through legislation ...

. All of US 36 in Missouri is named the V.F.W. Memorial Highway.

Route description

U.S. Route 36 in Missouri runs from the

Pony Express Bridge The Pony Express Bridge is a highway girder bridge over the Missouri River connecting Elwood, Kansas with St. Joseph, Missouri on U.S. Route 36 (US 36). The bridge is referred to in signage as Pony Express Bridges because there are ...

over the Missouri River in

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

to the

Mark Twain Memorial Bridge The Mark Twain Memorial Bridge is a bridge over the Mississippi River at Hannibal, Missouri, childhood home of Mark Twain, for whom the bridge is named. The bridge, north of the original bridge, was finished in 2000. The bridge carries traffi ...

over the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

. After leaving the Missouri River valley, U.S. 36 then links major cities in Northern Missouri with

and cities in the east. From

to the

state line, it is overlapped with Route 110, also known as the

. Starting in St. Joseph, it passes through the cities of

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 ...

, Chillicothe, Macon, Shelbina, Monroe City, and Brookfield. The final of US 36 in Missouri is concurrent with

I-72 Interstate 72 (I-72) is an Interstate Highway in the midwestern United States. Its western terminus is in Hannibal, Missouri, at an intersection with U.S. Route 61 (US 61); its eastern terminus is at Country Fair Drive in Champai ...

. The route passes through mostly flat, fertile, productive farmland. Even though there are some surface intersections, U.S. 36 has many grade-separated interchanges and town bypasses that suggest a future extension of I-72 west from Hannibal.

History

US 36 across Missouri parallels the route of the

Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad was the first railroad to cross Missouri starting in Hannibal in the northeast and going to St. Joseph, Missouri, in the northwest. It is said to have carried the first letter to the Pony Express on April 3, ...

, which was the reason St. Joseph was selected for the Pony Express. The two towns were the second and third largest cities in the State of Missouri prior to the American Civil War. Prior to the establishment of the railroad in the late 1850s, the stagecoach route was called the "Hound Dog Trail." The road was originally Route 8 from 1922 to 1926, before being designated as US 36. Over the years some busier sections were upgraded to four lanes. On August 3, 2005, residents of Macon,

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mari ...

, Monroe, Shelby, and Ralls counties approved Proposition 36B, which excluded Ralls County from the Transportation Development District, and allowed for a 4-lane US 36 to be constructed without Ralls County's participation. In June 2010 work was completed making US 36 a four-lane highway across the entire state, saving considerable travel time.

Future

Presently I-72 ends at US 61 (Avenue of the Saints) in Hannibal, but further lengthening is proposed by Marion County. The five-item transportation list finalized by the County Commission on February 16, 2016, added the upgrade of US 36, from the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge across the Mississippi River to the split of US 24 and US 36 near Rocket Plaza, as a new priority. Citing potential benefits including economic development and marketing of Hannibal Lakeside Industrial Park, the Commission advocate extending Interstate 72 west approximately .

Major intersections

Special routes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:U.S. Route 36 In Missouri Missouri 36 Expressways in the United States Transportation in Buchanan County, Missouri Transportation in DeKalb County, Missouri Transportation in Caldwell County, Missouri Transportation in Livingston County, Missouri Transportation in Linn County, Missouri Transportation in Macon County, Missouri Transportation in Shelby County, Missouri Transportation in Marion County, Missouri Transportation in Ralls County, Missouri