Interstate 55 (I-55) in the US state of

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 ...

runs from 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 O ...

state line to the Poplar Street Bridge over the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

in St. Louis.

Route description

I-55 enters Missouri at the

border near Cooter. It runs northward through mostly flat land in the Bootheel, where it has an interchange with U.S. Route 412 (US 412) and I-155. The highway continues over bumpy land through or near the towns of Hayti, Portageville, and New Madrid before reaching an interchange with US 60 and

I-57 Interstate 57 (I-57) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Missouri and Illinois that parallels the old Illinois Central Railroad for much of its route. It runs from Sikeston, Missouri, at I-55 to Chicago, Illinois, at I-94. I-57 ess ...

just south of

Sikeston Sikeston is a city located both in southern Scott County and northern New Madrid County, in the state of Missouri, United States. It is situated just north of the "Missouri Bootheel", although many locals consider Sikeston a part of it. By way ...

. The next interchange, US 62, provides access into the city of Sikeston and one of its most popular attractions,

Lambert's Cafe Lambert's Cafe is a US restaurant chain with locations in Foley, Alabama; Sikeston, Missouri; and Ozark, Missouri. It was founded in 1942. It is known for throwing hot rolls to the customers. It features Southern or country cooking (fried chick ...

, the "Home of the Throwed Rolls". North of Sikeston, I-55 begins to traverse rolling terrain on its way to Cape Girardeau. Exit 95, Route 74 east, provides direct access to the

Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge The Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge connecting Missouri's Route 34 and Route 74 with Illinois Route 146 across the Mississippi River between Cape Girardeau, Missouri and East Cape Girardeau, Illinois. It was built just ...

into southern Illinois. The heart of the city of Cape Girardeau as well as

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Co ...

can be reached by taking either exit 96 or exit 99. I-55 then goes through rural areas again as it makes a north-northwesterly run through the towns of Perryville and Ste. Genevieve before entering the southern reaches of the St. Louis metro area at the interchange with US 67 and the Twin Cities of Festus and Crystal City. US 61 and US 67 run concurrently immediately east of I-55 nearly due north through the Jefferson County towns of

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the n ...

, Pevely (where the Interstate expands from four lanes to six), Barnhart (and then to eight),

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, and finally

Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia U ...

before crossing the

Meramec River The Meramec River (), sometimes spelled Maramec River, is one of the longest free-flowing waterways in the U.S. state of Missouri, draining Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Location" while wandering Blanc, Caldwell, and Hawk. "Executive Summary" f ...

into St. Louis County. From Richardson Road in Arnold to I-270, I-55 is 10 lanes wide. The Interstate narrows back down to eight lanes past I-270, through southern St. Louis County, and into the city of St. Louis. In the last few miles of I-55 in the state of Missouri, there is an interchange and brief overlap with I-44 before reaching the Poplar Street Bridge crossing into Illinois.

History

Sponsorship controversy

The white supremacy group

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...

began fighting several court battles with the state of Missouri after the state disputed its right to sponsor a stretch of freeway in Saint Louis County and Jefferson County, near St. Louis. In March 2001, after a US District Court judge found that blocking the Klan's sponsorship was unconstitutional, the Court of Appeals ruled that the state must erect signs announcing the group's sponsorship. However, the Missouri Legislature later voted to rename the stretch of I-55 the "

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "th ...

Freeway" in honor of the Montgomery civil rights hero who began the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States ...

. When asked how she felt about this honor, she is reported to have commented, "It is always nice to be thought of." The Klan were eventually dropped from the scheme on April 4, 2001, on the grounds that, for the duration of their sponsorship, they had not once cleaned the freeway.

Exit list

Auxiliary routes

*: A spur running from I-55 in Hayti, Missouri, to US 51 in Dyersburg, Tennessee; overlaps with

US 412 U.S. Route 412 is an east–west United States highway, first commissioned in 1982. U.S. 412 overlaps expressway-grade Cimarron Turnpike from Tulsa west to Interstate 35 and the Cherokee Turnpike from east of Chouteau, Oklahoma, to west of ...

for its entire length. of this highway will be absorbed into the newly extended I-69 in the future. *: The eastern third of the beltway around the St. Louis Metro Area (with I-270 forming the remaining two-thirds) *: I-55 has three business loops in Missouri.

References

External links

The Name Game
at Snopes.com. {{state detail page browse, type=I, route=55, state=Missouri, statebefore=Arkansas, stateafter=Illinois 55 Missouri Roads in Greater St. Louis Transportation in Pemiscot County, Missouri Transportation in New Madrid County, Missouri Transportation in Scott County, Missouri Transportation in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri Transportation in Perry County, Missouri Transportation in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri Transportation in Jefferson County, Missouri Transportation in St. Louis County, Missouri