Missouri Route 5 is the longest state highway in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

and the only Missouri state highway to traverse the entire state. To the north, it continues into Iowa as Iowa Highway 5 and to the south it enters Arkansas as

Arkansas Highway 5 Arkansas Highway 5 (AR 5) is a designation for three List of state highways in Arkansas, state highways in Arkansas. The southern segment of runs from U.S. Route 70 in Arkansas, U.S. Route 70 (US 70) east of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Hot Springs ...

as part of a three state 650 mile highway 5. With only a few exceptions, it is mostly a two-lane for its entire length.

Route description

Route 5 begins at the

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state line in Ozark County as a continuation of

. Approximately to the north of the state line, Route 5 meets U.S. 160 after which it forms a east-west concurrency to the east where it enters Gainesville. After leaving its U.S. 160 concurrency to the north, Route 5 continues northwest for approximately before forming a north-south

wrong-way concurrency Wrong way may refer to: * a traffic sign to warn of wrong-way driving * nickname of Douglas Corrigan (1907–1995), an American aviator who flew east from New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 * nickname of Roy Riegels (1908–1 ...

with Route 95 into Wasola. Route 5 enters Douglas County north of Wasola. Thirteen miles into Douglas County, Route 5 forms a four-mile north–south concurrency with Route 76 past Ava, and serves the town itself with a

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route that branches off a parent numbered highway at its beginning, continues through the central business district of a nearby city or to ...

. Within the northwest part of Ava, the concurrent routes intersect Route 14. After Route 76 leaves the concurrency to the east, Route 5 continues for 10 miles before entering Wright County. Shortly after entering Wright County, Route 5 forms a one-mile east–west concurrency with U.S. 60 (as a

limited-access highway A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limited-access highway, partial controlled-access highway, and expressway, is a highway or arterial road for high-speed traffic which has many or most characteristics of a contro ...

) in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

. After leaving its U.S. 60 concurrency to the north, the route intersects with Route 38 in Hartville 11 miles later, and then continues for 24 miles into Laclede County. In Laclede County, Route 5 passes through

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, intersects I-44, Route 32 and Route 64 in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, and enters Camden County 16 miles north of Lebanon. Between Lebanon and Camdenton, the road has been realigned and straightened, and several older alignments are visible. Just south of Camdenton, Route 5 forms an 11-mile north–south concurrency with Route 7 which continues through the town and intersects

U.S. Route 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 Railroad, Southern Pacific an ...

. After Route 7 leaves Route 5 in Greenview, while Route 7 goes west, Route 5 leaves the

Ozark Mountains 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, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

and crosses the

Lake of the Ozarks Lake of the Ozarks is a reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Parts of three smaller tributaries to the Osage are included in the impoundment: the Niangua River, Grandglaize Creek ...

at the Hurricane Deck Bridge, passing through Sunrise Beach shortly before entering Morgan County. Twenty miles north into Morgan County, Route 5 forms a short east–west concurrency with Route 52 in

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. After leaving its Route 52 concurrency to the north, it continues north for 14 miles and enters

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It had a population of 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham and southeas ...

, in which the route forms a four-mile east–west concurrency with U.S. 50. Soon after leaving its U.S. 50 concurrency to the north, Route 5 enters Cooper County. In Cooper County, Route 5 continues north for 20 miles before intersecting I-70 just south of Boonville. Three miles north of I-70, the route enters Boonville and forms a triple concurrency with U.S. 40 and Route 87. All three routes together cross the

Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...

into Howard County. Immediately after entering Howard County, Route 87 leaves the concurrency to the west, and less than a mile thereafter, U.S. 40 leaves the concurrency to the east. From there, Route 5 continues north to Fayette, in which it forms a nine-mile concurrency with Route 240 that starts with a north–south alignment, but becomes an east–west alignment after intersecting Route 3. Shortly thereafter, Route 240 leaves the concurrency to the south (ultimately heading west), and Route 5 enters

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, after which it returns to a north–south alignment and enters Chariton County. Thirteen miles to the north of the Chariton County line, Route 5 forms a five-mile east–west concurrency with U.S. 24 and enters Keytesville, where it leaves the concurrency to the north and enters Linn County 21 miles later. After entering Linn County, Route 5 immediately passes through Marceline and forms a 12-mile east–west concurrency with U.S. 36 (proposed future

Interstate 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 Champa ...

) past Brookfield, where they intersect Route 11 together. In Laclede, the route leaves the concurrency to the north at its intersection with Route 139, and passes through Linneus before entering Sullivan County. In Sullivan County, Route 5 forms an eight-mile concurrency with Route 6 as they bypass

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to the south and east. Business Route 5 serves Milan directly, using an older alignment of the route, and ends north of the town where Route 6 leaves the concurrent bypass to the east. From there, Route 5 enters Putnam County 15 miles later. In Putnam County, Route 5 forms a brief east–west concurrency with U.S. Route 136 in Unionville. After leaving its U.S. 136 concurrency to the north, the route crosses the

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

state line and turns into Iowa Highway 5 in Appanoose County. Route 5 from I-44 in Lebanon to U.S. 50 in Tipton is a part of the National Highway System, a system of highways important to the nation's defense, economy, and mobility.

History

As built in the original 1922 road system, the route is largely unchanged from its first path. Most of the paths bypassed are now business routes through cities. In the 1950s a section of the route in Wright, Douglas and Ozark counties between

and Gainesville was straightened and widened. At this time the city of Ava was bypassed and the old route through the center of the town became business Route 5. In 2009, a section of the route in Camdenton was rerouted onto a new four-lane highway. The old section became business Route 5.

Improvements between Lebanon and Camdenton

Beginning in the summer of 2008, MoDOT began a project to convert Route 5 into a "shared four-lane" highway, with continuous passing lanes based on the European

2+1 road 2+1 road is a specific category of three-lane road, consisting of two lanes in one direction and one lane in the other, alternating every few kilometres, and usually separated with a steel cable barrier. The second lane allows faster-moving t ...

model, between Lebanon and Camdenton. A shared four-lane road can be constructed largely within the same footprint as a two-lane road, but allows for alternating passing lanes in each direction. A number of roadways in Europe are built in this way, but Missouri is among the first to do so in the U.S., having first used the method on separate segments of US 63 and Route 37. The project was completed in 2010 for the Camden County section, it was built on a new realignment to bypass the existing alignment. The Laclede County was built with the existing alignment and was completed in 2011.

Major intersections

Business routes

Ava route

A two-mile business route of MO 5 exists in Ava.

Camdenton route

A five-mile business route of MO 5 exists in Camdenton. It was created in 2009.

Milan route

A three-mile business route of MO 5 exists in Milan.

References

External links