Interstate 44 in Missouri

Infobox road
state=MO
route=44
type=I
alternate_name=
maint=

---

length_mi=290
length_round=
length_ref=
length_notes=
established=
direction_a=West
direction_b=East
starting_terminus=jct|state=OK|I|44 in Oklahoma
junction=jct|state=MO|I|270
Jct|state=MO|I|55
direction_b=East
ending_terminus=Jct|state=MO|I|55
previous_type=Route
previous_route=43
next_type=Route
next_route=45

Interstate 44 runs northeast through the state of Missouri, from the Oklahoma state line near Joplin to Interstate 55. It runs for a total of 290 miles (467 km) in Missouri. ["The Road Atlas '07". Rand McNally, 2007, p. 58. ]

Route description

Interstate 44 enters Missouri in Newton County at the eastern terminus of the Will Rogers Turnpike, 200 yards south of the Kansas state line. The first interchange in Missouri is the eastern terminus of both U.S. Route 166 and U.S. Route 400. The road then runs through southern Joplin and begins a concurrency with US 71 at Exit 11 just after entering Jasper County. The freeway turns to a more eastern heading (the old US 166 alignment), and then US 71 splits off to the north at Exit 18.

I-44 then enters Lawrence County. Near Mount Vernon, the highway curves to the northeast. The section of road to Halltown is a completely new road, not bypassing any previous highways. At Halltown, the road curves back to due east, beginning to follow the general pathway of old U.S. Route 66 (which it will do all the way to downtown St. Louis). The highway then runs around the western and northern sides of Springfield, serving as the western terminus of the James River Freeway, as well as crossing both Route 13 and US 65. The interstate continues northeast, bypassing Lebanon.

In Pulaski County, I-44 enters the Mark Twain National Forest, leaving it to provide access to Waynesville, St. Robert, and Fort Leonard Wood before entering the forest again. The freeway leaves the forest in Phelps County west of Rolla. I-44 then runs through Rolla, where it meets US 63. It continues its northeast course, passing near St. James, Cuba, Bourbon, Sullivan, and Saint Clair.

I-44 then runs north of Pacific before moving into St. Louis County. I-44 then bisects Eureka before serving as the southern boundary of Route 66 State Park (the former site of Times Beach, known for the dioxin contamination and subsequent demolition and Superfund cleanup). I-44 then runs through unincorporated territory before entering Fenton and having an interchange with Interstate 270 in Sunset Hills. I-44 then runs through Crestwood, Kirkwood, Oakland, Webster Groves, and Shrewsbury before entering the city of St. Louis. I-44 runs on a due east course through St. Louis before ending at Interstate 55.

History

A section of I-44 was moved slightly north between Powellville and Doolittle. The old road is highly visible for eastbound traffic near Powellville. As of April 2006, the rocks carved away for the new roadbed have virtually no lichen, reflecting that this construction occurred rather recently. [http://maps.google.com/maps?q=powellville+MO&ll=37.936278,-91.952047&spn=0.026536,0.066261&t=h Aerial photo]

Business loops

All of Interstate 44's business loops are in Missouri. Missouri also has the unusual occurrence of a business loop and business spur from the same interstate intersecting (the Waynesville loop and the Ft. Leonard Wood spur).-

Exit list

References