Interstate 44 in Missouri

Interstate 44
Route information
Maintained by Missouri DOT
Length:	290.49 mi (467.50 km)
Existed:	1956 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-44 near Joplin
	US 166 / US 400 near Joplin US 71 near Joplin US 160 in Springfield US 65 in Springfield US 63 in Rolla US 50 near Union I-270 in Sunset Hills US 50 / US 61 / US 67 in Kirkwood
East end:	I-55 in St. Louis
Highway system
Main route of the Interstate Highway System Main • Auxiliary • Business Missouri Highways Supplemental ← Route 43 Route 45 →

In the U.S. state of Missouri, Interstate 44 runs northeast from the Oklahoma state line near Joplin to Interstate 55 in downtown St. Louis. It runs for a total of 290 miles (467 km) in Missouri.

Route description

I-44 approached by U.S. 71 just south of Joplin.

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 in downtown just west of the Mississippi River.

History

I-44 follows the general route of, and completely replaced, historic U.S. Route 66 across Missouri.

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.

On Wednesday, October 5, 2011, a 2+¹⁄₂-mile (4.0 km) stretch of I-44 in the city of St. Louis between Vandeventer and Mississippi avenues was named the David Haynes Memorial Highway, in honor of a St. Louis police officer who was killed in a car crash on March 24, 2010, at the age of 27, while chasing Sheldon Beckham, 24, a burglary suspect, who later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, resisting arrest by fleeing the scene, stealing, and first-degree burglary and is scheduled to be sentenced at the end of October 2011.

Future

The eastern terminus of I-44 is slated to be changed when the new I-70 Mississippi River Bridge is opened, rerouting I-70 over the river along a more northern alignment. I-44 is planned to take over the old I-70 alignment through the below-grade section of roadway in St. Louis, making the new eastern terminus being the interchange with I-70 near Cass Street.

Business loops

Main article: Business routes of Interstate 44

All of Interstate 44's business loops are in Missouri. Most of these Business Loops were the former U.S. Route 66. Missouri also has the unusual occurrence of a business loop and business spur from the same interstate intersecting (the Waynesville-St. Robert loop and the Ft. Leonard Wood spur).

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Newton			1	US 166 west / US 400 west – Galena, Baxter Springs	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			4	Route 43 south – Seneca, Joplin	West end of Route 43 overlap
	Joplin		6	I-44 Bus. east / Route 43 north / Route 86 – Racine, Joplin	East end of Route 43 overlap
			8	US 71 Bus. (Range Line Road)	Signed as exits 8A (south) and 8B (north)
Jasper			11A	US 71 south to Route FF – Neosho, Fort Smith	West end of US 71 overlap
			11B	Route 249 north to Route 66 – Joplin
			15	I-44 Bus. west / Route 66 west – Duenweg	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Fidelity		18A	Route 59 south – Diamond
			18B	US 71 north – Carthage, Kansas City	East end of US 71 overlap
			22	County Road No. 100
			26	I-44 Bus. east / Route 37 – Sarcoxie, Reeds
			29	I-44 Bus. west / Route U – Sarcoxie, La Russell
Lawrence			33	County Road No. 1010
			38	Route 97 – Pierce City, Stotts City	Eastbound exit to Route 97 south is via exit 33
			44	I-44 Bus. east / Route H – Mount Vernon, Monett
	Mount Vernon		46	I-44 Bus. west / Route 39 / Route 265 – Mount Vernon, Aurora
			49	Route 174 – Chesapeake, Mount Vernon
			57	Route 96 – Avilla	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; Former US-66 west
			58	Route O / Route Z – Halltown
			61	Route K / Route PP
Greene			67	Route N / Route T – Republic, Bois D'Arc
			69	Route 360 east (James River Freeway) to US 60
			70	Route B / Route MM
			72	I-44 Bus. east / Route 266 (Chestnut Expressway)	Former US-66
	Springfield		75	US 160 (West Bypass) – Willard
			77	Route 13 (Kansas Expressway) – Bolivar	First diverging diamond in North America
			80A	I-44 Bus. west (Glenstone Avenue)
			80B	Route H – Pleasant Hope
			82	US 65 – Branson, Sedalia	Signed as exits 82A (south) and 82B (north)
			84	Route 744
	Strafford		88	Route 125 – Strafford, Fair Grove
Webster			96	Route B – Northview
	Marshfield		100	Route 38 / Route W – Marshfield
			107	Sampson Road, Sparkle Brook Road
Laclede	Conway		113	Route J / Route Y – Conway
	Phillipsburg		118	Route A / Route C – Phillipsburg	Former US-66
			123	County Road
	Lebanon		127	I-44 Bus. east (Elm Street, Evergreen Pkwy) / Route W / Morgan Road	Former US-66
			129	Route 5 / Route 32 (Jefferson Avenue) to Route 64 – Hartville
			130	I-44 Bus. west (Elm Street) / Route MM – Lebanon
			135	Route F – Sleeper	Former US-66
			140	Route N / Route T – Stoutland
Pulaski			145	Route 133 / Route AB – Richland
			150	Route 7 / Route P – Richland, Laquey
			153	Route 17 – Buckhorn
	Waynesville		156	I-44 Bus. east / Route H – Waynesville, Fort Leonard Wood
	St. Robert		159	I-44 Bus. – St. Robert, Waynesville	Former US-66
			161	I-44 Bus. west / Route Y – St. Robert, Fort Leonard Wood
			163	Route 28 – Dixon
			169	Route J
Phelps			172	Route D – Jerome, Dixon	No westbound entrance
			176	Sugar Tree Road
	Doolittle		179	Route C / Route T – Newburg, Doolittle
	Rolla		184	I-44 Bus. east to US 63 south – Rolla	Former US-66 east
			185	Route E – Rolla
			186	I-44 Bus. west / US 63 / Route 72 – Rolla, Jefferson City	Former US-66
			189	Route V (Hy Point Industrial Park Drive)
	St. James		195	Route 8 / Route 68 – St. James	Former US-66
Crawford			203	Route F / Route ZZ
	Cuba		208	Route 19 – Cuba, Owensville
			210	Route UU
			214	Route H – Leasburg
	Bourbon		218	Route C / Route J / Route N – Bourbon
Franklin	Sullivan		225	Route 185 north / Route D – Sullivan, Potosi
			226	Route 185 south – Sullivan
			230	Route W / Route JJ – Stanton
	St. Clair		239	Route 30 / Route AB / Route WW – St. Clair
			240	Route 47 – St. Clair, Union
			242	Route AH
			247	US 50 west / Route O / Route AT – Union, Jefferson City	West end of US 50 overlap
			251	Route 100 west – Washington	Former US-66
			253	I-44 Bus. east / Route 100 east – Gray Summit	Former US-66
	Pacific		257	I-44 Bus. – Pacific
St. Louis	Eureka		261	I-44 Bus. west / Six Flags Road – Allenton
			264	Route 109 – Eureka
			265	Williams Road	Eastbound exit and entrance
			266	Lewis Road
			269	Beaumont Antire Road
			272	Route 141 – Fenton, Valley Park
	Fenton		274A	Bowles Avenue	Signed as exit 274 westbound
			274B	Mraz Lane	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			275	North Highway Drive, Soccer Park Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Sunset Hills		276	I-270 – Memphis, Chicago
			277A	Route 366 east (Watson Road)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			277B	US 50 east / US 61 / US 67 (Lindbergh Boulevard)	East end of US 50 overlap
	Kirkwood
			278	Big Bend Road
	Crestwood
	Webster Groves		279	Berry Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			280	Elm Avenue
			282	Murdoch Avenue, Laclede Station Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Shrewsbury		283	Shrewsbury Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
City of St. Louis			284A	Jamieson Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			284B	Arsenal Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			285	Southwest Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			286	Hampton Avenue
			287A	Kingshighway Boulevard
			287B	Vandeventer Avenue
			288	Grand Boulevard, Louisiana Avenue
			289	Jefferson Avenue
			290A	I-55 south – Memphis	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			290B	18th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; former Route 755
			290C	12th Street, Gravois Avenue (Route 30)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				I-55 north – Downtown St. Louis, Chicago	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance

References

Interstate 44
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