Route 71 Conversion to I-49
- Cass County 283rd Street - Completed Fall 2012
- Cass County 307th Street (5.87 MB) - Completed Fall 2012
- Cass County 327th Street (4.56 MB) - Completed Aug. 2012
- Bates County Routes AA/E (4.58 MB) - Completed Dec. 2011
- Bates County Route 52 East (6.26 MB) - Completed 2010
- Bates County Old Town Access (10.08 MB) - Completed Nov. 2012
- Vernon County Route TT - Complete Dec. 2012
- Vernon County Route D (3.84 MB) - Completed Dec. 2011
- Vernon County Route M (3.52 MB) - Completed Dec. 2011
- Vernon County Route E - Completed Dec. 2011
- Vernon County Route DD - Completed Dec. 2011
- Barton County Routes V/C - Completed 2010
- Barton County Routes DD/EE - Completed 2010
- Barton County 30th Road (4.82 MB) - Completed Dec. 2011
- Barton County Route 126 (7.03 MB) - Completed 2010
Progress to I-49 in Missouri
U.S. 71 along the western edge of Missouri south of Kansas City -- a distance of 180 miles -- has been upgraded to interstate highway standards, with new interchanges, overpasses and outer roads. I-49 was unveiled in Missouri on December 12, 2012 with a ceremony in Joplin.
The transformation of U.S. 71 to I-49 in Missouri has taken decades to accomplish.
Planning for the final series of projects was begun in the late 1980s, with construction beginning in the the early 1990s and continuing through 2012.
Linking I-49 and I-29
Highway officials in Arkansas and Louisiana also are working to complete Interstate 49 in their states. The first section of highway designated as I-49 was in 1984 in Louisiana.
Taken together, Interstate 49 south of Kansas City and Interstate 29 north of Kansas City will cover 1,630 miles of highway. The interstate corridor will link busy Gulf Coast ports at New Orleans with south-central Canada near Winnepeg, a the busy center of industry, transportation, agriculture, mineral mining and energy.
The interstate highway up and down the middle of the United States -- through Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota -- will mean less congestion to improve the flow of goods and people. It is expected to attract more commerce from businesses seeking to locate or expand in communities with an interstate highway nearby.
Safety will be enhanced because interstate highway access is allowed only at interchanges, with no more at-grade intersections.