Interstate 44 in Missouri

This article is about the section of Interstate 44 in Missouri. For the entire length of the highway, see Interstate 44.

Interstate 44
Route information
Maintained by MoDOT
Length:	290.49 mi (467.50 km)
Existed:	1956 – present
Major junctions
West end:	I-44 near Joplin
	US 166 / US 400 near Joplin I-49 / 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 I-55 / I-64 / US 40 in St. Louis
East end:	I-70 in St. Louis
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Business Missouri Highways Supplemental ← Route 43 Route 45 →

Interstate 44 (I-44) in the U.S. state of Missouri runs northeast from the Oklahoma state line near Joplin to I-55 in downtown St. Louis. It runs for about 290 miles (470 km) in the state.

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. Highway 166 and U.S. Highway 400. This highway next goes through southern Joplin and then begins a concurrency with Interstate 49/U.S. Highway 71 at Exit 11 just after entering Jasper County. The freeway turns to a more easterly heading (the old route of US 166), and then I-49/U.S. 71 splits off to the north at Exit 18.

I-44 next enters Lawrence County. Near Mount Vernon, the highway curves to the northeast. The section of highway to Halltown is a completely new highway, not oversunning any previous highways. At Halltown, the road curves back to due east, beginning to follow the general pathway of old U.S. Highway 66, which it does all the way to downtown St. Louis. I-44 then goes 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 U.S. Highway 65. The Interstate Highway continues northeast, bypassing Lebanon.

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

I-44 west in Springfield, Missouri.

I-44 next goes 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 its dioxin contamination and its eventual demolition and Superfund cleanup). I-44 then runs across unincorporated land before entering Fenton and having an interchange with Interstate 270 in Sunset Hills. I-44 then goes 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.

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. The eastbound lanes of I-44 will meet the westbound lanes, and the eastbound lanes of I-70 will meet the westbound lanes of I-44.

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	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Newton				1	US 166 west / US 400 west – Galena, Baxter Springs	Last free exit westbound
				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	I-49 Bus. (Range Line Road)	Signed as exits 8B (south) and 8A (north)
Jasper				11B	I-49 south / US 71 south to Route FF – Neosho, Fort Smith	West end of I-49 / US 71 overlap
				11A	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	I-49 north / US 71 north – Carthage, Kansas City	East end of I-49 / 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
				80	I-44 Bus. west (Glenstone Avenue) / Route H, Pleasant Hope
				82	US 65 – Branson, Sedalia	Signed as exits 82B (south) and 82A (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, former US-66
	Sunset Hills, Kirkwood			277B	US 50 east / US 61 / US 67 (Lindbergh Boulevard)	East end of US 50 overlap
	Kirkwood, Crestwood			278	Big Bend Road
	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
Concurrency terminus       Closed/former       HOV only       Incomplete access       Tolled/ETC       Unopened

References

Template:Attached_KML/Interstate 44 in Missouri

Interstate 44
Previous state: Oklahoma	Missouri	Next state: Terminus