Interstate 49

Interstate 49 was initially designated in Missouri along a 185 mile long stretch of U.S. 71 from Pineville north to Kansas City. A formal ceremony was held for the establishment of I-49 in the Show Me State at Grandview on December 12, 2012. The occasion followed decades of planning originating with the early 1950s concept for the South Midtown Freeway through Kansas City.

More recent work focused on $150 million in improvements to upgrade U.S. 71 southward from the Three Trails Crossing interchange with I-435 and I-470 to the Cass and Bates County line. This included adding grade separations for U.S. 71 at 283rd and 327th Streets constructing a new interchange at 307th Street, a DDI at Missouri Route 150 and a half diamond interchange at Thunderbird Road. Over 20 at-grade intersections were removed from U.S. 71 to upgrade the route to Interstate standards.

With trucks making up a third of the traffic along U.S. 71, the Interstate 49 designation establishes the corridor as a potential international trade route with I-29 north to Manitoba.¹

Interstate 49 Missouri Guides

Subsequent improvements made after I-49 was designated including $21 million in road work at Harrison, where the exit with Route 291 was upgraded to a DDI in 2015. Overall nearly $500 million went into upgrading U.S. 71 to interstate standards in Missouri.¹

The last section of Interstate 49 to be completed was the Missouri-Arkansas Connector. The five mile link extends south from the previous freeway end at Pineville to a new interchange with Route 90 west of Jane, and the Bella Vista Bypass in Arkansas. Costing $70.3 million, the project is scheduled for construction from Spring 2020 to October 2021. The segment opened to traffic on the evening of September 30, 2021.

scenes

Commercial Street stems northeast from Brookhart Drive into a diamond interchange with I-49, U.S. 71 and Routes 2 and 7 at Harrisonville. 11/02/16

Route 7 combines with I-49/U.S. 71 south from Exit 159 to Exit 157 in south Harrisonville. 11/02/16

Route 2 overlaps with Route 7 and I-49/U.S. 71 south to Commercial Street, where it resumes an eastward course via Independence Street and South Street through Harrisonville. 11/02/16

Route 2 west combines with I-49/U.S. 71-Route 7 north 1.3 miles to Mechanic Street (Exit 159) in Harrisonville. 11/02/16

Route 2 (Commercial Street) west at I-49/U.S. 71-Route 7 south. 11/02/16

Route 7 branches southeast from I-49/U.S. 71 at Harrisonville to Garden City. Interstate 49 continues from Route 2 to Archie and Joplin. 11/02/16

163rd Street curves southwest to a diamond interchange (Exit 175) with I-49/U.S. 71 in the city of Belton. 11/03/16

I-49/U.S. 71 head north to Kansas City while 163rd Street becomes Route Y (Cedar Street) south. 11/03/16

155th Street meets I-49/U.S. 71 at Exit 176 along the Kansas City and Grandview city line. This exchange was rebuilt as a DDI with a roundabout joining 155th Street with East Outer Road. 06/18/15

Exit 179 ties into the West Frontage Road along I-49/U.S. 71 south ahead of Blue Ridge Boulevard at Grandview. 06/19/15

Photo Credits:

• 06/18/15 by AARoads.
• 06/19/15 by AARoads.
• 11/02/16 by AARoads and JP Nasiatka.
• 11/03/16 by AARoads.

Connect with:
Interstate 44
Interstate 435
Interstate 470
U.S. 71

Page Updated 02-29-2020.