Interstate 72 extends just 2.053 miles west into Missouri from the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge across the Mississippi River. U.S. 36 and Missouri Route 110 (Chicago Kansas City Expressway) overlap with the freeway across the city of Hannibal. The limited access highway continues another 7.11 miles along U.S. 36/Route 110 (CKC) two routes continue west along a limited access to U.S. 24 northeast of Rensselaer. This section is not part of I-72, but state officials have proposed extending the Interstate westward.1
A $2.5 million study for the conversion of U.S. 36 into Interstate standards from Hannibal to St. Joseph was approved my Missouri lawmakers as part of the state budget approved in May 2023. The idea of extending I-72 west to I-29 is to provide traffic relief to I-70, a heavily traveled trucking corridor linking Kansas City and St. Louis across the Show Me State. A previous effort by four counties along the corridor in 2005 established a special district collecting sales taxes dedicated to upgrading a 52 mile long stretch of U.S. 36 between Macon and Hannibal into a limited access highway. Improvements were completed in 2010 and the taxing district dissolved in 2017.1
Interstate 72 Missouri Guides
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) approved a concurrent request by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) on April 23, 1995 for the western extension of Interstate 72 over U.S. 36 between U.S. 61 in Hannibal and I-55 in Springfield, Illinois. This included 2.1 miles in Marion County, Missouri. U.S. 36 was designated as a future part of the Interstate System under former Section 139(b) of Title 23 U.S.C. by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on April 27, 1995. FHWA subsequently approved designating the new alignment of U.S. 36 constructed 5.12 miles west from I-172 across the new Mississippi River bridge to U.S. 61 per satisfaction of the requirements of 23 U.S.C. 103(c)(4)(A) and Section 139(b) agreements for construction to Interstate standards on May 11, 2001.
Prior construction in Hannibal for the upgrade of U.S. 36 to Interstate standards got underway in October 1993 with work relocating Central Avenue below U.S. 36. Costing $1.96 million, that project was completed on September 14, 1995. Commencing in October 1995, the next phase replaced Country Club Drive overpass above U.S. 36. The new span was completed on May 20, 1997 at a cost of $2.18 million.2 Interstate 72 was dedicated along U.S. 36 west across the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge when it opened to traffic on September 16, 2000.
- "Missouri could be poised to gain another interstate highway." St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO), May 23, 2023.
- "Work on the first phase of bridge relocation began in '93." Hannibal Courier-Post (MO), September 16, 2000.
Connect with:
U.S. 36
Page Updated 11-07-2023.