U.S. 71

Entering Missouri from Bella Vista, Arkansas, U.S. 71 angles northwest along a four-lane divided highway to Jane and U.S. 71 Business south of Pineville. U.S. 71 bypasses Pineville to the west as it becomes a part of Interstate 49 northward to Joplin and the Three Trails Crossing Memorial Highway interchange with I-435 and I-470. I-49 replaced U.S. 71 along a 185 mile stretch between Pineville and Kansas City on December 12, 2012.¹

U.S. 71 Missouri Guides

• North - Kansas City
• South - Kansas City

U.S. 71 extends north from the junction of I-49, I-435 and I-470 as a stand alone route along Bruce Watkins Drive (Midtown South Freeway), a controlled access route to Hospital Hill and Downtown Kansas City. The Midtown South Freeway was developed in the early 1950s, but delayed for nearly 20 years by a lawsuit as to whether the road would be built as a full freeway or an at-grade parkway. Three at-grade intersections remain along the US highway at Gregory Boulevard, 59th and 55th Streets through south Kansas City as a result of the lawsuit.¹

Bruce Watkins was a civic leader, a Kansas City councilman and mayoral candidate in 1979. He passed away in 1980. The 10.2 mile long section of U.S. 71 bearing his name opened to traffic from Bannister Road to 75th Street in December 1990. The 1.6 mile parkway section from 75th to 63rd Streets opened to traffic in July 1994 at a cost of $18.5 million.² The two mile section extending north to Swope Parkway followed with completion in July 1996 for $23.3 million.^3,4 Work on the 2.1 mile, $42.8 million stretch between 31st Street and Brush Creek Boulevard broke ground on July 20, 1995.^4,5 It tied into a separate project involving construction of bridges over Brush Creek.

Bruce Watkins Drive opened northward from Swope Parkway to 31st Street on July 27, 1999.⁶ The last phase extended the freeway north to I-70 and I-670 at Downtown Kansas City. A ribbon cutting ceremony held on the morning of October 22 preceded the opening of this stretch, concluding a 50 year legacy.⁶ U.S. 71 joins I-70/U.S. 40 along the east leg of the Alphabet Loop encircling the Kansas City Central Business District.

U.S. 71 accompanies I-29/35 north from Downtown to the Christopher S. Bond Bridge across the Missouri River into North Kansas City. The US highway remains paired with Interstate 29 northwest from Kansas City to St. Joseph, before finally traveling solo again from Savannah north to Maryville, Hopkins and southwest Iowa.

scenes

Route W (Bannister Road) west at U.S. 71 and Hidden Valley in south Kansas City. 06/19/15

U.S. 71 transitions into Interstate 49 south of Route W (Bannister Road) at the Three Trails Crossing Memorial Highway interchange with I-435, I-470 and U.S. 50. 06/19/15

Photo Credits:

06/19/15 by AARoads

Connect with:
Interstate 29
Interstate 35
Interstate 44
Interstate 70
Interstate 435
Interstate 470
U.S. 169

Page Updated 02-22-2020.