January 2010
Highway History in Missouri
Just as T&B has been at the forefront of area road design for over 40 years, Missouri has been a hotspot for public roadway development throughout the last century and is home to key sections of historic Routes 50 and 66 as well as Highway 71 (which connects the heartland to Canada and Mexico). The original highway system created in 1926, featured even-numbered routes running east and west and odd-numbered routes running north and south.
U.S. 50, known by many as America’s loneliest highway, follows the historic route of the Poney Express riders and runs from Ocean City, Maryland to West Sacramento, California — some 3,000 miles through 12 states and the District of Columbia — making it a major east-west route supporting commerce and tourism since the late 1920s..
Storied Route 66, the nation’s first year-round route between the Midwest and Pacific Coast, was the major path for westward migrants and an economic “stimulus” for the entire nation. Running from Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 became th symbol of American post-WWII highway culture. The road covered some 317 miles in Missouri, supporting numerous rural communities along the way.
U.S. Highway 71, which historically stretched from International Falls, Minnesota to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, covered almost 1,700 miles at one time. Today in Missouri, 71 Highway runs from Iowa to Arkansas, connecting 13 different Missouri counties.
With the signing of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways and our current interstate highway system became reality. Soon after the Act became law, the “Show-Me” state showed the nation just how to “jump-start” progress. On August 2nd, 1956, Missouri became the first state to award contracts with the new interstate construction funding. These contracts were for work on U.S. Route 66 (now Interstate 44) in LaClede County and U.S. 40 (now I-70 or the Mark Twain Expressway in St. Charles County. The latter became the first interstate project to be awarded and to start construction after the signing of the 1956 Act.