I-49 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byMoDOT | ||||
| Length | 183.96 mi[1] (296.05 km) | |||
| Existed | December 12, 2012–present | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end | ||||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Missouri | |||
| Counties | McDonald,Newton,Jasper,Barton,Vernon,Bates,Cass,Jackson | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Interstate 49 (I-49) is anInterstate Highway in the US state ofMissouri that was designated on December 12, 2012. ItoverlapsU.S. Route 71 (US 71) in the western part of the state, beginning at the Arkansas state line, and ending atI-435 andI-470 on the southeast side ofKansas City.
Upon completion, the highway will connect Kansas City toTexarkana, Arkansas andShreveport along withLafayette, Louisiana andNew Orleans, Louisiana.

I-49 enters Missouri from the Arkansas state line on the Bella Vista Bypass nearPineville. After continuing north for five miles (8.0 km), US 71 rejoins I-49 at exit 4 and isconcurrent with it for the remainder of its length. It passes through many smaller communities before reachingJoplin. In Joplin, I-49 junctions withI-44 and begins a short overlap with I-44 between exits 11 and 18, heading east.
Just a few miles east of Joplin, I-49 leaves I-44, heads north, and entersCarthage. I-49 then passes throughNevada and other communities before reaching the Kansas City area. I-49 intersects with I-470 and I-435, which provide connections toI-70, Downtown Loop,I-35, andI-29.
In south Kansas City, at Bannister Road just north of theGrandview Triangle, the I-49 designation ends, the freeway continues as US 71, which proceeds into downtown Kansas City as Bruce R. Watkins Memorial Drive.
Jefferson Lines provides intercity bus service along the length of I-49 in Missouri serving five communities.[2]

Arkansas and Missouri pursued an I-49 designation for US 71 andI-540 for a number of years. In the early 2000s, there were plans by both states to renumber the roadway as such between I-44 west of Joplin and I-40 at Fort Smith once new roadway had been completed aroundBella Vista, Arkansas, and north toPineville, Missouri.[3] However, theAmerican Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering denied the I-49 designation at their annual meeting in September 2007 because none of the new roadway was under construction.[4]
TheMissouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) announced the Joplin-to-Kansas City upgrade of US 71 in August 2010, to be done with the intention of bringing the I-49 designation to Missouri.[5] The I-49 upgrade involved removing all at-grade intersections and constructing interchanges and overpasses at 15 sites between Harrisonville and Lamar.[6] The two-year project represented a shift in funding priorities for MoDOT, which, in 2007, had announced the indefinite postponement of its portion of the Bella Vista bypass project, citing a $139 million (equivalent to $202 million in 2024[7]) funding gap in Arkansas between construction costs and toll revenues, and Arkansas's commitment to only a two-lane bypass constructed over six years.[8]
MoDOT began installing I-49 trailblazer signage (without shields) as well as gantry signs and milemarkers, about 1200 signs in all, in February 2012. I-49 signage shields were covered or turned from view until the I-49 designation was given final approval by theFederal Highway Administration (FHWA). This includes milemarkers at 0.2-mile (0.32 km) intervals along the entire alignment apart from I-44.[9]
The I-49 designation in Missouri became official at noon on December 12, 2012.[10] The designation applies to 180 miles (290 km) of current US 71 between Bannister Road (Route W) in south Kansas City andRoute H atPineville (McDonald County) which was upgraded to Interstate standards beginning in 2010.[5] The last of the upgrade projects were completed in December 2012, but some designations about seven miles (11 km) north of theArkansas state line still have not been built to meet Interstate standards.
In 2012, Missouri had $40 million (equivalent to $53.9 million in 2024[7]) available for its portion of the Bella Vista bypass but moved the money elsewhere in 2013.[11] They planned on using money from a proposed constitutional amendment which would have raised the sales tax; however, this was defeated by voters in August 2014. Arkansas announced it will not extend its section to Missouri until construction begins on the Missouri section.[12]
In March 2019, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission approved the remaining funding needed to complete the portion of the Bella Vista Bypass within the state.[13] On April 1, 2020, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded a $58.7 million contract for the construction of the five-mile (8.0 km) portion of highway. Construction started on May 11, 2020,[14] and the entire bypass opened on October 1, 2021, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony held the day prior.[15]
| County | Location | mi[16] | km | Exit[16] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald | | 0.000 | 0.000 | Continuation intoArkansas | ||
| | 2.166 | 3.486 | 2 | |||
| | 4.798– 4.989 | 7.722– 8.029 | 4 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern end of US 71 overlap | ||
| Pineville | 5.987 | 9.635 | 5 | |||
| | 7.821 | 12.587 | 7 | |||
| | 10.953 | 17.627 | 10 | |||
| Goodman | 16.033 | 25.803 | 16 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| | 17.217 | 27.708 | 17 | |||
| Newton | | 20.749 | 33.392 | 20 | ||
| Neosho | 24.305 | 39.115 | 24 | |||
| 27.321 | 43.969 | 27 | ||||
| | 30.315 | 48.787 | 30 | Iris Road | ||
| Tipton Ford | 33.322 | 53.627 | 33 | |||
| | 35.343 | 56.879 | 35 | |||
| Newton–Jasper county line | | 39.352 | 63.331 | 39A | Signed as exit 39 southbound | |
| Jasper | | 39.501 | 63.571 | 39 (NB) 11 (SB) | Southern end of I-44 overlap; signed as exits 39B (north) and 39C (west) northbound | |
| | 41.090 | 66.128 | 13 | Prigmor Avenue –Joplin | Opened November 2015 | |
| | 43.325 | 69.725 | 15 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| Fidelity | 46.318 | 74.542 | 18 (NB) 46 (SB) | Northern end of I-44 overlap; signed as exits 18A (south) and 18B (east) northbound, exits 46A (south) and 46B (east) southbound | ||
| 47.650 | 76.685 | 47 | Cedar Road | |||
| Carthage | 50.151 | 80.710 | 49 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 50.946 | 81.990 | 50 | Roundabout Diamond Interchange opened Oct 15th, 2024 | |||
| 52.071 | 83.800 | 51 | Fairview Avenue | |||
| 53.775 | 86.542 | 53 | ||||
| 55.844 | 89.872 | 55 | Civil War Road | |||
| | 56.920 | 91.604 | 56 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
| | 63.314 | 101.894 | 63 | |||
| Jasper | 66.516 | 107.047 | 66 | |||
| Barton | | 70.689 | 113.763 | 70 | ||
| | 74.702 | 120.221 | 74 | 30th Road | Opened November 2013 | |
| Lamar | 77.271 | 124.356 | 77 | |||
| | 80.803 | 130.040 | 80 | |||
| | 83.819 | 134.894 | 83 | |||
| Vernon | | 89.042 | 143.299 | 88 | ||
| | 92.065 | 148.164 | 91 | |||
| | 96.050 | 154.577 | 95 | |||
| Nevada | 101.386 | 163.165 | 101 | |||
| 102.483 | 164.930 | 102A | Signed as exit 102 northbound | |||
| 103.131 | 165.973 | 102B | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
| 103.787 | 167.029 | 103 | Highland Avenue | |||
| | 107.263 | 172.623 | 107 | |||
| | 110.595 | 177.985 | 110 | |||
| | 112.351 | 180.811 | 112 | Horton | ||
| | 116.570 | 187.601 | 116 | |||
| Bates | Rich Hill | 120.974 | 194.689 | 120 | ||
| | 129.539 | 208.473 | 129 | Southern end of Route 52 overlap | ||
| | 130.795 | 210.494 | 130 | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| Butler | 132.153 | 212.680 | 131 | Northern end of Route 52 overlap | ||
| | 136.849 | 220.237 | 136 | |||
| Adrian | 141.896 | 228.359 | 141 | |||
| | 144.417 | 232.417 | 144 | |||
| Cass | Archie | 147.789 | 237.843 | 147 | ||
| Harrisonville | 153.470 | 246.986 | 153 | 307th Street | ||
| 157.455 | 253.399 | 157 | Southern end of Route 7 overlap;DDI opened Mid-April of 2024[18] | |||
| 158.862 | 255.664 | 158 | Southern end of Route 2 overlap | |||
| 160.187 | 257.796 | 159 | Northern end of Route 2 / Route 7 overlap | |||
| 160.731 | 258.671 | 160 | Opened in 2016; existing diamond interchange converted to adiverging diamond interchange[citation needed] | |||
| Peculiar | 167.484 | 269.539 | 167 | |||
| 168.905 | 271.826 | 168 | 211th Street / Peculiar Way | Diverging diamond interchange opened September 13, 2016[19] | ||
| Raymore | 172.475 | 277.572 | 172 | North Cass Parkway | ||
| Belton | 174.426 | 280.711 | 174 | |||
| 175.658 | 282.694 | 175 | ||||
| Cass–Jackson county line | Belton–Grandview– Kansas City tripoint | 177.055 | 284.942 | 176 | 155th Street –Belton | Opened on December 15, 2017[20] |
| Jackson | Grandview–Kansas City line | 178.043 | 286.532 | 177 | Current interchange converted from the existing diamond interchange | |
| Grandview | 178.920 | 287.944 | 178 | 140th Street | ||
| 180.186 | 289.981 | 179 | Main Street | This bridge was replaced and opened on November 22, 2017[citation needed] | ||
| 180.747 | 290.884 | 180 | Truman Drive | No direct northbound exit | ||
| Grandview–Kansas City line | 181.524 | 292.135 | 181 | Blue Ridge Boulevard / Hickman Mills Drive / Longview Road | ||
| Kansas City | 182.673 | 293.984 | 182 | Red Bridge Road / Longview Road | ||
| 183.298– 183.981 | 294.990– 296.089 | 183 | Signed as exits 183B (north) and 183A (east/west) [exit numbers not signed]; I-435 exit 71; western terminus and exit 1A on I-470 | |||
| — | [exit number not signed] Continuation north; northern end of US 71 overlap | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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