Route 13 is a highway in Missouri which runs almost the entire north–south length of the state. Its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 69/136 in Bethany. Its southern terminus is at the Arkansas state line in downtown Blue Eye, MissouriArkansas where it continues as Highway 21. It is one of the original state highways of Missouri.

Route 13 marker
Route 13
Map
MO 13 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MoDOT
Length290.601 mi (467.677 km)
Existed1922–present
Major junctions
South end AR 21 in Blue Eye
Major intersections
North end US 69 / US 136 in Bethany
Location
CountryUnited States
StateMissouri
Highway system
Route 12 Route 14

The road serves as an important corridor between Springfield and Kansas City, two of the three largest cities in the state. Heading north from Springfield, Route 13 intersects Route 7 at Clinton which in turn carries traffic to Interstate 49/U.S. Route 71 at Harrisonville. I-49/US 71 then continues on into downtown Kansas City. Route 13, Route 7, and I-49/US 71 now provide a four-lane highway (much of it expressway) between Springfield and Kansas City since the completion of the final widening project between Collins and Clinton.

Several sections from north of Reeds Spring through Branson West have been widened, rebuilt, moved, and renamed to help ease traffic congestion through the towns. Drivers regularly use these routes to get to many of the lakes in southern Missouri and this has caused a major headache in recent years. One section of road has been renamed Route 413 and travels north to Springfield. In June 2009, the nation's first diverging diamond interchange, a style of interchange where traffic crosses to the left-side of the road, opened to traffic. The interchange is located at the I-44/MO-13 junction in Springfield.[1]

In 2006 the portion through Caldwell County, Missouri was named the Zack Wheat Memorial Highway in honor of the Baseball Hall of Fame player.[1]

Route description

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Route 13 crossing Table Rock Lake.

Route 13 begins at the Arkansas state line in Blue Eye. After leaving the town, it travels through the rugged countryside of the southwest Missouri Ozarks, part of the Mark Twain National Forest. Route 13 forms a 3-mile-long (4.8 km) concurrency with Route 86 before bridging Table Rock Lake south of the town of Kimberling City. In Branson West, it leaves the national forest and forms a concurrency with Route 76 and Route 265. North of this, Route 13 travels concurrently with Route 248 for 2 miles (3.2 km). At Reeds Spring Junction is the southern terminus of Route 413, and old alignment of Route 13, changed in the early 2000s. Also at Reeds Spring Junction, U.S. Route 160 (US 160) joins to form another concurrency with Route 13. At Spokane, the two highways are joined by a third, Route 176.

US 160 and Route 13 intersect Route 14 in Nixa. The two highways continue north into Greene County, where they enter Springfield traveling along Campbell Avenue. At the James River Freeway, US 160 and Route 13 turn off Campbell to travel along the freeway with US 60. Route 13 splits off the freeway at the next exit to turn north along Kansas Expressway. At Sunshine Street is the northern terminus of Route 413. On the north side of Springfield, Route 13 crosses Route 744 (Kearney Street) and Interstate 44 (I-44) less than 1 mile (1.6 km) north. It then passes near the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds and the Dickerson Park Zoo and leaves the city as a divided highway. A project begun in 2009 and completed on June 21 of that year, turned the existing I-44 interchange into a diverging diamond, which was the first of its kind in the nation. In addition to costing $2.5 million compared to around $8 million for a complete rebuild, this has also helped ease congestion at the interchange by making lefts onto the on-ramps "free lefts" by lanes shifting into opposite lanes when passing over the bridge.[2][3]

South of Bolivar, the divided highway splits apart, with the northbound lanes being the older highway, though an even older alignment travels further to the east. Because of the situation, numerous "Do not enter" signs are posted to help prevent local traffic from driving on the wrong lanes of the highway. Near Brighton is a short concurrency with Route 215. Construction began in summer of 2008 to build new northbound lanes next to the straighter southbound lanes. This project was completed in 2010 and the old northbound lanes will be designated county roads when the project is completed.

At Bolivar, in addition to the intersection with Route 32, is another business route. The business route ends, along with Route 83 at an interchange on the southern part of the town. South of Humansville is the intersection with Route 123. At Collins is an interchange with US 54. At Osceola, Route 13 crosses a branch of the Harry S. Truman Reservoir.

At Deepwater, Route 13 forms a concurrency with Route 52. The two highways cross Harry S. Truman Reservoir twice before heading into Clinton. Route 13 and Route 52 serve as the eastern terminus of Route 18. Route 7 joins the concurrency at the same intersection, and the three highways continue around the northeastern part of the town, where Route 52 splits off, and eventually Route 7 and Route 13 go their separate ways.

 
Route 13 north of Higginsville

North of Post Oak, the highway has an intersection with Route 2. East of Warrensburg is an intersection with US 50. South of Higginsville, Route 13 crosses I-70/US 40. At Higginsville is the western terminus of Route 20.

 
The northern terminus of Route 13

Route 13 then forms a complicated interchange with US 24 and Route 224 east of Lexington, the site of a Civil War battlefield, then crosses the Missouri River. From US 24 in Lexington to the intersection with Route 10 in Richmond, the highway is a four-lane limited access road. North of Richmond, it returns to a two-lane highway flanked by crop land. At Polo the road forms a short concurrency with Route 116, and further north, at Hamilton is an intersection with US 36. Near Gallatin, it turns east forming a concurrency with Route 6 for 3 miles (4.8 km), then turns north again. A few miles north is an interchange with I-35. Then, Route 13 ends at US 69/US 136 in Bethany.

History

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The original southern terminus of the highway (as laid out in 1922) was at Route 71 (now U.S. Route 65) in Buffalo. By 1925, it was realigned to absorb the Bolivar-Springfield Route 69, which had been created in 1922; the former piece from Bolivar to Buffalo became an extension of Route 66, which became part of US 54 in 1927 (and is now part of Route 32).[4] Route 13 took over Route 43, established in 1922 from Marionville south to the Arkansas state line, in about 1930.[5]

Route 123 is the old alignment of Route 13 between Humansville and Fair Play, where Route 13 turned east on to what is now Route 32 (Route 64 prior to 1956)[6] back to Bolivar.

Route 13 Business

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Major intersections

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All exits are unnumbered.

CountyLocationmi[7]kmDestinationsNotes
StoneBlue Eye0.0000.000 
 
AR 21 south – Blue Eye
Continuation into Arkansas
0.9851.585 
 
 
 
Route 86 east to US 65
Southern end of Route 86 overlap. Access to Table Rock Lake.
3.8176.143 
 
Route 86 west – Carr Lane
Northern end of Route 86 overlap
Stoneridge14.42723.218Business 13Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance; provides U-turn onto Route 13 south. Access to Stoneridge Business District.
Branson West17.08827.500Purist Lane / Business 13 north
17.90228.810 
 
 
 
Route 76 east / Route 265 south – Branson West
Southern end of Route 76 / Route 265 overlap
18.75930.190 
 
 
 
Route 265 north / Route 413 north / Business 13 south – Reeds Spring
Northern end of Route 265 overlap
Reeds Spring20.55633.082 
 
Route 76 north – Reeds Spring, Cape Fair
Northern end of Route 76 overlap
22.56436.313 
 
Route 248 west – Reeds Spring
Southern end of Route 248 overlap
Reeds Spring Junction23.36037.594 
 
  US 160 east / Route 248 – Branson
Northern end of Route 248 overlap; southern end of US 160 overlap
Christian27.99545.054 
 
Route 176 west – Galena
Southern end of Route 176 overlap
Spokane30.61249.265 
 
Route 176 east – Spokane
Northern end of Route 176 overlap
Nixa44.08770.951  Route 14 (Mount Vernon Street) – Clever, Ozark
GreeneSpringfield50.52781.315 
 
US 60 east (James River Freeway) – Rogersville
Interchange; southern end of US 60 overlap
52.04483.757 
 
 
 
US 60 west / US 160 west (James River Freeway) – Republic
Diverging diamond interchange;[8] northern end of US 60 / US 160 overlap; converted from existing Interchange August 18, 2013[9]
53.25485.704Battlefield RoadAccess to Battlefield Mall
54.82488.231   Route 413 / Sunshine Street – RepublicAccess to Mercy Hospital and Bass Pro Shops
57.07991.860  I-44 BL (Chestnut Expressway)
58.91594.815   Route 744 / Historic US 66 (Kearney Street)
 
 
I-44 east – Rolla
Proposed flyover; southbound access only[10]
59.56395.857  I-44 – Joplin, RollaI-44 exit 77; first diverging diamond interchange in the United States[3]
59.74996.157Norton RoadAccess to Ozark Empire Fairgrounds and Dickerson Park Zoo
64.099103.157 
 
Route O west – Willard, Glidewell
65.607105.584 
 
Route WW east
70.518113.488 
 
  Route BB west / Route CC – Walnut Grove, Fair Grove
PolkBrighton74.543119.965 
 
Route 215 south – Pleasant Hope, Brighton
Southern end of Route 215 overlap
75.437121.404 
 
 
 
 
Route 215 north / Route 215 Spur east – Morrisville
Northern end of Route 215 overlap
Bolivar83.057133.667 
 
 
 
 
Route 13 Bus. north / Route 83 north – Bolivar
South end of freeway
85.291137.263 
 
Route T west – Bolivar, Aldrich
86.877139.815 
 
 
  Route 13 Bus. south / Route 32 – Bolivar, Fair Play
North end of freeway
Humansville99.009159.340 
 
 
 
 
Route 123 south / Route 13 Bus. north – Dunnegan, Humansville
101.621163.543 
 
 
 
 
Route 13 Bus. south / Route N west – Humansville, Caplinger Mills
Interchange
St. Clair108.871175.211  US 54 – CollinsInterchange
119.944193.031 
 
 
 
Route 82 north / Route 13 Bus. – Osceola, Harper
Osceola120.944194.641 
 
 
Route 13 Bus. south
Henry135.711218.406 
 
Route 52 west – Montrose
Interchange; southern end of Route 52 overlap
136.710220.013 
 
 
Route 52 Bus. west – Deepwater
Clinton143.782231.395 
 
 
 
Route 7 south / Route 18 west – Clinton, Warsaw
Southern end of Route 7 overlap. Access to Historic Downtown Clinton.
145.224233.715 
 
Route 52 east – Calhoun, Windsor
Interchange; northern end of Route 52 overlap
146.122235.161 
 
 
 
 
Route 7 north / Route 13 Bus. south – Harrisonville, Clinton
Northern end of Route 7 overlap
Johnson160.870258.895  Route 2 – Chilhowee, Leeton
Warrensburg169.265272.406 
 
 
Route 13 Bus. north – Warrensburg
Roundabout
173.153278.663  Route DD – WarrensburgRoundabout. Access to Whiteman Air Force Base.
175.230282.005  US 50 – Lee's Summit, Jefferson CityInterchange
180.184289.978 
 
 
Route 13 Bus. south – Warrensburg
Roundabout
LafayetteHigginsville192.308309.490   I-70 / US 40 – Kansas City, ColumbiaI-70 exit 49. Access to Maple Leaf Lake Conservation.
196.968316.989 
 
 
Route 13 Bus. north (Fairground Avenue)
Access to Higginsville Industrial Municipal Airport and Downtown Business District
199.151320.502 
 
 
 
 
Route 13 Bus. south / Route 20 east – Higginsville
Access to Confederate Memorial State Historic Site, Missouri Veterans State Cemetery, and Higginsville Industrial Municipal Airport
204.736329.491 
 
 
Route 13 Bus. north
Lexington207.651334.182  
 
US 24 / Lewis and Clark Trail east – Lexington, Waverly
South end of freeway
207.847334.497 
 
 
 
 
  Route 224 west / Route 13 Bus. south – Lexington
Access to Lafayette Regional Health Center and Access to Battle of Lexington State Historic Site
Missouri River209.358336.929Congressman Ike Skelton Bridge
Ray211.535340.433  Route J – Hardin
Henrietta214.571345.319Henrietta
Richmond216.848348.983  
 
 
 
 
Route 10 / Route 13 Bus. north / Lewis and Clark Trail west – Excelsior Springs, Carrollton
North end of freeway
217.741350.420 
 
 
 
 
Route 10 Bus. / Route 13 Bus. south – Excelsior Springs, Hardin
Access to Business District
CaldwellPolo237.454382.145 
 
Route 116 west – Lathrop
Southern end of Route 116 overlap
238.460383.764 
 
Route 116 east – Cowgill, Braymer
Northern end of Route 116 overlap
Hamilton250.520403.173 
 
 
  
 
US 36 Bus. begins / US 36 / Route 110 (CKC) – Cameron, Chillicothe
Interchange; southern end of US 36 Bus. overlap
251.161404.204 
 
 
US 36 Bus. west (Berry Street)
Northern end of US 36 Bus. overlap
DaviessGallatin264.896426.309 
 
Route 6 west – Altamont
Southern end of Route 6 overlap
266.531428.940 
 
Route 6 east – Jamesport
Northern end of Route 6 overlap
Harrison287.300462.365  I-35 – Kansas City, Des MoinesI-35 exit 88
Bethany290.601467.677 
 
 
 
US 69 south / US 136 west – Bethany, New Hampton
Northern terminus; highway continues as US 69 north / US 136 east
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

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KML is not from Wikidata
  1. ^ Nelson, Kristin (June 22, 2009). "Nation's first diverging diamond interchange is open". KY3 News. Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  2. ^ "I-44 and Route 13". Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Tang, Didi (January 28, 2010). "Missouri test drives 'diverging diamond' interchange". USA Today.
  4. ^ "1925-26 Missouri Road Map from Clason's Touring Atlas".
  5. ^ Map Showing State Roads and Route Numbers (Map). Missouri State Highway Commission. 1923.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ https://www.modot.org/sites/default/files/documents/1955002_reduced%5B1%5D_0.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  7. ^ Missouri Department of Transportation (December 18, 2020). MoDOT HPMAPS (Map). Missouri Department of Transportation. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  8. ^ Southwest District (October 2012). "Kansas Exp./James River Freeway Diverging Diamond Interchange" (Press release). Missouri Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 29, 2014. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  9. ^ Brewer, Chris (August 19, 2013). "Diverging diamond interchange at Kansas Expwy & James River Freeway receives first major test". KYTV (TV). Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  10. ^ "Interstate 44 Corridor Upgrades in Greene | Missouri Department of Transportation". www.modot.org. Retrieved August 3, 2024.