Route 45 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 MO 45 in red, MO 45 Spur in blue | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by MoDOT | ||||
| Length | 36.920 mi [1] (59.417 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   I-29 / US 71 in Kansas City | |||
 I-435 near Parkville | ||||
| North end |   US 59 / Route 273 in Lewis & Clark Village | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Missouri | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route 45 is a highway in northwest Missouri, US in Buchanan County and Platte County which is largely in the bottom land alongside the Missouri River.
Its northern terminus is U.S. Route 59 just east of Atchison, Kansas where 59 turns sharply to St. Joseph, Missouri north while 45 heads south towards Kansas City, Missouri.
It overlaps Route 273 until just south of Weston, Missouri where 273 breaks off to head east.
At Beverly, Missouri, in what is referred to locally as the "Beverly Curve", it intersects Route 92 going east to Platte City, Missouri and west to Leavenworth, Kansas.
About three miles (5 km) later at East Leavenworth, Missouri, Route 45 intersects its spur which goes northwest to Leavenworth. The spur, which is signed as "Route 45" and also known as the "Leavenworth cutoff", was built as a shortcut from Leavenworth, Kansas to Kansas City during the construction of the Centennial Bridge (Leavenworth, Kansas). Even though it is in Missouri it was maintained by the city of Leavenworth until the tolls were removed from the Centennial Bridge in May 1977. This is now maintained by MODOT.
The length of the highway between the convergence of the spur and the intersection with I-435 to the south was quite narrow, each lane being less than 11 feet wide. In addition, there were large ruts just off the edges of the highway in some areas. This width shrank even more over the Platte River bridge just south of Farley, which was finally replaced after 79 years—the original bridge was built in 1933 and the replacement bridge (built just to the east of the old bridge) was completed in 2012. Recent construction in the spring months of 2013 has widened the road and eliminated the danger of ruts, although as of May 2013, there has not been a change in the painted lanes.
South of Farley, Missouri, the road leaves the Missouri River bottoms and heads southeast past Interstate 435. The section between Interstate 435 and Interstate 29 that passes the National Golf Club of Kansas City is named the Tom Watson Parkway after the Kansas City native champion golfer who also designed the club's course.
At the intersection with Interstate 435, the road widens to become a four-lane concrete avenue. The road's southern terminal point is Interstate 29.
The road, which is almost exclusively rural until entering Kansas City suburban development at I-435, is frequently listed as a "scenic route" as it stays close to the Missouri River bluffs and has commanding views of Fort Leavenworth.
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| County | Location | mi [1] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platte | Kansas City | 0.000– 0.077 | 0.000– 0.124 | I-29 / US 71 – Kansas City, St. Joseph | Diamond interchange; exit 5 |
| Parkville | 2.288 | 3.682 |  Route 9 – Parkville, Platte Woods | ||
| Kansas City | 5.450– 5.500 | 8.771– 8.851 |  Route K (Hampton Road) | Roundabout; Southern terminus of Route K | |
| Parkville | 6.913– 7.044 | 11.125– 11.336 | I-435 – Topeka, KS, St. Joseph | Diamond interchange; exit 22 | |
| | 15.961 | 25.687 |   Route 45 Spur – Leavenworth, KS | ||
| | 19.327 | 31.104 |  Route 92 – Tracy, Leavenworth, KS | Connector | |
| | 21.503 | 34.606 |  Route 273 / Route JJ – Weston, Tracy | Eastern terminus of Route JJ; Southern end of Route 273 concurrency | |
| Weston | 23.606 | 37.990 |  Route P | Western terminus of Route P | |
| 24.238 | 39.007 |  Route H – New Market | Southern terminus of Route H | ||
| Buchanan | | 35.870 | 57.727 |  Route 138 – Lewis and Clark Village | Eastern terminus of Route 138 |
| | 36.920 | 59.417 | US 59 / Route 273 – St. Joseph, Atchison, KS | Northern terminus; Northern end of Route 273 concurrency | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky Mountains. West of the Rocky Mountains, the route of I-70 was derived from multiple sources. The Interstate runs through or near many major cities, including Denver, Topeka, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. The sections of the Interstate in Missouri and Kansas have laid claim to be the first Interstate in the United States. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has claimed the section of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado, completed in 1992, to be the last piece of the Interstate Highway System, as originally planned, to open to traffic. The construction of I-70 in Colorado and Utah is considered an engineering marvel, as the route passes through the Eisenhower Tunnel, Glenwood Canyon, and the San Rafael Swell. The Eisenhower Tunnel is the highest point along the Interstate Highway System, with an elevation of 11,158 feet (3,401 m).
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U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Michigan, at an intersection with Interstate 75 (I-75), and its western terminus is near Minturn, Colorado, at an intersection with I-70. The highway transitions from north–south to east–west signage at the Ohio–Michigan state line.
Interstate 435 (I-435) is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States.
U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles (2500 km) in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstate highways. Currently, the highway's northern terminus is in International Falls, Minnesota at the Canada–US border, at the southern end of the Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge to Fort Frances, Ontario. U.S. Route 53 also ends here. On the other side of the bridge, Trans-Canada Highway is an east–west route while Ontario Highway 71 is a north–south route. US 71's southern terminus is between Port Barre and Krotz Springs, Louisiana at an intersection with U.S. Route 190. For the entirety south of Kansas City, Missouri, US 71 runs parallel and concurrent with the existing and future Interstate 49. North of Kansas City, US 71 runs halfway between Interstate 29 and Interstate 35, which they split in the city at an interchange with Interstate 70.
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U.S. Route 169 is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Memorial Drive.
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K-5 is a 24-mile-long (39 km) state highway in northeastern Kansas. Remaining completely in the Kansas City metropolitan area, it connects Leavenworth to Kansas City.
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U.S. Route 63 is the portion of a north-south highway that runs through the U.S. state of Missouri from the Arkansas state line near Thayer to the Iowa state line near Lancaster.
K-92 is an approximately 44-mile-long (71 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. K-92's western terminus is at K-4 south of the community of Rock Creek, and the eastern terminus is a continuation as Missouri State Route 92 at the Missouri border by the City of Leavenworth. K-92 is co-designated as U.S. Route 59 (US-59) in Oskaloosa, K-16 from Oskaloosa to McLouth, and K-7 and US-73 in Leavenworth. The majority of the route passes through rural farmland and is almost entirely a two-lane roadway, except for the overlap with K-7 and US-73 and a portion of the US-59 overlap, which are four-lane.
