U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south U.S. highway that runs from

Clayton, Louisiana Clayton is a town in northern Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 711 at the 2010 census. Cotton is a principal commodity in the area. Clayton is located on the Tensas River, important for fishing and boating, prom ...

Albert Lea, Minnesota Albert Lea is a city in Freeborn County, in southern Minnesota. It is the county seat. Its population was 18,492 at the 2020 census. The city is at the junction of Interstates 35 and 90, about south of the Twin Cities. It is on the shore ...

. In

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, the highway enters the state from Arkansas, just south of Branson. The highway exits the state into

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

near South Lineville.

Route description

US 65 enters Missouri between the towns of Omaha, Arkansas and

Ridgedale, Missouri Ridgedale is an unincorporated community in southern Taney County, Missouri, United States. It lies approximately ten miles south of Branson on U.S. Route 65, about one-half mile north of the Arkansas state line. The community is part of the Bra ...

. The road is a four-lane expressway, traveling through both Branson and Hollister towards Springfield. Through the Branson area, it is a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. North of Branson, the highway intersections with both westbound Route 76 (a freeway spur) and U.S. Route 160. All the way to Highlandville, U.S. 160 is the old alignment of U.S. 65 (until the 1960s). US 65 at Sunshine

Just south of Route EE at the Highlandville exit, U.S. 65 returns to freeway status. The freeway is called "Schoolcraft Freeway" in Springfield, named in honor of

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi ...

. Also in Springfield, the highway has junctions with U.S. Route 60 (also known as

James River Freeway James River Freeway is a freeway located largely on the south side of Springfield, Missouri. Its western terminus is at Interstate 44 (I-44) north of Brookline and its eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 65 (US 65) in southeastern Springfie ...

) and

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...

(I-44). The I-44 interchange includes a flyover ramp connecting northbound U.S. 65 with westbound I-44. Construction is completed that added two at U.S. 60. In September 2011, U.S. 65 became a six-lane divided freeway in Springfield between Interstate 44 and U.S. 60. It was the first six-lane highway in Southwest Missouri. North of Springfield, it returns to a four-lane, non-interstate highway. From Springfield to Buffalo, U.S. 65 has been upgraded as a four-lane non-interstate highway. This project began with the addition of a partial four-lane highway through the Fair Grove area to replace a dangerous traffic light intersection with an overpass. It culminated with the entire length of U.S. 65 becoming a four-lane highway from Springfield to just outside of Buffalo. The project was completed in summer 2010. Through Buffalo, the highway now becomes two lanes with a center left-turn lane. This part of the highway has also seen upgrades in recent years, such as adding

rumble strips Rumble strips (also known as sleeper lines or alert strips) are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. ...

and extending the middle turn lanes to just outside the city's northern portion. From Buffalo to

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, entering Hickory County, U.S. 65 remains a two-lane highway and has a four-way intersection with U.S. Route 54. US 65 in Chillicothe

U.S. 65 shares a concurrency with Route 7 before entering

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, where the highway crosses over the western end of the

Lake of the Ozarks Lake of the Ozarks is a reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Parts of three smaller tributaries to the Osage are included in the impoundment: the Niangua River, Grandglaize Cr ...

and again becomes a four-lane non-interstate highway at the intersection where it separates from Route 7. After leaving Warsaw, U.S. 65 passes through Lincoln then has a brief concurrency with Route 52. At Sedalia (where it is called Limit Avenue), it has an intersection with U.S. Route 50 (known locally as Broadway Blvd). At Marshall Junction, north of Sedalia in Saline County, U.S. 65 intersects with both

Interstate 70 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 a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

and

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...

. In Marshall (where it is called Lexington, Ave), U.S. 65 returns to two-lanes and stays so all the way up to Iowa. At Waverly, the highway becomes concurrent with U.S. Route 24 (which continues to Carrollton). Also in Waverly, U.S. 65 and U.S. 24 both cross the Missouri River on the Waverly Bridge. Further north, the road crosses

U.S. Route 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection in ...

at Chillicothe and

U.S. Route 136 U.S. Route 136 is an east-west U.S. highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 36. It runs from Edison, Nebraska, at U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 34 to the Interstate 74/Interstate 465 interchange in Speedway, Indiana. This is a distance of . U ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

. The highway leaves Missouri at South Lineville and enters Iowa. The section of highway from Preston to Marshall Junction has been cited as a good drive for motorcyclists, with its sparsely populated areas and the hilly landscape.

History

From 1922 to 1926, US 65 in Missouri was known as Route 3. US 65 originally followed Route 248 and US 160 between Branson and Springfield. Route 3 was originally planned on a shorter route between Springfield and

, with Route 71 on the longer alignment via Buffalo, but Route 3 was quickly shifted east, absorbing Route 71.

Major intersections

References

External links

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links