Route 123 is a

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

in southwestern

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Its northern terminus is at

U.S. Route 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific an ...

in Weaubleau; its southern terminus is at

U.S. Route 160 U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 west of Tuba City, Arizona. The eastern terminus is at US 67 and Missour ...

in Willard.

Route description

The current highway begins in Weableau. South of Humansville, it crosses Route 13 and at Fair Play it intersects

Route 32 The following highways are numbered 32: International * AH32, Asian Highway 32 * European route E32 Australia * Great Western Highway * Barrier Highway * East Derwent Highway * Mitchell Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 32 * Manitoba Highway 32 ...

. At Aldrich, the road crosses

Stockton Lake Stockton Lake is a reservoir located in southeastern Cedar County, northeastern Dade County, and southwestern Polk County, Missouri. The lake is V-shaped, and covers , with of shoreline. It has three marinas, and 10 public-use areas. It has a ...

, then forms a concurrency with Route 215 to Eudora. At the north edge of Willard, the road ends at US 160. Originally, the highway continued all the way to Springfield, passing through town on various streets (one of which was West Bypass) and leaving town on Campbell Avenue. The path south of Springfield is modern US 160 and headed through Nixa, Highlandville, and

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

. At Spokane, old Route 123 followed modern Route 176 (US 160 also followed this route until the newer highway was built) to Walnut Shade where the highway ended.

History

The original termini of the highway were at Route 64 in Fair Play and Route 76 in

Walnut Shade, Missouri Walnut Shade is an unincorporated community in Taney County, Missouri, United States. It is located approximately six miles northwest of Forsyth on U.S. Route 160. The town sits at the confluence of Bull and Bear Creeks. Walnut Shade is part ...

. The road, however, would be extended further north and shortened to the south. From Willard, the highway continued on through Springfield, Nixa, Highlandville, and to Walnut Shade. Route 13 would be moved to a new road further east (providing a shorter route between Bolivar and Springfield, and Route 123 would take over the old Route 13 path. The southern end of the highway was truncated when

was extended from its former terminus in Springfield, and the road's terminus was moved back to Springfield (at US 160), and later still (in the 1980s) back to Willard when US 160 was rerouted.

Major intersections

References

{{Reflist 123 Transportation in Greene County, Missouri Transportation in Polk County, Missouri Transportation in Hickory County, Missouri