Route 43 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 western

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 ...

midway between

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and Deerfield. Its southern terminus is at the corner of Missouri (near Southwest City),

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

where it continues down the Arkansas/Oklahoma state line as both

Arkansas Highway 43 Arkansas Highway 43 (AR 43) is a designation for three List of state highways in Arkansas, state highways in Arkansas, United States. One segment runs from Arkansas Highway 264, Highway 264 in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, Siloam Springs ...

and OK-20.''Missouri Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, 1998, First edition, pp. 42, 50, and 60,

Route description

North of Joplin, Route 43 is a relatively straight highway. It intersects

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 Barton County west of Lamar. A few miles south of there it intersects Route 126. Just north of Joplin, it intersects Route 96. In Joplin, the highway is known as Main Street and passes through the old historic downtown area. For a few blocks, it is historic US Route 66 until it reaches Seventh Street (

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) is one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The high ...

), where Route 66 goes west. It joins Business Loop I-44 until it reaches

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is an 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 Falls, T ...

, then joins this road for one exit west, then turns south again. When Route 43 reaches Seneca (where it has a junction with

U.S. Route 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

), it comes within a half mile of Oklahoma and stays relatively close to it all the way to the intersection with Route 76 east of Tiff City. All through this area, the highway becomes more hilly and curvy. The road serves as the western terminus of Route 90 just before reaching Southwest City. South of Southwest City, the highway runs less than a mile before reaching the corner of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma becoming the concurrency of

and OK-20. A stone marker is erected at the corner of the three states.

Major intersections

Related route

Seneca truck route

Route 43 Truck is used to bypass a steep grade on Route 43 just south of

Seneca, Missouri Seneca is a city in western Newton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,336 at the 2010 census. Located on the southwestern border of the state, the city is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Se ...

. This route is unsigned and concurs with US 60 Bus.

References

{{Reflist 043 Transportation in Barton County, Missouri