Route 7 is a state highway with its northern terminus at

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

in northeast

Independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

and its southern terminus at

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 ...

southeast of Richland (near the town of Laquey which it doesn't quite reach). The section between Harrisonville (at a junction with

Interstate 49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway with multiple segments. The original portion is entirely within Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from Interstate 220 (Louisiana), I-220 in Shreveport, Louisian ...

U.S. Route 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 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 Intersta ...

) and Clinton (at a junction with Route 13) provides an important link for traffic between Springfield and

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Route description

The route begins at

, exit 150, as a two-lane highway. It then heads northwest into Richland, intersecting with Route 133. From there, it continues northwest to a concurrency with Route 5, starting three miles south of Camdenton. In Camdenton, it crosses

U.S. 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 and Rock Island Lines "Golde ...

, and continues northwest, crossing 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 Creek ...

. After crossing the lake, Route 5 enters Greenville, and the highway diverges north, and Route 7 heads west, pass through Climax Springs and Edwards then continues west to another concurrency with

US 65 U.S. Route 65 (US 65) is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of I ...

. The combined route crosses Harry S. Truman Reservoir and the

Osage River The Osage River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Missouri River in central Missouri in the United States. The eighth-largest river in ...

and then enters

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, where the concurrency ends; Route 7 heads west and crosses more arms of the Truman Reservoir. At Clinton, it intersects Route 13 and Route 52, and then becomes a four-lane highway, running northwest to

US 71 U.S. Route 71 or U.S. Highway 71 (US 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 Intersta ...

in Harrisonville. The four-lane expressway portion is part of the Springfield-Kansas City expressway. After a brief concurrency with I-49/U.S. 71, Route 7 heads north as a two-lane highway, crossing Route 58 in Pleasant Hill, Route 150, and

US 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

. In Blue Springs, it crosses

US 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

and

I-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 I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

. Continuing north, Route 7 is the eastern terminus of Route 78, before itself terminating at

US 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...

History

Missouri Route 7 links the Kansas City area to the Ozarks, however it was not always called Route 7. Starting in 1926-27 it connected US 71 to US 50 only, by 1937 it had been extended to US 40. The section that runs east from US 71 - US 65 (1935), to US 54, and later on to US 66 (1953) was once called State Route 35. This was changed to Route 7 in 1959. In the early 1970s with the creation of Truman Lake, the Osage River Bridge was bypassed with a new mile long span.

Business route

A one-mile business route of MO 7 exists in Pleasant Hill.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML

007 The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

Transportation in Pulaski County, Missouri Transportation in Camden County, Missouri Transportation in Benton County, Missouri Transportation in Henry County, Missouri Transportation in Cass County, Missouri Transportation in Jackson County, Missouri