Missouri Route 171

Route 171
Route information
Maintained by MoDOT
Length:	26 mi (42 km)
Major junctions
South end:	I-49 / US 71 / Route 96 / Route 571 in Carthage
North end:	K-171 near Opolis, KS
Highway system
Missouri State Highway System Interstate US State Supplemental ← I-170 Route 172 →

Route 171 is a short highway in western Missouri. Its northern terminus is at the Kansas state line where it continues as K-171 near Opolis, Kansas. Its southern terminus is at the junction of Interstate 49/U.S. Route 71, Route 96 and Route 571 in Carthage. The last ten southbound miles are concurrent with Business I-49.

Some (about half) of those last 10 miles (16 km) to Carthage, from its junction with I-49 Business at Madison Ave. in Webb City, are routed in a northeasterly direction. This results in going northeast on "South" 171 and vice versa along this stretch. However, 71 Business is going more or less in its designated direction, north, in a wrong-way concurrency at the same time.

Also, because of this curve back to the northeast, Route 171 and Route 96 intersect each other on opposite sides of the Joplin/Webb City area. Going "southbound," 96 and 171 meet each other about two miles (3 km) north of Carl Junction and then again about two miles (3 km) west of Carthage. Route 96 maintains a straight east–west routing between these two points except at the very east end before the intersection with 171 and I-49 Business.

At Carthage, 171 meets its "parent" route, US 71, along with I-49. 171's "southern" terminus and I-49 Business' northern terminus are here while the northern terminus of Route 571 approaches from the east. Route 96 continues though this interchange. This results in three x71's meeting in the same location.

Route 171 was once Route 57. That was changed when I-57 was established on the eastern side of the state. Kansas did not change K-57's number to match until 2004, when it became K-171 after it was decided to shorten K-57 because it had numerous concurrencies along its routing.

Interstate 49

It is suggested that Missouri Route 171 east of MO 249 will be eventually be a part of Interstate 49.^[1]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Jasper County.

Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Carthage			48	I-49 / US 71 / Route 96 east / Route 571 south – Carthage, Kansas City, Joplin	I-49 exit 53; south end of I-49 Bus. / Route 96 overlap; south end of freeway
​			47	Route 96 west / Oak Street – Oronogo	north end of Route 96 overlap
​			46	Brooklyn Heights (Historic US 66)
Carterville			44	Route HH – Carterville
			43	Route 249 south to I-44 / I-49 – Joplin	interchange; north end of freeway
Webb City			43	Business Loop I-49 south (Madison Avenue) – Joplin, Missouri Southern State University	north end of I-49 Bus. overlap
				Historic US 66 east (Powell Drive)	south end of Historic US 66 overlap
Airport Drive				Route 43 / Historic US 66 west (North Main Street Road) to Route 126 – Joplin, Joplin Regional Airport Main Terminal	north end of Historic US 66 overlap
​				Route 96 east / Route YY west – Kansas state line, Carthage
​				K-171 west – Pittsburg	Kansas state line
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. http://modot.gov/southwest/I-49MapsandInformation.htm