The southern terminus of US 71 is located in Louisiana, beginning between Port Barre and Krotz Springs, at an intersection with U.S. 190. The highway follows a northwesterly course through Louisiana, passing through the communities of Alexandria, Montgomery, Coushatta, and Shreveport. From its southern terminus to Shreveport, US 71 has largely been superseded by Interstate 49 - which is eventually planned to roughly follow the US 71 alignment as far north as Kansas City, Missouri. After Shreveport, US 71 follows a northerly course, crossing into Arkansas just north of Ida, Louisiana.
US 71 travels approximately 300 miles (480 km) in Arkansas, entering the state approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Ida, Louisiana.
The route enters Arkansas near the Red River, and runs north through the communities of Doddridge and Fouke.[2] Most motorists can now bypass US 71 from Doddridge to Texarkana via Interstate 49. After approximately 30 miles (48 km) of paralleling I-49, the route turns west, passes the historic Averitt House and enters Texarkana.
Inside the loop, Highway 71 becomes East Street, passing the Texarkana Country Club and Hobo Jungle Park before becoming Hickory Street in downtown Texarkana. The street is four-lane undivided, passing the Bottoms House and J. K. Wadley House before meeting US 67/US 82. US 71 forms a short, two-block concurrency with US 67/US 82 before turning north along Hazel Street.[c 1] This minor city street runs northwest to intersect State Line Avenue; at this point, the northbound lanes are in Arkansas, while the southbound lanes are in Texas.[2] While on State Line Avenue, US 71 intersects Loop 14 before U.S. Route 59 joins US 71 at Interstate 30.
From Arkansas Highway 296 north of Texarkana to the Red River, US 71 runs concurrent with US 59 as an expressway. Except for the northbound lanes (which return to the Arkansas side just before the Red River), this section of 3.39 miles (5.46 km) is entirely in Texas.[c 2]
In Mena, US 59/US 71 has a brief overlap with Highway 8, during which the routes pass two NRHP listings, the Kansas City-Southern Depot and the Mena Commercial Historic District.[9] US 59/US 71/AR 8 also has an overlap with Highway 88, although the western end of the overlap serves as the eastern terminus of the Talimena Scenic DriveNational Scenic Byway designation. After Highway 8 and Highway 88 have left the route US 59/US 71 run north to a junction with US 270 in Acorn. At a fork in the road, US 59 splits onto US 270 west, and US 270 east begins a concurrency with US 71 northbound into Ouachita National Forest.[8] US 71/US 270 continue into Scott County to Y City, where the concurrency ends and US 270 turns east. US 71 runs north through the forest to Waldron, a town the mainline route bypasses to the west while US 71B runs through downtown Waldron. While skirting Waldron, US 71 has a junction with Highway 272 near Waldron Municipal Airport as well as junctions with Highway 248, Highway 80, and Highway 28.[10] This section of US 71 from north of Mena through Fayetteville (following the original sections bypassing the new Interstate 540 has been designated a scenic byway and the Boston Mountains Scenic Loop.
First reassurance marker south of the Highway 23 junction in Scott County
North of Waldron, US 71 passes through Mansfield and Greenwood before intersecting with Interstate 540 on the south end of Fort Smith. US 71 overlaps I-540 for approximately 12 miles (19 km) until it reaches Interstate 40, then follows I-40 6 miles (10 km) to Alma.
U.S. Route 71 is concurrent with Interstate 49 in northwest Arkansas.
In Missouri, US 71 is signed as part of the new section of Interstate 49 from Pineville to the southeast side of the Kansas City metro area. The I-49 designation went into effect in December 2012.
On August 15, 2007, the final section of US 71 south of Kansas City to be converted to a 4-lane divided expressway was opened in McDonald County, between the cities of Lanagan and Jane.[11] In Kansas City, I-49/US 71 is one of the components of the Grandview Triangle interchange. There is a 2-mile (3.2 km) section near Swope Park that has three at-grade intersections. Ample right of way exists on the corridor to upgrade to a freeway, though there are no plans to do so in the near future.[12] From downtown Kansas City, US 71 overlaps with Interstate 29 to north of Saint Joseph. From there, US 71 continues as an expressway to Maryville before angling towards Iowa just north of Clearmont. In 2002, US 71 was four laned from Interstate 29, northwest of St. Joseph to Maryville. From there, until it enters Iowa at Braddyville, it continues to be the only remaining rural two lane section of this highway north of Kansas City.
US 71 meets I-70 in Kansas City, Missouri. It will split into I-35 and I-29 approximately one mile farther north.
During the Great Flood of 1993, when the Missouri River flooded, I-29 traffic was detoured along US 71 through Maryville and Clarinda.
The four-lane segment between Savannah to Maryville was completed in 2002. It is a two-lane highway north of Maryville to the Iowa state line. The long delay in bringing a four-lane highway to Maryville even as most of the highway from Savannah south to the Arkansas line has been a four lanes for some time was a source of considerable irritation for Maryville and Northwest Missouri State University.
Outlaws Bonnie and Clyde engaged in a shootout with law enforcement officers in 1933 beside the highway at the Red Crown Tourist Court just southeast of Platte County, Missouri. The tourist court (which burned down) was just east of the main exit for I-29 Northbound at the old junction with US 71 Bypass now Missouri Route 291.
US 71 formerly entered Storm Lake concurrently with Iowa Highway 7 but was moved to a new alignment east of Storm Lake in 1996 to lessen travel time between Carroll and Spencer, the two largest communities on US 71 in Iowa. A business route of US 71 follows the highway's former alignment through Storm Lake.
A business route for US 71 also passes through Clarinda on a former alignment of US 71.
The Minnesota section of US 71 is defined as Routes 4 and 141 in Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.115(72).,[13][14]
History
The original southern terminus of US 71 was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana at the Baton Rouge-Port Allen Mississippi River ferry. This was also the original western terminus of US 190 which continued east from the ferry landing through Baton Rouge, shortly intersecting US 61. US 71 was routed along the Jefferson Highway (pre-1955 State Route 1) from Baton Rouge north to Clarence (near Natchitoches). From Clarence to Shreveport, a more direct route was chosen than that followed by the Jefferson Highway, and US 71 continued north into Arkansas rather than west into Texas.
The current route of US 71 in Louisiana follows or closely parallels the 1926 alignment north of Lebeau. Between Port Allen and Lebeau, US 71 originally followed present-day LA 76 to Rosedale, LA 77 to Ravenswood, and LA 10 to Lebeau, crossing the Atchafalaya River by ferry at Melville. In 1935, US 190 was extended west onto a newly built section of State Route 7 (the Evangeline Highway) with a bridge across the Atchafalaya River at Krotz Springs. The following year, US 71 was moved onto this route, branching northward to Lebeau from its current southern terminus west of Krotz Springs and bypassing the ferry crossing at Melville. In 1940, US 71 and 190 were moved onto the new Mississippi River Bridge at Baton Rouge, bypassing the ferry crossing there. US 71 was cut back to its current southern terminus west of Krotz Springs in 1951.
In northwest Arkansas, the 1926 alignment of US 71 followed Highway 102 from Bentonville to Centerton, then north on Highway 102 Business to Highway 72 southeast of Hiwasse. From there, it followed Arkansas 72 to Gravette, where it turned north on Highway 59 to the Missouri state line. In the 1930s, US 71 was rerouted along Arkansas 72 between Bentonville and Gravette, then north on Arkansas 59. This alignment lasted until the early 1960s when it was realigned along Highway 100 between Bentonville and the Missouri state line. In Missouri, the new US 71 replaced Route 88, which had been defined in 1922, while the old US 71 became Route 59.
A large section of US 71 through Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana is being upgraded to Interstate standards as an extension of Interstate 49 from Shreveport, Louisiana to Kansas City, Missouri. It will also connect to New Orleans with "Future I-49" signage being posted, but with no construction, as of 2017, being started.
I-70 / I-670 / US 40 in Kansas City. I-70/US 40/US 71 travels concurrently through Kansas City.
I-29 / I-35 / I-70 / US 24 / US 40 in Kansas City. I-29/US 71 travels concurrently to east of Amazonia. I-35/US 71 travels concurrently through Kansas City.
^ Although it is signed that US 71 is concurrent with US 67/US 82 until State Line Avenue, the Miller County Route and Section Map[2] indicates that US 71 runs along Hazel Street, and a brief connector designated US 71Y (Section 3Y) connects US 67/US 82 to US 71 at Hazel Street along State Line Avenue.
^ Map note: 3.39 mi. exception to Texas portion of US 71[2]
^Route and Section Map(PDF) (Map) (Little River County ed.). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
^General Highway Map(PDF) (Map) (Little River County ed.). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
^Route and Section Map(PDF) (Map) (Sevier County ed.). Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
^General Highway Map, Sevier County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. April 11, 2000. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
^ abGeneral Highway Map, Polk County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. December 22, 2000. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 13, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
^General Highway Map, Scott County, Arkansas(PDF) (Map). 1:62500. Cartography by Planning and Research Division. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. November 1999. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
US 190 in Krotz Springs, LA
Highway 71 to Highway 11 / TCH at Fort Frances, ON
