End of US highway 56
View a map showing this route.
Photo credits: Jeff
Morrison; Ben
Prusia
Additional research: Jeff
Morrison
| Approx. time period | East terminus | West terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1957-1961 | Kansas City, MO (Admiral) | Springer, NM |
| 1961-1964 | Independence, MO | Springer, NM |
| 1964-1999 | Kansas City, MO (Prospect) | Springer, NM |
| 1999-present | Kansas City, MO (US 71) | Springer, NM |
US 56 wasn't commissioned until the late 1950's; it replaced much of what used to be US 50-N in Kansas. The west end has always been in Springer NM; you can view photos from there on this page.
US 56 was originally signed into downtown Kansas City - from what I can tell, it came north on The Paseo (with US 40/71), and ended at Admiral Boulevard (US 24). The photo below is looking west on Admiral:
Mortell, Aug. 2007
To the left (south on Paseo) was the short-lived east beginning of US 56. But in 1961 the designation was extended to Independence MO. The photo below is looking east on Independence Ave (US 24) at the intersection with MO hwy. 291 (old US 71 Bypass):
Prusia
This is where US 56 ended for about three years, before it was truncuated back to the central part of Kansas City.
Since 1964 the east end of US 56 has been a ways to the south and west, at its junction with US 71. Until about 1999, US 71 traffic was routed along Prospect Avenue, so US 56 ended on Swope Parkway at Prospect:
Morrison,
Oct. 2007
When today's US 71 freeway was complete through the area, US 56 was truncated a few blocks to end at that interchange:
Morrison,
Oct. 2007
That's looking east on Swope. Heading the opposite direction, junction signage doesn't mention US 56...
Prusia
...but if you continue ahead, you'll soon encounter the sign shown below:
Morrison,
Oct. 2007
Jeff reports that all US 56 shields look like that along its brief stretch through Missouri, except for the one on the "End" assembly shown above. He also had this to say:
"For a 3.3-mile stretch of road, US 56 in Missouri has a very convoluted route and is poorly signed, with undersized arrows and (as of my trip) NO arrow warning of the last turn before Kansas. (There's a shield right before the fork with Ward Parkway, but no indication of which way to go.) For some reason, 56 is still signed right into a pedestrian-heavy area on 47th Street for a while, instead of using Swope the whole way."
That's interesting, because the maps I've seen show US 56 staying on Swope. Anyway, below is the signage for the exit to US 56's east beginning from northbound US 71:
Prusia
Signage from southbound US 71 is identical.