I-55 enters Missouri at the
Arkansas border near
Cooter. It runs northward through mostly flat land in the
Bootheel, where it has an interchange with
U.S. Route 412 (US 412) and
I-155. The highway continues over bumpy land through or near the towns of
Hayti,
Portageville, and
New Madrid before reaching an interchange with
US 60 and
I-57 just south of
Sikeston. The next interchange,
US 62, provides access into the city of Sikeston and one of its most popular attractions,
Lambert's Cafe, the "Home of the Throwed Rolls". North of Sikeston, I-55 begins to traverse rolling terrain on its way to
Cape Girardeau. Exit 95,
Route 74 east, provides direct access to the
Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge into southern Illinois. The heart of the city of Cape Girardeau as well as
Southeast Missouri State University can be reached by taking either exit 96 or exit 99. I-55 then goes through rural areas again as it makes a north-northwesterly run through the towns of
Perryville and
Ste. Genevieve before entering the southern reaches of the St. Louis metro area at the interchange with
US 67 and the Twin Cities of
Festus and
Crystal City.
US 61 and US 67 run concurrently immediately east of I-55 nearly due north through the
Jefferson County towns of
Herculaneum,
Pevely (where the Interstate expands from four lanes to six),
Barnhart (and then to eight),
Imperial, and finally
Arnold before crossing the
Meramec River into
St. Louis County. From Richardson Road in Arnold to
I-270, I-55 is 10 lanes wide. The Interstate narrows back down to eight lanes past I-270, through southern St. Louis County, and into the city of
St. Louis. In the last few miles of I-55 in the state of Missouri, there is an interchange and brief overlap with
I-44 before reaching the
Poplar Street Bridge crossing into Illinois. ==History==