Louisiana 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 From its southern terminus to Shreveport, US 71 has largely been superseded by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.
Arkansas and Texas US 71 travels approximately in Arkansas, entering the state approximately north of
Ida, Louisiana. The route enters Arkansas near the
Red River, and runs north through the communities of
Doddridge and
Fouke. Most motorists can now bypass US 71 from Doddridge to Texarkana via
Interstate 49. After approximately 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. 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. Further north the routes pass under
Highway 32, which skirts the southern part of
Ashdown. Serving Little River's
county seat as Constitution Avenue, the routes become a five-lane road with center turn lane which passes within two blocks of the
Little River County Courthouse. The routes intersect
Highway 32B and
Highway 108 before exiting town due north to
Wilton. Following the
Kansas City Southern Railroad tracks, US 59/US 71 enters Wilton, where it passes the
S. S. P. Mills and Son Building,
Highway 234, and the
Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway Depot. Just north of town a
former alignment comes into view briefly before the
Mills Cemetery and the
Sevier County line. Once across the
Little River, US 59/US 71 passes
another former alignment, crosses through
Pond Creek National Wildlife Refuge, and runs east of
Ben Lomond before entering
Lockesburg. A junction in Lockesburg joins US 59/US 71 with
US 371, with
Highway 24 running west from the junction. north of Lockesburg
US 70 joins US 59/US 71/US 371, and the concurrent routes turn west to
De Queen. Upon entering De Queen, US 59/US 71 turns north, US 70 continues west,
US 70 Business/
Highway 41 (US 70B/AR 41) runs south, and US 371 terminates at the junction. US 59/US 71 continue through
Gillham and
Grannis to serve as the western terminus of
US 278 in
Wickes. Junctions with
Highway 246 and
Highway 4 precede the route entering
Mena, the county seat of
Polk County. 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. 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 Drive National 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. 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. 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 until it reaches
Interstate 40, then follows I-40 to
Alma. US 71 passes through
Mountainburg,
Winslow,
West Fork and
Greenland on its way to
Fayetteville. At Fayetteville, US 71 continues north to the missouri state line just north of
Bentonville, as well as
U.S. Route 62. North of Bentonville US 71 continues another passing through
Bella Vista to the
Missouri state line.
Missouri 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. In Kansas City, I-49/US 71 is one of the components of the
Grandview Triangle interchange. There is a 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. 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 overlaps
Interstate 70 on the east side of downtown Kansas City's
freeway loop. US 71 then overlaps
Interstate 35 and
Interstate 29 for a segment which crosses the
Missouri River via the
Christopher S. Bond Bridge in Kansas City. It then continues concurrent with Interstate 29 after separating from Interstate 35 north of the Missouri River to just north of
St. Joseph, Missouri where it diverges. An alternative in the design of
Interstate 29 called for it to follow US 71 on a more populated route through
Maryville, Missouri and
Clarinda, Iowa. However the interstate was to be routed along the more direct route to
Omaha, Nebraska/
Council Bluffs, Iowa and more sparsely populated Missouri River bottoms. 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.
Iowa US 71 passes through a rural section of western Iowa. It enters the state at
Braddyville and junctions
Interstate 80 near
Brayton, northeast of
Atlantic. North of I-80, US 71 passes through
Carroll, where it intersects
U.S. Route 30, and intersects and overlaps
U.S. Route 20 at
Sac City and
U.S. Route 18 through
Spencer. The highway crosses the
Iowa Great Lakes where
West Okoboji and
East Okoboji Lake meet before exiting the state. 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.
Minnesota As is the case in Iowa, US 71 in Minnesota is largely a rural highway. It crosses
Interstate 90 at
Jackson, passes through
Windom, and intersects
U.S. Route 14 at
Sanborn. It passes through
Redwood Falls and
Willmar before its junction with
Interstate 94/
U.S. Highway 52 at
Sauk Centre. Around
Willmar, US 71 is built to freeway standards. From there, US 71 passes through
Long Prairie,
Wadena, and
Park Rapids before touching
Itasca State Park, the source of the
Mississippi River. It then crosses the Mississippi and is a major route for northern Minnesota as it goes around
Bemidji (the "first city on the Mississippi") and angles northeast to its terminus at the Canada–US border in
International Falls. The route between Bemidji and International Falls parallels the
Blue Ox Trail, formerly the
Northern Pacific Railway. On the
Ontario side,
Highway 71 links the bridge to
Ontario Highway 71 in
Fort Frances, which continues north and terminates at
Ontario Highway 17 just east of
Kenora. The Minnesota section of US 71 is defined as Routes 4 and 141 in Minnesota Statutes §§ 161.114(2) and 161.115(72)., ==History==