U.S. Route 36 in Missouri

U.S. Route 36 in Missouri runs from the Pony Express Bridge over the Missouri River in St. Joseph to the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge over the Mississippi River in Hannibal. After leaving the Missouri River valley, U.S. 36 then links major cities in Northern Missouri with Kansas City and cities in the east. From Cameron to the Illinois state line, it is overlapped with Route 110, also known as the Chicago–Kansas City Expressway. Starting in St. Joseph, it passes through the cities of Cameron, Hamilton, Chillicothe, Macon, Shelbina, Monroe City, and Brookfield. The final 2 miles (3.2 km) of US 36 in Missouri is concurrent with Interstate 72. The route passes through mostly flat, fertile, productive farmland. Even though there are some surface intersections, U.S. 36 has many grade-separated interchanges and town bypasses that suggest a future extension of I-72 west from Hannibal.

US 36 across Missouri parallels the route of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, which was the reason St. Joseph was selected for the Pony Express. The two towns were the second and third largest cities in the State of Missouri prior to the American Civil War. Prior to the establishment of the railroad in the late 1850s, the stagecoach route was called the "Hound Dog Trail."[3]

The road was originally Route 8 from 1922 to 1926, before being designated as US 36. Over the years some busier sections were upgraded to four lanes. On August 3, 2005, residents of Macon, Marion, Monroe, Shelby, and Ralls counties approved Proposition 36B, which excluded Ralls County from the Transportation Development District, and allowed for a 4-lane US 36 to be constructed without Ralls County's participation. In June 2010 work was completed making US 36 a four-lane highway across the entire state, saving considerable travel time.

Presently I-72 ends at US 61 (Avenue of the Saints) in Hannibal, but further lengthening is proposed by Marion County. The five-item transportation list finalized by the County Commission on February 16, 2016, added the upgrade of US 36, from the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge across the Mississippi River, to the split of US 24 and US 36 near Rocket Plaza, as a new priority. Citing potential benefits including economic development and marketing of Hannibal Lakeside Industrial Park, the Commission advocate extending Interstate 72 west approximately seven miles (11 km).[4]

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Missouri River		0.000	0.000	US-36 west	Continuation into Kansas
				Pony Express Bridges; Kansas–Missouri state line
Buchanan	St. Joseph	0.195– 0.204	0.314– 0.328	Route 759 to I-229 / US 59 north / 4th Street – Central Business District, Stockyards	Interchange; 4th St. not signed eastbound; westbound signed as Route 759/4th St. only
		0.296– 0.489	0.476– 0.787	I-229 / US 59 – Kansas City, Central Business District	Interchange; no access to northbound I-229 from eastbound US 36 and no access to westbound US 36 from southbound I-229; exit 4B on I-229; western end of freeway section at traffic light for I-229 NB entrance ramp
		0.573– 0.670	0.922– 1.078	I-29 BL north (10th Street)	Westbound entrance includes direct entrance ramp from 8th Street
		1.440	2.317	22nd Street
		1.956	3.148	28th Street
		2.966– 3.456	4.773– 5.562	US 169 (Belt Highway)
		3.580– 4.079	5.761– 6.565	I-29 / US 71 – Kansas City, Council Bluffs	Exits 46A-B on I-29
		5.059	8.142	Route AC (Riverside Road)
		6.032	9.708	Ag Expo Way
	Marion Township	11.743	18.899	Route 31 south – Gower	Western end of Route 31 overlap
DeKalb	Washington Township	15.925	25.629	Route 31 north to Route 6 – King City	Eastern end of Route 31 overlap
	Colfax Township	24.787	39.891	Route 33 south – Plattsburg	Western end of Route 33 overlap
		27.186	43.752	Route 33 north / Route M – Maysville, Lathrop	Eastern end of Route 33 overlap
	Cameron	32.892	52.935	US 36 Bus. east (Grand Avenue)
		33.693– 34.056	54.224– 54.808	US 69 / I-35 BL south / US 36 Bus. west (Walnut Street)	Western end of Loop 35 overlap
		34.538– 34.700	55.584– 55.844	I-35 / Route 110 (CKC) south / I-35 BL ends – Kansas City, Des Moines	Eastern end of Loop 35 overlap; western end of Route 110 overlap
Caldwell	Hamilton Township	44.460	71.551	US 36 Bus. east – Hamilton
	Hamilton	46.603	75.000	US 36 Bus. west / Route 13 – Gallatin, Kingston	Interchange
Livingston	Chillicothe	71.594– 71.852	115.219– 115.635	US 65 east / US 36 Bus.	Interchange
		72.459	116.611	US 36 Bus. west
Linn	Parson Creek Township	85.054	136.881	Route 139 north – Meadville	Western end of Route 139 overlap
	Jefferson Township	89.952	144.764	Route 130 south – Pershing State Park
	Laclede	91.830	147.786	Route 5 north / Route 139 south	Eastern end of Route 139 overlap; western end of Route 5 overlap
	Brookfield	95.515	153.716	US 36 Bus. east
		97.359	156.684	US 36 Bus. west / Route 11
	Marceline–Bucklin township line	104.265– 104.717	167.798– 168.526	Route 5 south / Route U – Keytesville	Interchange; eastern end of Route 5 overlap
	Bucklin Township	107.000	172.200	Route 129 north – Bucklin	Western end of Route 129 overlap
Macon	Lingo Township	112.553	181.136	Route 129 south – Salisbury	Eastern end of Route 129 overlap
		114.575– 115.042	184.391– 185.142	Route 149 north – New Cambria	Interchange
	Callao Township	121.166– 121.731	194.998– 195.907	Route 3 – Callao	Interchange
	Bevier Township	124.603– 124.993	200.529– 201.157	Route C / Route O – Bevier	Interchange
	Hudson Township	127.873– 128.316	205.792– 206.505	Long Branch Lake Road	Interchange
	Macon	130.053– 130.356	209.300– 209.788	US 63 – Kirksville, Moberly	Interchange
	Hudson Township	132.978	214.007	US 36 Bus. east
Shelby	Clarence	141.119– 141.645	227.109– 227.956	US 36 Bus. east / Route 151 – Clarence	Interchange
		142.403	229.175	US 36 Bus. west
	Shelbina	152.972	246.185	US 36 Bus. east
		153.710– 154.120	247.372– 248.032	Route 15 – Shelbina, Paris, Shelbyville	Interchange
		154.792	249.114	US 36 Bus. west
Marion	Monroe City	170.138	273.811	US 36 Bus. east
Ralls		171.969– 172.490	276.757– 277.596	US 24 west / US 36 Bus. west / Route Z	Interchange, western end of US 24 overlap; future western end of I-72
Marion	Miller Township	184.089– 184.442	296.263– 296.831	US 24 east – Palmyra	Eastern end of US 24 overlap, west end of freeway section
	Hannibal	187.716– 188.111	302.100– 302.735	Shinn Lane
		189.141– 189.557	304.393– 305.062	Veterans Road
		190.604– 190.955	306.747– 307.312	I-72 begins / US 61 / US 36 Bus. east – Palmyra, New London	Western end of I-72 overlap
		191.573– 192.123	308.307– 309.192	US 36 Bus. west / Route 79 south – Louisiana, Downtown Hannibal	Exit 157 along I-72
Mississippi River		192.660	310.056	Mark Twain Memorial Bridge; Missouri–Illinois state line
				I-72 east / US 36 east / IL 110 (CKC) north – Springfield, Chicago	Continuation into Illinois
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access