Is anybody out there familiar with the condition of US-71 through
Arkansas and Missouri?!?
It's, obviously, the most direct route between Shreveport and Kansas
City. But MapQuest tells me that the 513 mile drive from Shreveport
to Harrisonville, MO (the last town on US-71 before Kansas City) will
take 13-1/2 hours to drive. That's an average speed of 38 MPH, and I
just can't buy that! 513 miles at an average speed of 60 MPH would
only take about 8-1/2 hours to drive!!! Then add another hour-plus
from there to Topeka and you come up with about 10 hours.
Two years ago, I cut the diagonal across northeast Texas to Hugo, OK,
and picked up the Indian Nations Turnpike there. It ends in Henryetta
and turns into US-75, which goes right thru Wichita and into Topeka
(and right to Forbes Field!) It took 10 hours and change to drive
that route. But the stretch through northeast Texas and the stretch
through southeast Kansas were both miserable. So I'm looking for an
alternate route.
If I try to plot a route from Shreveport to Topeka, both MapQuest and
AAA try to either send me to Dallas on I-20 and then up on I-35 or
zig-zagging through Arkansas on I-30 and I-40. I can't accept either
of those options. Why go west or east when you're trying to go
north?!?
As it stands now, my plan is to take US-71 from Shreveport to the
south side of Kansas City and then jump off on I-435 - I-435 west to
KS-10 - KS-10 west to US-59 - US-59 north to I-70 - and I-70 west on
into Topeka. Am I missing something here?!?!? 8<{)
If you know anything at all about the condition of US-71, (or KS-10,
for that matter, between Kansas City and Lawrence) your help would be
greatly appreciated.
John (Old Fartz & TLS #37) Lieberman
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