Missouri Route 291

Route 291
Route information
Maintained by MoDOT
Length:	50 mi[citation needed] (80 km)
Major junctions
South end:	U.S. Route 71 in Harrisonville
North end:	near in Kansas City, Missouri
Highway system
Missouri Highways Supplemental ← Route 283 Route 340 →

Route 291 is a highway in western Missouri. Once designated as U.S. Route 71 Bypass, its northern terminus is at the Kansas City International Airport near I-29/US-71 in Kansas City, Missouri; its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 71 in Harrisonville. The route was renumbered in the mid-1960s when I-29 was opened. It is a major highway in eastern Jackson County, Missouri. In Lee's Summit, Missouri it joins Interstate 470 (Missouri) until Interstate 70 (Missouri), where I-470 ends. 291 continues north, through Independence, Sugar Creek, River Bend, and Liberty Missouri. The River Bend Bridge carries the highway across the Missouri River between River Bend, Missouri and Sugar Creek, Missouri. 291 serves as a main arterial road and commercial strip in Liberty, MO and Independence, MO. It originally crossed the Missouri River about two miles north of where it does now, until 1949, when the Missouri River was rerouted. The county line stayed constant, however, leaving some of Jackson County north of the river. It was aligned on what is now the western frontage road in southern Liberty, MO, Southview Drive, until the mid-1970s, when a 4-lane 291 was built. It is also the main entrance road to the terminals at KCI Airport in Platte County.

Route 291 was "Route 35" from 1926 to 1939, and then "U.S. Route 71 Bypass" until 1972. From 1922 to 1926, Route 35 took the western route between Harrisonville and Kansas City, while Route 1 (Missouri 1922)Route 1 followed present Route 291; US 71 replaced that part of Route 1 in 1926, but followed what had been Route 35, and so Route 35 was moved east to replace the piece of Route 1 bypassed by US 71.