View source for Missouri Route 103

{{short description|State highway in Missouri}}
{{good article}}
{{Infobox road|
state=MO|
type=Route|
route = 103 |
established = {{circa|1933}} |
length_mi     = 3.832 |
length_ref = <ref name="MoDOT">{{MoDOT Flex|access-date=May 11, 2012}}</ref> |
direction_b   = North |
direction_a   = South |
terminus_b    = {{jct|state=MO|US|60}} near [[Van Buren, Missouri|Van Buren]] |
terminus_a    = {{jct|state=MO|Supp|Z}} at the [[Ozark National Scenic Riverways]] |
previous_type = MO |
previous_route= 102 |
next_type     = MO |
next_route    = 104 |
map={{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-lat=36.97 |frame-long=-91.01|zoom=11|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Missouri Route 103}}}} |
map_custom=yes |
map_notes=Route 103 highlighted in cyan |
}}

'''Route 103''' is a short highway in southeastern [[Missouri]]. Its southern terminus is at Route Z inside the [[Ozark National Scenic Riverways]]. The route travels north and intersects a few [[county road]]s as it leaves the national park. The road ends at [[U.S. Route 60 in Missouri|U.S. Route 60]] in a [[three-way junction]]. After being proposed in 1930, a road was built from the national park to US 60 in 1933. The [[gravel road]] was designated as Route 103, and it was paved five years later.

==Route description==
[[File:Ozark National Scenic Riverways park map.png|left|thumb|Map of the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, with Route 103 marked on the southeast portion of the map]]
All of the route is located in [[Carter County, Missouri|Carter County]].<ref name=MoDOT/> In 2016, the [[Missouri Department of Transportation]] (MoDOT) calculated 267 vehicles, including 29 trucks travelling on Route 103 north of its southern terminus. This is expressed in terms of [[annual average daily traffic]] (AADT), a measure of traffic volume for any average day of the year.<ref name=Traffic>{{Cite map|publisher=Missouri Department of Transportation|title=Southeast District Travel Volume and Commercial Vehicle Count Map|url=http://www.modot.org/safety/documents/2016_Traffic_SE.pdf|access-date=May 15, 2018|year=2016|author=Missouri Department of Transportation}}</ref>

Route 103 begins at the intersection of Peavine Road and [[Missouri supplemental route|Route]] Z inside the [[Ozark National Scenic Riverways]],<ref name=Carter>{{Cite map|url=http://modot.org/newsandinfo/documents/carter.pdf|title=General Highway Map – Carter County|publisher=Missouri Department of Transportation|cartography=Missouri Department of Transportation|year=2012|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref> at the [[Big Spring Historic District]].<ref name=BigSpring>{{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=46e0853c-4051-4018-bb77-a3d0921855b4|title=Big Spring Historic District|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> The road travels westward through the forest, and it curves northward near the southern terminus of Skyline Drive. The route then intersects the eastern terminus of County Road 202 (CRD 202) north of Skyline Drive. About {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} past CRD 202,<ref name=MoDOT/> Route 103 leaves the national park,<ref name=Carter/> and it meets the northern ends of Skyline Drive and Peavine Road. The road shifts to the northeast, and intersects a road leading to the [[unincorporated area]] of [[Chicopee, Missouri|Chicopee]]. The road ends at US 60 in [[South Van Buren, Missouri|South Van Buren]] at a [[three-way junction]] south of [[Current River (Ozarks)|Current River]] and the city of [[Van Buren, Missouri|Van Buren]].<ref name=MoDOT/>

==History==
Around 1930, a road was proposed to start from the Ozark National Scenic Riverways to US 60 as a park connection.<ref name=1929Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1929.pdf|title=Map of Missouri Showing State Road System|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1929|access-date=May 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916132316/http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1929.pdf|archive-date=September 16, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=1930Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1930.pdf|title=Map of Missouri Showing State Road System|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1930|access-date=May 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916165545/http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1930.pdf|archive-date=September 16, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[gravel road]] was constructed by 1933, and it was designated as Route 103.<ref name=1932Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1932.pdf|title=Map of Missouri Showing State Road System|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1932|access-date=May 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908002642/http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1932.pdf|archive-date=September 8, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=1933Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1933.pdf|title=Map of Missouri Showing State Road System|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1933|access-date=May 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916133541/http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1933.pdf|archive-date=September 16, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The route was paved by 1938,<ref name=1937Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1937.pdf|title=Map of Missouri Showing State Road System|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1933|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref><ref name=1938Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1938_mapfront.pdf|title=Missouri Official Highway Map|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1938|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref> as part of a larger project with a cost of $836,300 ({{Inflation|US|836300|1937|fmt=eq}}), with a fraction going to Route 103's improvement.<ref name="1937pave">{{cite news|title=Highway Board to Let Contracts Again on July 9th|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20105712/|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=The Democrat-Argus|date=June 29, 1937|location=[[Caruthersville, Missouri]]|page=4|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{free access}}</ref> In 1959, a project was announced to establish a supplemental route, Route Z, that would start at the southern terminus of Route 103.<ref name="1959Z">{{cite news|title=$21 Million in Road Projects Approved|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20106143/|access-date=May 15, 2018|work=The Springfield News-Leader|date=July 3, 1959|location=[[Springfield, Missouri]]|page=3|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}</ref> The route was built as a gravel road by 1961,<ref name=1960Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/historicmaps/documents/1960001_reduced.pdf|title=Missouri Highway Map|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1960|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref><ref name=1961Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/historicmaps/documents/1961001_reduced.pdf|title=Missouri Highway Map|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1961|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref> and it was paved around nine years later.<ref name=1969Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1969_front.pdf|title=Missouri Official Highway Map|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1969|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref><ref name=1970Map>{{Cite map|url=http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/publications/documents/1970_front.pdf|title=Missouri Official Highway Map|publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission|cartography=Missouri State Highway Commission|year=1970|access-date=May 15, 2018}}</ref>

==Major intersections==
[[File:Big Spring Lodge MO NPS.jpg|right|thumb|Big Spring Lodge, a contributing building inside the Big Spring Historic District]]
{{Jcttop|length_ref=<ref name="MoDOT"/>|state=MO|county=Carter}}
{{Jctint
|location_special=[[Big Spring Historic District]]
|mile=0.000
|road={{jct|state=MO|Supp|Z}} / Peavine Road
|notes=Southern terminus at [[T-intersection]]
}}
{{MOint
|location=South Van Buren
|mile=3.811
|mile2=3.832
|road={{jct|state=MO|US|60|city1=Winona|city2=Van Buren}}
|notes=Northern terminus
}}
{{jctbtm}}
{{-}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Attached KML|display=title,inline}}
*[https://www.nps.gov/ozar/index.htm Ozark National Scenic Riverways] – [[National Park Service]]

[[Category:State highways in Missouri|103]]
[[Category:Transportation in Carter County, Missouri]]