Missouri Route 103
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 roads as it leaves the national park. The road ends at 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
All of the route is located in 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>Template:Cite map</ref>
Route 103 begins at the intersection of Peavine Road and Route Z inside the Ozark National Scenic Riverways,<ref name=Carter>Template:Cite map</ref> at the Big Spring Historic District.<ref name=BigSpring>"Big Spring Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved May 15, 2018.</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 one mile (1.6 km) 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. The road ends at US 60 in South Van Buren at a three-way junction south of Current River and the city of 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>Template:Cite map</ref><ref name=1930Map>Template:Cite map</ref> The gravel road was constructed by 1933, and it was designated as Route 103.<ref name=1932Map>Template:Cite map</ref><ref name=1933Map>Template:Cite map</ref> The route was paved by 1938,<ref name=1937Map>Template:Cite map</ref><ref name=1938Map>Template:Cite map</ref> as part of a larger project with a cost of $836,300 (equivalent to $17,024,125 in 2022), with a fraction going to Route 103's improvement.<ref name="1937pave">"Highway Board to Let Contracts Again on July 9th". The Democrat-Argus. Caruthersville, Missouri. June 29, 1937. p. 4. Retrieved May 15, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. 
</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">"$21 Million in Road Projects Approved". The Springfield News-Leader. Springfield, Missouri. July 3, 1959. p. 3. Retrieved May 15, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. </ref> The route was built as a gravel road by 1961,<ref name=1960Map>Template:Cite map</ref><ref name=1961Map>Template:Cite map</ref> and it was paved around nine years later.<ref name=1969Map>Template:Cite map</ref><ref name=1970Map>Template:Cite map</ref>
Major intersections
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