MoDOT Transportation Library: Economic Impact of Bypasses

Boonville (2010 population 8,319)

• Boonville economic study, 1958-1963 (Missouri State Highway Dept., Division of Highway Planning, 1965). Discusses diversion from Route 40 to I-70.

Bowling Green (2010 population 5,334)

• Economic impact of highway bypasses in Missouri (B&PA Research Center, College of Business & Public Administration, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1995).

Carthage (2010 population 14,378)

• Economic impact of highway bypasses in Missouri (B&PA Research Center, College of Business & Public Administration, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1995).

Collins (2016 population 153)

• Location study: Collins Route 13 (Centennial Engineering, Inc., 1993)

Freeburg (2010 population 437)

• Pre-construction community and business impact study: Hwy 63 Route relocation report (MoDOT & MERIC, 2007)

Hannibal (2010 population 17,916)

• Hannibal Expressway (MoDOT website)

Jackson (2010 population 13,758)

• Missouri State Freight Plan recommends a planning study for non-prioritized planning project (bypass construction around NW side of Jackson, possibly beginning near County Rd. 335, going NE and tying back into North High Street (US 61) at Route Y, or somewhere N of the Jackson North Industrial Park) at a cost of $6-$8 million.

Kennett (2013 population 10,916)

• Small City By-Passes (Traffic Quarterly April 1950) - Full text available internally only

Kirksville (2010 population 17,505)

• Alternate Route 63: Kirksville: economic impact analysis on construction (MoDOT & MERIC, 2008)

Lebanon (2010 population 14,474)

• Economic effects of an interstate highway bypass : Lebanon, Missouri (Missouri State Highway Department, Division of Highway Planning, 1961)

Macon (2010 population 5,471)

• Feasibility report of Route 63 Macon bypass (Missouri State Highway Department, Division of Highway Planning, 1964).

Pineville (2016 population 787)

• Bella Vista Bypass (now known as Missouri-Arkansas Corridor)
  • See Highway 549: Benton County, AR page (includes Hwy. 71 Interchange and Hwy. 549 Benton Co. Rd. 34 to the Missouri state line)
  • Bypass long awaited, sorely needed (The Joplin Globe, 10/3/2017)
  • Interstate 49: origin, planning, construction (MoDOT, 2012)
  • Converting Route 71 to I-49 (MoDOT)
  • Bid awarded to expand Bella Vista Bypass (5 News, 11/20/17) -- construction of two additional bypass lanes on Arkansas side expected to be completed by late 2019

Poplar Bluff (2010 population 17,023)

• Economic impact of highway bypasses in Missouri (B&PA Research Center, College of Business & Public Administration, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1995).
• Post-construction business location analysis: Hwy 67 route relocation report (MoDOT & MERIC, 2007)

Rolla (2010 population 19,559)

• Economic study: Route U.S. 66 by-pass: Rolla, Missouri (Missouri State Highway Department, Division of Highway Planning, 1957).
• Rolla West master plan (HNTB, 2009). Discusses future US 63 route bypass (see page 32).
• U.S. Route 63 final environmental impact statement (MoDOT website)

Vichy (2000 population 801)

• Pre-construction community and business impact study: Hwy 63 Route relocation report (MoDOT & MERIC, 2007)

Vienna (2010 population 629)

• Pre-construction community and business impact study: Hwy 63 Route relocation report (MoDOT & MERIC, 2007)

West Plains (2010 population 11,986)

• Missouri State Freight Plan recommends a planning study for non-prioritized planning project (bypass construction of West Plains with no stop lights) at a cost of $50-$60 million.

Westphalia (2010 population 330)

• Pre-construction community and business impact study: Hwy 63 Route relocation report (MoDOT & MERIC, 2007)

Source for population figures: U.S. Bureau of the Census & 2013/2014 Missouri Roster

Route 13

• Location study: Collins Route 13 (Centennial Engineering, Inc., 1993)

Route 40

• Boonville economic study, 1958-1963 (Missouri State Highway Dept., Division of Highway Planning, 1965)

Route 50

• Plotas, P V. 1997. The bypass impact on communities. IN: Traffic Congestion and Traffic Safety in the 21st Century: Challenges, Innovations, and Opportunities, American Society of Civil Engineers, 1997, p. 167-172. Full-text available internally only.

Route 61

• Jackson bypass planning study recommended by Missouri State Freight Plan

Route 63

• Feasibility report of Route 63 Macon bypass (Missouri State Highway Department, Division of Highway Planning, 1964).
• Pre-construction community and business impact study: Hwy 63 Route relocation report (MoDOT & MERIC, 2007). Discusses impact on Westphalia, Freeburg, Vienna, and Vichy.
• U.S. Route 63 final environmental impact statement (MoDOT website)
• West Plains bypass planning study recommended by Missouri State Freight Plan

Route 66

• Economic study: Route U.S. 66 by-pass: Rolla, Missouri (Missouri State Highway Department, Division of Highway Planning, 1957).

Route 67

• Post-construction business location analysis: Hwy 67 route relocation report (MoDOT & MERIC, 2007). Discusses impact on Poplar Bluff.

Route 71/Interstate 49

• Bella Vista Bypass (now known as Missouri-Arkansas Corridor)
  • See Highway 549: Benton County, AR page (includes Hwy. 71 Interchange and Hwy. 549 Benton Co. Rd. 34 to the Missouri state line)
  • Bypass long awaited, sorely needed (The Joplin Globe, 10/3/2017)
  • Interstate 49: origin, planning, construction (MoDOT, 2012)
  • Converting Route 71 to I-49 (MoDOT)
  • Bid awarded to expand Bella Vista Bypass (5 News, 11/20/17) -- work expected to be completed by late 2019

Interstate 70

• Boonville economic study, 1958-1963 (Missouri State Highway Dept., Division of Highway Planning, 1965)

California

• California bypass study (2006)

Connecticut

• Economic impact on retail establishments with the by-passing of the Berlin Turnpike (US 5) with Interstate 91: interim report (CTDOT, 1970)

Florida

• Managing the indirect impacts of bypasses on small and medium-sized communities in Florida (2014; TRB meeting paper; TRR 2453 article)

Illinois

• MSAT analysis case study: Elgin O’Hare-West Bypass, Illinois (FHWA, 2016)

Indiana

• Effects of bypasses (INDOT, 2009)
• Highway impact studies: Impact of Lebanon by-pass, 1950 to 1963: progress report (Purdue JHRP, 1964)
• Impact of Kokomo Bypass from 1950 to 1964 (Purdue Road School, 1965)

Iowa

• Economic impacts of highway bypasses on communities in Iowa (Fall 2007 Midwest Transportation Consortium student paper)
• Benefit cost analysis of the US 61 bypass of Fort Madison bypass (Iowa DOT, 2007?)

• 1999 primary road bypass study of selected Iowa communities (Snyder & Associates, 1999)

• The economic impact of rural highway bypasses: Iowa and Minnesota case studies (Midwest Transportation Center, 1995)
• U.S. Highway 20 corridor development study (Iowa DOT, 1992)
• A literature review of urban bypass studies (Office of Project Planning, Iowa DOT, 1992)
  • Includes study results from 20 Iowa cities which were bypassed in addition to summaries of other bypass studies.

Kansas

• Case studies of the economic impact of highway bypasses in Kansas (Kansas Dept. of Transportation, 2004)
• Impacts of highway bypasses on Kansas towns (Kansas Dept. of Transportation, 1996)
• Highway impacts on local economic development (North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, Iowa State University, between 1988 and 1995)

Kentucky

• The impact of a new bypass route on the local economy and quality of life (Kentucky Transportation Center, 2001)

Maine

• Report on economic and land value impacts of bypasses (Maine DOT, 2008) -- no longer available online; all economic impact studies listed in the report are already mentioned on this site

Massachusetts

• Impacts of the Route 25 bypass on the Cranberry Highway in Wareham, Massachusetts (University of Rhode Island Master's Thesis, 1992)

Minnesota

• The economic impact of rural highway bypasses: Iowa and Minnesota case studies (Midwest Transportation Center, 1995)

Montana

• The economic impact of the construction of the Kalispell Bypass (Montana DOT, 2017)

New Jersey

• Suburban bypass roads and interjurisdictional politics: a case study (World Transport Policy & Practice 12(1), 2006)

New York

• Why would you have a highway run through a city? (Governing magazine, July 2014)

North Carolina

• The influence of highways on rural economic development: evidence from North Carolina (Master's paper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2002)
• Impacts of highway bypasses on community businesses (North Carolina Division of Community Assistance and the I-40 Steering Committee, 1991)
• Beyond the bypass: addressing rural North Carolina’s most important transportation needs (Southern Environmental Law Center, 2012)

Ohio

• Impact of by-pass highways to Ohio communities under 35,000 population (Ohio DOT, 2001)

Oklahoma

• Methodology for determining the impact of highway bypasses in Oklahoma (Oklahoma DOT, 2001)
• Business impacts of highway bypasses (Oklahoma State University, 2003)

South Carolina

• The road around : a study of the economic impact of highway by-passes on rural South Carolina cities & towns (South Carolina DOT, 1965)

Texas

• The impacts of bypasses on small- and medium-sized communities: an econometric analysis. Journal Of Transportation And Statistics 5(1):57-69. 2002.
• Economic effects of highway relief routes on small and medium-size communities: literature review and identification of issues (TXDOT, 2000)

• Economic effects of bypasses and freeways (Texas Highway Dept., 1966)

Virginia

• Economic impact of freeway bypass routes in medium size cities (Economic Development Research Group, 2000).
  • Examples include I-785 bypass (Danville, VA), I-295 bypass (Richmond, VA), I-469 bypass (Fort Wayne, IN), and Route 441 bypass (Appleton, WI).

Washington

• Lessons from Eastern Washington: state route mainstreets, bypass routes and economic development in small towns (2015)

Wisconsin

• The economic impacts of highway bypasses on communities (Wisconsin DOT, 1998)

Canada

• Highway 97 Peachland socio-economic impact assessment (BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, 2015)
• Economic impacts of highway bypass development on communities (Nova Scotia Dept. of Transportation and Public Works, 2004?)
  • Bypass: Highway 104. Town: Antigonish (population 4,750).
  • Examines US and Canadian studies which focus on communities with sizes ranging from 2,500 to 7,500.

• Economic evaluation of town bypasses: review of literature (New South Wales Department of Roads and Maritime, 2011)
• The regional economic impacts of bypasses: A longitudinal study incorporating spatial econometrics and multilevel modeling (Dissertation, Purdue University, 2010)
• Evaluating roads as investments: a primer on benefit-cost and economic-impact analysis (Kansas University Center for Applied Economics, 2008)
  • Table 2 presents an annotated summary of economic impact studies from Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota (including bypasses).
• Economic and travel impacts of bypass roads: a comparative study of Israel and the U.S. (2008)
• Economic impacts literature review (Michigan DOT, 2004)
  • Prepared as part of the US-131 improvement study.
  • Summarizes findings based on impacts to U.S. communities ranging from fewer than 500 to over 200,000.
  • Overall conclusion: "At the community level, a bypass had no notable economic effect and in some cases generated economic growth."
• Summary of highway bypass studies (Economic Development Research Group, 2000)
• Measuring highway bypass impacts on small town business districts (Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies 12:250–265, 2000. doi:10.1111/j.1467-940X.2000.00080.x)
  • "The case study investigates the 1993 bypass of Stonewall, Oklahoma, a town of approximately 530 people. The analysis indicates the bypass highway had no significant effect on the already declining small town business district. The approach demonstrated in this paper can be used to assess the impacts of a wide range of policy treatments at the sub-county level"--Abstract.
• The effects of highway bypasses on rural communities and small urban areas (NCHRP Research Results Digest 210, 1996)