When U.S. 65 opened from Springfield to Branson in 1966 it was, until then, the most expensive stretch of road, mile for mile, yet built in Missouri.

Until Highway 65 was put through, it did take as long as 4 days to travel from Buffalo Mo to Springfield Mo... 36 miles.

“The road (from Springfield to Branson) would make a preacher swear!” exclaimed Smith Brookhart III, recalling his journey over the route in the 1950s and 1960s. Brookhart said, “I believe it was 63 miles on the old road. It was crooked and hilly and it ran by every little town, by houses and churches. You could pass on exactly 400 yards in the whole stretch. If you got behind an oxcart or truck, you settled in for the trip.”

Before the new Highway 65 was put in, it was approximately 75 miles from Branson to Springfield

There were many streams to cross, steep hills to pull, rocky sections to jolt over and muddy flats to mire in. It took sound, well-shod teams and sturdy wagons to survive many trips to the marketplace. Many times two or more teams were required to pull the hills or cross the muddy flats with a loaded wagon.

Tourists began to come after the publication in 1907 of Harold Bell Wright's The Shepherd of the Hills, set just west of Branson; and the filling of Lake Taneycomo in 1913 caused tourists to come by rail to fish and swim in Taneycomo's warm waters and to visit Shepherd of the Hills sites. Branson had entered its first tourist era.

But they did not come in by car--at least, not easily. The roads were terrible, nearly impossible. The auto routes from Springfield were a patchwork of roads, plunging off the Springfield Plain into the steep and rugged jumble of ridges and hollows that characterize the White River Hills. The road clung to the high ground and the winding ridges as much as possible. The farther south one proceeded, the tighter the curves became.

Highway 65 cut down the high hills and filled the deep hollows. Its Bear Mountain Cut was the deepest yet made in the state.

http://buffaloreflex.com/heritage/a-tale-or-two-muddy-roads/article_a5024926-68dc-11e8-aace-03175657e643.html