Exit markers for the highway mark the road as the James River Freeway and have no control cities, only "To Route 60" eastbound and "To I-44" westbound.

It took over a slightly reworked Glenstone Avenue which had been around previously and built not-quite to freeway standards.

Shortly after the road was opened, US 60 was rerouted so that it turned south on Kansas Expressway (previously, a city street), then joined the James River Freeway, continuing on east past Glenstone where the road originally joined the freeway.

Route MM had long served as a bypass on the west side of the city, running through the former town of Brookline but as a two-lane road inadequate for its traffic.

A study to extend the James River Freeway is on the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) July 2024 Tier 1 - High Priority Unfunded Road and Bridge Needs list and the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments (SMCOG) 2024 Greene County Transportation Needs List.

Traffic wanting to enter James River Freeway going east now travels over the bridge and around a loop.

Traffic coming from Republic Road wanting to enter JRF going east simply takes the existing on-ramp.

There are currently two ramps to eastbound US 60, one supporting traffic from E. Republic Road and the other from S. Glenstone Ave.

[4][5] The current cloverleaf interchange has been the source of many accidents due to the growth of the cities of Ozark, Nixa, and Branson to the south.

Completed in October 2012, a large project replaced the two eastern loops with flyover ramps.

The railroad grade crossing was removed by building four bridges over Galloway Creek and the BNSF track.

[9][10] Just north of this interchange, a safer underpass was created for E. Bradford Parkway to remove the at-grade intersection with National Avenue.

Both of these projects were funded through a partnership between MODOT, the City of Springfield, and Cox Health Systems.