Route 291 is a highway in western Missouri. Once designated as US 71 Bypass, its northern terminus is northwest of Liberty at I-435 in Kansas City, Missouri; its southern terminus is at I-49/US-71 in Harrisonville.

It starts in central Cass County at I-49/US-71 in Harrisonville. It run north bound through Cass County. It crosses route 58, and turns into route 291/58. Route 58 separates after about 3/4 of a mile. It is a major highway in eastern Jackson County, Missouri.In Lee's Summit, it crosses route 150. It then crosses US-50,and cuts in half and goes east where it turn into US-50/291 for 1/4 of a mile. I connects at 291 north, and runs towards I-470. It joins I-470 until I-70, where I-470 ends. Route 291 continues north, through Independence,(where it crosses US-40, route 78, and US-24) Sugar Creek, River Bend, and Liberty. The Liberty Bend Bridge carries the highway across the Missouri River between River Bend and Sugar Creek. Route 291 serves as a main arterial road and commercial strip in Liberty and Independence. It is also the main entrance road to the terminals at KCI Airport in Platte County. At its northern terminus, the roadway continues as Cookingham Road.

The route was renumbered in the mid-1960s when I-29 was opened.

It originally crossed the Missouri River about 2 miles (3.2 km) north of where it does now, until 1949, when the Missouri River was rerouted. The county line stayed constant, however, leaving some of Jackson County north of the river. It was aligned on what is now the western frontage road in southern Liberty, Southview Drive, until the mid-1970s, when a four-lane Route 291 was built.

Route 291 was designated as "Route 35" from 1926 to 1939, and then "US-71 Bypass" until 1972. From 1922 to 1926, Route 35 took the western route between Harrisonville and Kansas City, while Route 1 followed present Route 291; US-71 replaced that part of Route 1 in 1926, but followed what had been Route 35, and so Route 35 was moved east to replace the piece of Route 1 bypassed by US-71.