US 59 and 69 in Kansas

US 59 in Kansas

According to indexdotcom, US 59 is a US Highway in the US state of Kansas. The road forms a north-south connection through the east of the state, and is mainly secondary in nature to other major roads in the area. The road begins at Chetopa and continues through Parsons, Ottawa, and Lawrence to Atchison at the Missouri border. The route is approximately 335 kilometers long, of which 30 kilometers is a freeway between Ottawa and Lawrence.

Travel directions

US 40/59 over the Kansas River in Lawrence.

At Chetopa, US 59 in Oklahoma enters Kansas from the town of Miami. The road then almost immediately intersects US 166, the east-west route that runs from Arkansas City in the west to Joplin in the east, parallel to the Oklahoma border. The road runs here at an altitude of about 250 meters through the meadows, along the river Neosho. Between Oswego and Altamont, it is double -numbered with US 160, an east-west route from Independence to Pittsburg. You will then pass Parsons, a small town where you cross US 400, the east-west route from Wichitato Pittsburgh. Many east-west routes are a short distance in this area. The next one, however, is about 70 kilometers north, at Moran, where it crosses US 54, the road from El Dorado to Fort Scott and Nevada. The US 59 passes through a rolling and quiet agricultural area with mainly small villages.

Around Garnett is a short double number with US 169, a major highway from Coffeyville to Kansas City. The road then heads to Ottawa, about 20 miles to the north, a small town on Interstate 35, the highway from Wichita to Kansas City. A little way north of Ottawa it crosses US 56, the quiet east-west route from McPherson to Kansas City. The road then leads to Lawrence, a larger town with 90,000 inhabitants. The US 59 here is a 2×2 at-grade expressway. In Lawrence there is an intersection with the SR-11, a highwayto Lenexa near Kansas City. After this, the US 40 merges for a short double numbering, crossing the Kansas River. This is followed by the connection with Interstate 70, the highway from Topeka to Kansas City.

Just north of Lawrence, US 59 merges with US 24 that runs parallel to I-70. US 40 continues east over this, while US 59 continues west over US 24 for 15 kilometers. Then the road turns north again, and runs along Perry Lake, a larger reservoir. US 159 begins at Nortonville, a main road to Hiawatha in the north. US 59 turns northeast and after about 15 miles reaches the town of Atchinson, which is located on the Missouri River. Here you cross US 73, the main road from Leavenworth to Falls City in Nebraska. After this, US 59 crosses the Missouri River, and US 59 in Missouri continues to St. Joseph.

History

US 59 was created in 1934, before that the route was numbered as US 73W. A fairly large part of the route was already paved, except in southeastern Kansas. By 1940, all of US 59 was paved.

In 2010, a 12-mile highway stretch opened between I-35 at Ottawa and the Douglas County border. On October 17, 2012, a second 11-mile stretch opened up to Lawrence, creating a north-south highway between I-35 and Lawrence.

Traffic intensities

In 2008, 1,800 vehicles daily crossed the Oklahoma border, which remains stable until Oswego, after which 2,900 vehicles travel on the double-numbered US 160. Up to 7,200 vehicles drive towards Parsons, further north there are only 1,000 left. For Ottawa, this rises again to 5,900 vehicles, and 10,000 for Lawrence. A maximum of 33,000 vehicles drive through Lawrence, dropping to 2,500 vehicles after US 24. 9,000 vehicles cross the Missouri River every day.

US 69 in Kansas

US 69 is a US Highway in the US state of Kansas. The road forms a north-south route in the far east of the state, parallel to the border with Missouri. It is a major highway from Kansas City to the south. The route is partly a highway and is 243 kilometers long.

Travel directions

US 69 and K-7 in southeastern Kansas.

At Treece, US 69 crosses the Kansas border in Oklahoma and heads north. Almost immediately you cross the US 166, the road from Coffeyville to Joplin. The road then runs straight north for 20 kilometers and turns east at Columbus, where the US 160 converges. After 7 miles, US 69 turns north again to pass the city of Pittsburg. After Pittsburg, US 160 exits to Lamar in the east. After 40 kilometers you reach the town of Fort Scott, after which the US 69 becomes a highway. One then crosses US 54, the road from Wichita to Nevada, Missouri. The highway section is temporarily interrupted at Pleasanton by a number of at -grade intersections, but then forms a 75-kilometer-long continuous highway to Overland Park, the largest suburb of Kansas City. In Overland Park, one crosses Interstate 435, Kansas City ‘s ring road. Shortly after, US 69 merges into Interstate 35 and then remains double-numbered until the Missouri border.

History

US 69 was created in 1926, but then ran no further south than Kansas City, Missouri and thus not into Kansas. In 1935 the route was extended south into Texas and US 69 in Kansas was a fact. The route was numbered as US 73E before 1935. Almost the entire route was already paved at the time, in the early 1930s it was one of the few long routes in Kansas that was asphalted over large distances.

The Kansas River Bridge in Kansas City was originally a toll bridge, which opened in 1959. This section is known as the 18th Street Expressway. The first stretch of highway south of Kansas City opened in 1971 between Bucyrus and Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park, then a small suburb. In 1975, a new highway route opened through Overland Park, over which US 69 was routed. During the 1980s, the highway route between Fort Scott and Overland Park was further opened. On June 24, 2019, 10 kilometers of US 69 opened south of Fort Scott.

In the 1970s, there were plans for a toll road in the corridor of US 69, which was to form the Southeast Kansas Turnpike.

Opening history

Future

It is planned to build express lanes on US 69 through Overland Park, Kansas City’s largest suburb. The existing 2×2 lanes will be expanded to 2×3 lanes, with the additional lanes being a toll lane, between 151st and 103rd Streets. Construction is to be completed between mid-2022 and 2025. They are the first express lanes in the Kansas City area.

Traffic intensities

The highway section south of Kansas City is very quiet with traffic volumes between 5,000 and 10,000 vehicles per day. In Overland Park this rises to a maximum of 89,000 vehicles per day.