U.S. Route 59 in Kansas

U.S. Route 59
Route information
Maintained by KDOT
Length:	210.440 mi[1] (338.670 km)
Major junctions
South end:	US-59 near Chetopa
	US-166 in Chetopa US-160 in Oswego US-400 in Parsons US-54 in Moran US-169 near Garnett I-35 / US-50 in Ottawa I-70 / Kansas Turnpike in Lawrence US-24 / US-40 in Lawrence US-159 / K-4 Alt. in Nortonville US-73 in Atchison
North end:	US 59 at Atchison
Location
Counties:	Labette, Neosho, Allen, Anderson, Franklin, Douglas, Jefferson, Atchison
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced Kansas numbered highways ← K-58 K-60 →

U.S. Route 59 (US-59) is a north-south highway in Kansas that travels from Chetopa to Atchison.

Route description

US-59 is a 210-mile-long (340 km) highway which runs from south to north in eastern Kansas. It enters the state from Oklahoma south of Chetopa and passes through Parsons, Ottawa, and Lawrence. The route leaves Kansas for Missouri by crossing the Missouri River at Atchison. Most of the route climbs the cuestas of the Osage prairie,^[2] while north of the Kansas River, it cuts through the glaciated region.^[3]

Like other state highways in Kansas, US-59 is maintained by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). KDOT surveys the roads under its control on a regular basis to measure the amount of traffic using the state's highways. These traffic counts are expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic (AADT), a calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. For the 2012 survey, the stretch of road with the highest AADT was 8,249 vehicles south of the Lawrence city limits. The lowest was 380 vehicles at the Neosho–Allen county line. The statistic was not measured within large cities.^[1]

Southeastern Kansas

US-59 enters Kansas south of Chetopa along a two-lane highway. As it enters the town, it becomes known as 3rd Street. It intersects US-166, which runs along Maple Street. US-59 turns west along Maple and the two routes run together for 1.5 miles (2.4 km). After curving to the north and reaching the northern city limits, US 166 splits off to the west and US-59 continues north. Eight miles (13 km) to the north, it enters Oswego along Commerce Street where it crosses a line of the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL). Near the Labette County courthouse, it meets 6th Street, which carries US-160. These two routes head west together and then to the northwest parallel to a single Union Pacific Railroad (UP) track.^[4] Northwest of Oswego, the two routes follow a curve to north and then to the west, which allows a safe crossing of the UP line. Just before reaching Altamont, US-59 splits off to the north leaving US-160 to continue west.^[5]

Eastern Kansas

After its intersection with US-54, US-59 continues north toward Mildred. In and around Mildred, the highway curves to once again parallel the UP railroad.^[4] The route enters Anderson County just north of Mildred and curves to the north. North of here, the route turns west and begins a concurrency with K-31. The highways continue west then bend to the north to bypass the city of Lone Elm. After trekking north, the routes warp to the west and intersect US-169. The three routes run concurrent until just south of Garnett, where US-169 splits off to the northeast at a roundabout. US-169 has a business route that begins at this roundabout and follows US-59 and K-31 north until 6th Street. Here, Bus. US-169 splits off to the east, while US-59 and K-31 continue north. The concurrency with K-31 ends in northern Garnett, as K-31 forks to the west at Park Street and US-59 continues north and leaves the city.^[5]

North of Garnett, US-59 bypasses a few small lakes by curving slightly to the west, then continues north and enters Franklin County. Immediately north of the county line is the small community of Richmond, which US-59 runs through the western portion of. A few miles north of here, a couple of curves take the highway northwest, and it heads north to the city of Princeton. The route continues north, through Princeton, and enters Ottawa near an interchange with Interstate 35 (I-35) and US-50. At this interchange, US-59 becomes concurrent with the two routes and becomes a freeway. The highways run east momentarily, then curve to the north and intersect K-68 and a business route of US-50. North of this interchange, the routes curve to the east, and US-59 leaves I-35 and US-50 at a trumpet interchange.^[5]

Major intersections

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Destinations	Notes
Labette	Richland Township	0.000	0.000	Oklahoma–Kansas state line US-59 continues south
	Chetopa	2.579	4.150	US-166 east (Maple Street)	Southern terminus of US-166 concurrency
		4.073	6.555	US-166 west	Northern terminus of US-166 concurrency
	Oswego	12.193	19.623	US-160 east (6th Street)	Southern terminus of US-160 concurrency
	Fairview–Mount Pleasant township line	22.051	35.488	US-160 west	Northern terminus of US-160 concurrency
	Parsons	34.145	54.951	US-400
Neosho	Centerville Township	44.658	71.870	K-47 east	Southern terminus of K-47 concurrency
		45.580	73.354	K-47 west	Northern terminus of K-47 concurrency
	Erie Township	50.842	81.822	K-146 east	Western terminus of K-146
	Big Creek Township	56.351	90.688	K-39 west	Southern terminus of K-39 concurrency
	Grant Township	61.525	99.015	K-201 east	Western terminus of K-201
		63.536	102.251	K-39 east	Northern terminus of K-39 concurrency
Allen	Elsmore Township	65.548	105.489	K-202 east	Western terminus of K-202
		68.440	110.144	K-203 east	Western terminus of K-203
	Moran	77.678	125.011	US-54
Anderson	Rich Township	88.778	142.874	K-31 east	Southern terminus of K-31 concurrency
	Welda–Washington township line	100.915	162.407	US-169 south	Southern terminus of US-169 concurrency
	Washington Township	105.133	169.195	US-169 north / US-169 Bus. begins	Roundabout; northern terminus of US-169 concurrency; southern terminus of US-169 Bus. concurrency
	Garnett	106.554	171.482	US-169 Bus. (6th Avenue)	Northern terminus of US-169 Bus. concurrency
		107.205	172.530	K-31 west	Northern terminus of K-31 concurrency
Franklin	Ottawa	127.449	205.109	I-35 south / US-50 west	Southern terminus of I-35 / US-50 concurrency; south end of freeway; I-35 exit 183
	See I-35
	Ottawa Township	133.025	214.083	I-35 north / US-50 east	Northern terminus of I-35 / US-50 concurrency; I-35 exit 188
				Montana Road
	Hayes Township			Eisenhower Terrace (Old US 59)	Northbound entrance and southbound exit only
				Stafford Road
Douglas	Willow Springs Township	143.869	231.535	US-56 – Baldwin City, Burlingame
		147.369	237.167	CR-460 (N. 650 Road)
	Wakarusa Township	151.033	243.064	CR-458 east (N. 1000 Road)	Southern terminus of CR-458 concurrency; north end of freeway
		152.702	245.750	CR-458 west (N. 1200 Road)	Northern terminus of CR-458 concurrency
				K-10 (South Lawrence Trafficway) – Lecompton, Lenexa	Formerly to westbound K-10 only; eastern portion of S. Lawrence Trafficway opened November 8, 2016
	Lawrence	157.130	252.876	US-40 west (W. 6th Street) – Topeka To I-70 / Kansas Turnpike / McDonald Drive north	Interchange with McDonald Dr., at-grade intersection with US-40; southern terminus of US-40 concurrency
		158.449	254.999	U.S. 40 and 59 Bridges over the Kansas River
		159.738	257.073	I-70 / Kansas Turnpike	I-70 exit 204
	Grant Township	160.368	258.087	US-24 east / US-40 east (N. 1800 Road)	Northern terminus of US-40 concurrency; southern terminus of US-24 concurrency
Jefferson	Williamstown	168.719	271.527	US-24 west / K-76 south	Northern terminus of US-24 concurrency
	Oskaloosa Township	178.850	287.831	K-16 east / K-92 east	Southern terminus of K-16 / K-92 concurrency
	Oskaloosa	179.810	289.376	K-92 west (Jefferson Street)	Northern terminus of K-92 concurrency
	Jefferson Township	187.916	302.421	K-16 west / K-192 east	Northern terminus of K-16 concurrency
	Nortonville	193.589	311.551	K-4 west	Eastern terminus of K-4
		193.888	312.032	US-159 north / K-4 Alt.
Atchison	Center Township	198.928	320.144	K-116 west	Eastern terminus of K-116
	Shannon Township	208.247	335.141	US-73 north to K-7	Southern terminus of US-73 concurrency
	Atchison	209.660	337.415	US-73 south / K-7 (10th Street)	Northern terminus of US-73 concurrency
Missouri River		210.440	338.670	Kansas–Missouri state line (Amelia Earhart Bridge) US 59 continues north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Tolled       Unopened

References

1. "Pavement Management Information System". Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
2. GeoKansas (May 2, 2005). "Osage Cuestas". University of Kansas. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
3. GeoKansas (April 29, 2005). "Glaciated Region". University of Kansas. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
4. Kansas Department of Transportation (December 28, 2010). Kansas Railroad Map 2011 (PDF) (Map). Topeka: Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
5. Google (January 8, 2013). "U.S. Route 59 in Kansas" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 8, 2013.

External links