K-18 (Kansas highway)

K-18 is a 206-mile-long (332 km), west–east state highway in the U.S. State of Kansas. K-18's western terminus is at U.S. Route 24 (US-24) near Bogue and the eastern terminus is at K-99 south of Wamego. Portions of the highway have been upgraded to a freeway beginning in 2012.

K-18
K-18 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by KDOT and the city of Manhattan
Length	205.999 mi (331.523 km)
Major junctions
West end	US-24 near Bogue
	US-183 in Plainville US-281 from east of Paradise to Luray US-81 west of Bennington US-77 in Junction City I-70 / US-40 from Junction City to Grandview Plaza K-177 in Manhattan
East end	K-99 south of Wamego
Location
Counties	Graham, Rooks, Osborne, Russell, Lincoln, Ottawa, Dickinson, Geary, Riley, Wabaunsee
Highway system
Kansas State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Spurs ← K-17 → K-19 ← K-28 → K-30

K-18 from US-81 to the western boundary of Lincoln County has been designated "Medal of Honor Recipient Donald K. Ross Memorial Highway".[1]

Route description

K-18 begins near the town of Bogue in Graham County as it branches off to the south from US-24. The highway then stairsteps to the southeast through the towns of Damar, Palco, Plainville, and Codell in Rooks County; Natoma in Osborne County; Paradise, Waldo, Luray, and Lucas in Russell County (K-18 is duplexed with US-281 for 9 miles (14 km) west of Luray); and Sylvan Grove, Lincoln, and Beverly in Lincoln County. As K-18 enters Ottawa County, it takes a due east bearing, traveling through Tescott and meeting US-81 north of Salina. The road briefly jogs to the north for around 2 miles (3.2 km) before turning east again to travel through Bennington and Talmage in Dickinson County and into Junction City in Geary County. In Junction City, K-18 meets US-77 and travels south along US-77 through the city until it hits I-70.

K-18 eastbound overlapped with I-70 and US-40

K-18 then travels to the northeast along I-70 for eight miles (13 km) before exiting and continuing to the northeast toward Manhattan as a freeway. K-18 crosses the Kansas River at the Riley County line and travels through Ogden into Manhattan. Once traveling through Manhattan, K-18 again crosses the Kansas River and parallels the river to the south into Wabaunsee County before ending at K-99 south of Wamego.

The section of K-18 from just east of the interchange with K-113 to K-177 within Manhattan is maintained by the city.[2]

The section of K-18 from I-70 in Grandview Plaza to K-113 in Manhattan has been rebuilt into a limited-access divided freeway, a project that began in 2012.

History

K-29
Existed	1927–1960

K-18 was designated in 1927 from US-40N (now US-24) to K-15. In 1936, it extended to US-77 in Junction City. In 1953, it extended to K-13. In 1960, it extended east over cancelled K-29 to K-99.

Realignments

In a November 23, 1955 resolution, a 0.246 miles (0.396 km) spur route of K-18 was built on the western side of Manhattan.[3] Then in a November 14, 1956 resolution, the new alignment of K-18 was to be built from the western end of the spur westward.[4]

On April 5, 2017, work began to convert the interchage with K-113 in Manhattan into a diverging diamond interchange. The $2.587 million project, completed by Amino Brothers Co. Inc. out of Kansas City, was completed and open to traffic in December 2017.[5]

Junction list

County	Location	mi[6]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Graham	​	0.000	0.000		US-24 – Hill City, Nicodemus, Stockton	Western terminus
Rooks	Plainville	26.958	43.385		US-183 (Washington Street) – Stockton, Hays
Osborne	No major junctions
Russell	​	54.523	87.746		US-281 south – Russell	Western end of US-281 concurrency
	Luray	63.035	101.445		US-281 north – Osborne	Eastern end of US-281 concurrency
	​	73.945	119.003		K-232 south (Post Rock Scenic Byway) to I-70	Northern terminus of K-232
Lincoln	​	81.368	130.949		K-181 – Downs, Sylvan Grove
	Lincoln	94.828	152.611		K-14 – Beloit, Ellsworth
	​	105.296	169.457		K-252 south – Beverly	Northern terminus of K-252
Ottawa	​	119.008	191.525		K-106 east – Minneapolis	Western terminus of K-106
	​	123.461	198.691		US-81 (Frank Carlson Memorial Highway) – Concordia, Salina	Interchange
Dickinson	​	148.759	239.404		K-15 south – Abilene	Western end of K-15 concurrency
	​	152.725	245.787		K-15 north – Clay Center	Eastern end of K-15 concurrency
Geary	Junction City	166.971	268.714		US-77 north / 8th Street east – Marysville	Interchange; western end of K-77 concurrency
		169.123	272.177		I-70 / US-40 west / US-77 south – Salina, Herington	I-70 exit 295; eastern end of US-77 concurrency; western end of I-70/US-40 concurrency
		170.710	274.731	296	US-40 Bus. east (Washington Street)	Exit numbers follow I-70
		172.068	276.917	298	East Street / Chestnut Street
	Grandview Plaza	172.775	278.054	299	Flinthills Boulevard (US-40 Bus. / K-57) / J Hill Road
		173.975	279.986	300	US-40 Bus. west / K-57 – Council Grove	No westbound entrance
	​	174.868	281.423	301	Fort Riley, Marshall Field
	​	177.054	284.941		I-70 / US-40 east – Topeka	I-70 exit 303; eastern end of I-70/US-40 concurrency
	​				Boller Road	At-grade intersection; west end of freeway
Kansas River		179.774	289.318	Bridge
Riley	Fort Riley	180.503	290.491	—	12th Street
	Ogden	182.123	293.099	—	K-114 west	Eastern terminus of K-114
	​	183.374	295.112	—	56th Avenue	Serves Manhattan Regional Airport
	​	185.674	298.813	—	Scenic Drive
	Manhattan	187.923	302.433	—	Miller Parkway / Davis Drive
		188.642	303.590	—	K-113 north (Seth Child Road) / Canyon Drive	Southern terminus of K-113; diverging diamond interchange
		189.245	304.560		Rosecutter Road south / Richards Drive north	At-grade intersection; east end of freeway
		191.357	307.959		K-177 north (Fort Riley Boulevard) to US-24 (Tuttle Creek Boulevard) – Kansas State University	Western end of K-177 concurrency
					Pierre Street west	Interchange; westbound left exit and eastbound left entrance
		191.937	308.893		K-177 south – Council Grove	Eastern end of K-177 concurrency
Wabaunsee	​	205.999	331.523		K-99 – Wamego, Alma	Eastern terminus; road continues as Mt. Mitchell Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

References

1. "Kansas Office of the Governor". Kansas.gov. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
2. State Highway Commission of Kansas (November 12, 1999). "Resolution Designating City Connecting Links in State Highway System". Topeka: State Highway Commission of Kansas. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
3. State Highway Commission of Kansas (November 23, 1955). "Resolution for relocation and redesegnation of road in Riley County". Topeka: State Highway Commission of Kansas. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
4. State Highway Commission of Kansas (November 14, 1956). "Resolution for relocation and redesegnation of road in Riley County". Topeka: State Highway Commission of Kansas. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
5. Kansas Department of Transportation (March 24, 2017). "K-113 and K-18 Diverging Diamond Interchange Project in Manhattan" (PDF). Topeka: Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
6. Staff (2016). "Pavement Management Information System". Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 21, 2017.

External links