U.S. Route 50 in Kansas

U.S. Route 50 (US-50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic Ocean. In the U.S. state of Kansas, US-50 is a main east–west highway serving the southwest, central and northeastern parts of the state. Kansas City is the only metropolitan area US-50 serves in the state but the highway does serve several other larger towns in Kansas such as (from west to east) Garden City, Dodge City, Hutchinson, Newton and Emporia.

U.S. Highway 50
US-50 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by KDOT, and the cities of Cimarron, Dodge City and Emporia
Length	447.93 mi[1] (720.87 km)
Existed	1927[2]–present
Major junctions
West end	US 50 / US 400 at Colorado state line
	US-83 in Garden City US-400 in Dodge City US-56 from Dodge City to Kinsley US-281 near St. John I-135 / US-81 / K-15 in Newton I-35 in Emporia US-59 in Ottawa US-169 / K-7 in Olathe I-35 / US-169 / US-56 / I-435 in Lenexa US-69 in Overland Park
East end	I-435 / US 50 at State Line Road between Leawood, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri
Location
Counties	Hamilton, Kearny, Finney, Gray, Ford, Edwards, Stafford, Reno, Harvey, Marion, Chase, Lyon, Coffey, Osage, Franklin, Miami, Johnson
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Kansas State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Spurs ← K-49 → K-51

US-50 was established in Kansas by 1927, and at that time split into two branch routes in Kansas. The US-50 split began in Garden City and ended slightly west of Baldwin City. In Garden City, the split began at Kansas Avenue and Main Street. US-50N continued east on Kansas Ave. and went through Jetmore, Larned, Great Bend, Lyons, McPherson and Baldwin City. US-50S ran along current US-50. The routes rejoined near what is now the intersection of US-56 and K-33. US-50N was replaced by US-156 from Garden City to Great Bend and US-56 the rest of the way. US-156 is now known as K-156. The split was removed during the late 1950s.

Route description

US-50 enters the state running concurrently with US-400, which joins US-50 at Granada, Colorado. The first town it runs through is Coolidge. Syracuse is the first county seat (Hamilton County). In western Kansas, US-50 parallels the Arkansas River.

US-50 at its junction with US-77

US-50 then enters Kearny County and passes through the towns of Lakin and Deerfield before entering Finney County. West of the Old US-50 and Big Lowe Road overpass in Holcomb US-50 splits into four lanes and the speed limit increases to 70 MPH until east of the intersection with US-83. The highway then tapers back into two lanes at the 3rd Street intersection and remains so until the intersection with Bus-50 south of town. US-50 then passes through the towns of Ingalls, Cimarron, Dodge City, Kinsley, and Hutchinson before it heads to Newton. In Newton, US-50 joins I-135 for a short time before it angles northeast to Emporia, another meat-packing town as well as the home of Emporia State University. US-50 then joins I-35 and it overlaps that interstate for most of the rest of the way in Kansas.

US-50, along with I-35, then passes through a place known as "BETO Junction," which is where it meets US-75 north of Burlington. The letters in the acronym stand for Burlington, Emporia, Topeka and Ottawa, which are the cities to the south, west, north and east, respectively.

From there, US-50 passes through Olathe and meets I-435 in Lenexa. At this point. US-50 leaves I-35 and joins I-435 for the rest of its trip in Kansas.

The entire 1.369 miles (2 km) section of US-50 in Cimarron is maintained by the city.[3] The entire 1.662 section within Dodge City is maintained by the city. The section in Emporia from Graphic Arts Road to the east city limit is maintained by the city.

History

Santa Fe Trail sign along US-50

US-50 was established in Kansas by 1927, and at that time split into two branch routes. Branch routes were once common along the U.S. highway system but have always been discouraged. Branch routes that remain exist mostly in Kentucky and Tennessee. The US-50 split began in Garden City and ended near Baldwin City. In Garden City, the split began at Kansas Avenue and Main Street. US-50N continued east on Kansas Ave. and went through Jetmore, Larned, Great Bend, Lyons, McPherson and Baldwin City. US-50S ran along current US-50. The routes rejoined near what is now the intersection of US-56 and K-33.[2][4]

The first route considered for US-56 was via US-40 from Ellsworth to Topeka and K-4 and US-59 via Atchison to St. Joseph, Missouri.[5] A revised route adopted in March 1955, due to AASHO objections to the original route, which traveled concurrently with other U.S. Highways for over half of its length, followed K-14, K-18, US-24, K-63, K-16, and US-59 via Lincoln and Manhattan.[6][7] In July 1955, the US-50N Association proposed a plan that would have eliminated US-50N by routing US 56 along most of its length, from Larned east to Baldwin Junction, and then along US-59 to Lawrence and K-10 to Kansas City; towns on US-50N west of Larned, which would have been bypassed, led a successful fight against this.[8][9] However, in September of that year, the Kansas Highway Commission accepted that plan, taking US-56 east to Kansas City.[10] On June 27, 1956, the AASHO Route Numbering Committee considered this refined plan for US-56, between Springer, New Mexico and Kansas City, Missouri, with a short US-156 along the remaining portion of US-50N from Larned west to Garden City.[11] The entirety of US-156 was decommissioned on April 1, 1981, and redesignated as K-156.[12][13][14]

In mid 2019, work began to convert the junction with US-281 to an enhanced roundabout. The roundabout includes outer diamond shape lanes for oversized loads to bypass the roundabout. The former intersection with US-281 was dangerous as only US-281 traffic had to stop and therefore was the location of several injury and fatal accidents.[15] Between 2002 and 2012, there were 21 accidents, resulting in one fatality.[16] On March 4, 2020, traffic was rerouted, from a four-way stop and temporary asphalt detour, onto the permanent concrete outer roads for the roundabout.[17] The roundabout was completed and opened up to traffic on May 22, 2020. Venture Corporation from Great Bend, was the primary contractor for the $5.2 million project.[18]

On July 20, 2020 work began on a project to reconstruct US-50 from Road E5 to a half mile east of Road F in Lyon County. The project will widen the highway to 4-lanes for one mile. Improvements also will be made at the Road E5 and Road F intersections. Koss Construction Company of Topeka is the primary contractor of the $7.8 million project.[19]

Future

In May 2020, KDOT's Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Plan was announced. One project included in the statewide plan will complete the 4-lane expressway between Garden City and Dodge City.[20]

Junction list

County	Location	mi [21]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Hamilton	Coolidge	0.000	0.000		US 50 west / US 400 west	Continuation into Colorado
	Syracuse	16.094	25.901		K-27 north (McDow Street) – Tribune	West end of concurrency with K-27
		16.624	26.754		K-27 south (Main Street) – Johnson City	East end of concurrency with K-27
Kearny	Lakin	43.965	70.755		K-25 (Main Street) – Ulysses, Leoti
Finney	Holcomb	59.848	96.316		Big Lowe Road – Holcomb	Diamond interchange
	Garden City	65.848	105.972		US-83 north / US-50 Bus. east / US-83 Bus. south – Garden City, Scott City	Diamond interchange; west end of concurrency with US-83
		69.618	112.039		K-156 (Kansas Avenue) / Mary Street	Pair of half-diamond interchanges with one-way ramps connecting Mary Street and K-156
		71.156	114.514		US-83 south / US-50 Bus. west (Fulton Street) – Garden City, Liberal	Partial cloverleaf interchange; east end of concurrency with US-83
Gray	Cimarron	102.427	164.840		K-23 (Main Street) – Meade, Dighton
Ford	​	116.681	187.780		US-400 east – Greensburg, Hugoton	East end of concurrency with US-400
	Dodge City	126.349	203.339		US-56 west / US-283 south – Dodge City, Minneola	West end of concurrencies with US-56 and US-283
	Wright	128.085	206.133		US-283 north – Jetmore	East end of concurrency with US-283
Edwards	Kinsley	156.245	251.452		US-56 east – Great Bend	East end of concurrency with US-56
		157.363	253.251		US-183 (Niles Avenue) – Greensburg, La Crosse
	Belpre	175.192	281.944		K-19 north (Larned Street) – Larned
Stafford	​	194.427	312.900		US-281 – Great Bend, Pratt
Reno	​	232.954	374.903		K-61 south (John Neal Memorial Highway) – Pratt	Interchange; west end of concurrency with K-61
	​	238.462	383.767	—	K-14 north / K-96 west (Nickerson Boulevard) – Lyons	Partial cloverleaf interchange; west end of expressway; west end of concurrencies with K-14 and K-96
	South Hutchinson	239.974	386.201	—	K-14 south / K-96 east / Main Street north – South Hutchinson, Wichita	East end of concurrencies with K-14 and K-96
		240.957	387.783	—	Scott Boulevard / McNew Road
	Hutchinson	242.535	390.322	—	K-61 north (Ken Kennedy Freeway) / Lorraine Street south – McPherson	East end of concurrency with K-61
	​			—	Airport Road / Yoder Road	East end of expressway; serves Hutchinson Municipal Airport
Harvey	​	264.566	425.778		K-89 south – Halstead
	Newton	271.238	436.515	—	Meridian Road	Partial cloverleaf interchange; west end of freeway
		272.514	438.569	—	Anderson Avenue
		273.514	440.178	—	K-15 north (Kansas Avenue)	Partial cloverleaf interchange; west end of concurrency with K-15; serves Newton Medical Center
		274.272	441.398	—	I-135 south (US-81 / K-15 south) – Wichita	Full Y interchange; east end of concurrency with K-15; west end of concurrency with I-135/US-81; I-135 exit 30
		275.037– 275.543	442.629– 443.443	31	First Street / Broadway Street	Pair of half-diamond interchanges with one-way ramps connecting First Street and Broadway Street; exit number follows I-135
		276.373	444.779	—	I-135 / US-81 north – Salina	Eastbound exit westbound entrance; east end of concurrency with I-135/US-81; I-135 exit number 33
		277.406	446.442	—	12th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; access via Old Trail Road; east end of freeway
Marion	Florence	302.524	486.865		US-77 / 8th Street east – Marion, El Dorado	Roundabout
Chase	Elmdale	320.589	515.938		K-150 west – Marion	Eastern terminus of K-150
	Strong City	327.581	527.191		K-177 – Cottonwood Falls, Council Grove	Partial cloverleaf interchange
Lyon	Emporia	345.346	555.781		To I-35 / I-335 / Kansas Turnpike – Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka	Roundabout with connector to I-35; I-35 Exit 127A
		348.128	560.258		K-99 (Commercial Street) – Olpe, Admire
		350.438	563.975		I-35 south – Wichita	Diamond interchange; west end of concurrency with I-35; I-35 exit 133
	Jackson Township			135	County Road R1
				138	County Road U
				141	K-130 – Neosho Rapids, Hartford
Coffey	Lebo			148	K-131 – Lebo
	Key West Township			155	US-75 – Lyndon, Burlington
Osage	Melvern			160	K-31 north – Melvern	Southern end of K-31 concurrency
				162	K-31 south – Waverly	Northern end of K-31 concurrency
Franklin	Williamsburg			170	Williamsburg, Pomona	Formerly designated as K-273
	Homewood Township			176	Homewood
	Ottawa			182	Eisenhower Road
				183	US-59 south – Garnett	Southern end of US-59 concurrency
	Harrison Township			185	15th Street
	Ottawa			187	K-68 – Ottawa, Louisburg
				188	US-59 north – Lawrence	Northern end of US-59 concurrency
	Franklin Township			193	Tennessee Road
	Wellsville			198	K-33 – Wellsville
Miami	No major junctions
Johnson	Edgerton			202	Sunflower Road – Edgerton
	Gardner Township			205	Homestead Lane	Diverging diamond interchange
	Gardner			207	Gardner Road
				210	US-56 west – Gardner	Southern end of US-56 concurrency
	Olathe			214	Lone Elm Road, 159th Street
				215	US-169 south / K-7 – Paola	Southern end of US-169 concurrency
				217	Old Highway 56	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
				218	Santa Fe
				220	119th Street
	Lenexa				I-35 north (US-56 east / US-169 north) – Des Moines	Exit 222A on I-35; east end of concurrency with I-35/US-56/US-169
					I-435 west	Exit 83 on I-435; west end of concurrency with I-435
	Overlap with I-435
	Leawood	447.93	720.87		I-435 east / US 50 east	Continuation into Kansas City, Missouri
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Special routes

In Garden City. US-50 and US-83 each have business routes. They both start at the same place, at the junction of US-50, 83 and 400 about one mile (1.6 km) north of town. They run concurrently along the former alignments of US-50 and 83 through town to the intersection of Main Street and Fulton Street. At that point, the business routes split and Business 50 heads east to meet up with US-50, 83 and 400 east of town.

US-50 once had alternate routings in Garden City and Dodge City and business routes in Dodge City and Ottawa. Former Alternate 50 in Garden City is now known as Campus Drive. Its purpose was to connect US-50 travelers to then-US-156 without having to go all the way into downtown. Its purpose was taken over by Spur US-83 in the 1970s. Spur US-83 is now the bypass around Garden City that carries highways 50, 83 and 400.

Former Alternate 50 at Dodge City is now the main route for US-50. Business 50 in Dodge City was decommissioned when the US-400 bypass was built to the south and west of that city. Business 50 in Ottawa ran along the former US-50 alignment through Ottawa.

References

1. Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Planning Network GIS data version 2005.08
2. Rand McNally and Company (1927). "Kansas" (Map). Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas of the United States and Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, with a Brief Description of the National Parks and Monuments. 1:1,600,000. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. pp. 54–55. OCLC 2078375. Retrieved August 24, 2020 – via Rumsey Collection.
3. Kansas Department of Transportation (January 1, 2012). "Resolution Designating City Connecting Links in State Highway System". Topeka: Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 7, 2020.
4. "1932 Kansas Highway Map" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
5. Great Bend Daily Tribune, January 6, 1955
6. Great Bend Daily Tribune, New US-55 Route Approved Here, March 20, 1955
7. Atchison Daily Globe, March 20, 1955
8. Great Bend Daily Tribune, July 26, 1955
9. Great Bend Daily Tribune, July 29, 1955
10. Great Bend Daily Tribune, Highway Boosters Here Oppose New US-55 Plan, September 16, 1955
11. Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Chronological History Documentation: US 56 (correspondence between ODOT, AASHO, and other DOTs)
12. Resolution to redesignate a Highway (Map). KDOT. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
13. "1956 Kansas Highway Map" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
14. "1957 Kansas Highway Map" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
15. Rose, Gale. "Roundabout work begins near St. John". Salina: Salina Journal. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
16. Rose, Gale. "It's roundabout time at St. John". Pratt: Pratt Tribune. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
17. "Traffic flow change at U.S 50/281 roundabout work zone" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
18. Green, John. "US-50/281 roundabout opens in Stafford County". Hutchinson: The Hutchinson News. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
19. Kansas Department of Transportation (July 20, 2020). "U.S. 50 T-WORKS project in Lyon County now underway". Topeka: Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
20. Kansas Department of Transportation (May 2020). "Expansion Pipeline May 2020" (PDF). Topeka: Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
21. Kansas Department of Transportation. "Pavement Management Information System". Retrieved 2012-11-10.

External links

• Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• 1926 US Highway Map, Department of Agriculture