K-61 (Kansas highway)

K-61
K-61
Route information
	Maintained by KDOT
Length	83.358 mi (134.152 km)
Existed	1932–present
Major junctions
South end	US-54 / US-400 in Pratt
	US-50 from South Hutchinson to Hutchinson
North end	; I-135 / US-81 / US 81 Bus. south of McPherson
Location
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Counties	Pratt, Reno, McPherson
Highway system
	Kansas State Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Spurs;

K-61 is a 83.358-mile-long (134.152 km) north–south state highway in the U.S. State of Kansas. K-61's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 54 (US-54) and US-400 on the east side of Pratt, and the northern terminus is at I-135 and US-81 south of McPherson. K-61 is signed as a north–south but runs southwest and northeast.^[2]

Route description

K-61 passes through the towns of Preston, Turon, Langdon (unincorporated) and Partridge, while paralleling a line of the Union Pacific Railroad, then beginning a six-mile (10 km) concurrency with US-50. It shares a short concurrency with K-14 and K-96 near South Hutchinson.

After breaking to the northeast from US-50, K-61 passes through the east side of Hutchinson (Where it is signed locally as the Ken Kennedy Freeway^[3]). It bypasses Medora (unincorporated), Inman, and Groveland before ending at I-135 and US-81 south of McPherson.

Its last two miles share a "wrong-way" concurrency with US-81 Business.

K-61 is a two-lane highway from its south end until it meets US-50, and a four-lane highway for the rest of its route.

It has controlled access interchanges (with US-50) at North K-96, west of Hutchinson; South K-96, also signed To K-17 in South Hutchinson. After breaking away from US-50, K-61 has controlled access interchanges at Avenue A in Hutchinson, 56th Avenue in Hutchinson, 85th Avenue/Medora Road north of Hutchinson, and Cherokee Road in Inman. Near McPherson, the highway is a full freeway, with interchanges at K-153, K-153 Spur, and US-81 Bus.

History

K-61 was commissioned by 1932.^[1] It appears on the 1932 state highway map.^[4] K-61 originally ended in Hutchinson at US-50. Sometime between 1956 and 1962, K-61 was extended on a previous routing of K-17 between Hutchinson and McPherson.^[5]

In a September 9, 2009 resolution KDOT slightly realigned K-61 southwest of McPherson, slightly realigned it to the west of Inman and realigned it westward slightly north-northwest of Hutchinson.^[6]

In a project lasting several years,^[7]^[8]^[9] the Kansas Department of Transportation turned the northern part of K-61 from Hutchinson to McPherson into a four-lane expressway.^[10]^[11] Some intersections were changed to controlled-access interchanges, and the number of at-grade intersections was reduced. The original route went through Medora and Inman, but the new route bypasses both, west of its original route. As of August 2012, all lanes are open to traffic. The new section of the highway has been designated the John Neal Memorial Highway in memory of a major advocate of the project.^[12]

Junction list

At-grade intersections are not listed here. All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi^[2]	km	Destinations	Notes
Pratt	Pratt	0.000	0.000	US-54 / US-400 – Kingman, Greensburg	Southern terminus
Reno	Arlington	34.119	54.909	K-11 south – Kingman	Northern terminus of K-11; former K-14 south
	Center Township	44.893	72.248	US-50 west – Kinsley	Partial interchange; Southbound exit, Northbound entrance; southern end of US-50 concurrency
	Reno Township	50.401	81.113	K-14 / K-96 west – Lyons	West end of expressway; western end of K-14/K-96 concurrency
	South Hutchinson	51.913	83.546	K-14 / K-96 east	Eastern end of K-14/K-96 concurrency
	South Hutchinson	52.896	85.128	Scott Boulevard / McNew Road
	Hutchinson	54.020	86.937	US-50 east – Newton	Interchange; South end of expressway section; northern end of US-50 concurrency
	Hutchinson	55.620	89.512	Avenue A	Interchange
	Clay–Medora township line	96.509	155.316	E. 56th Avenue	Interchange
	Medora	64.100	103.159	Medora Road / E. 85th Avenue	Interchange
McPherson	Inman	70.668	113.729	Cherokee Road (CR 446)	Interchange
	King City Township	78.771	126.770	K-153 north – McPherson	North end of freeway; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		80.546	129.626	K-153 Spur north – McPherson	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; former US-81
		80.796	130.029	US 81 Bus. north – McPherson	Southern end of US-81 Bus. concurrency
		83.358	134.152	US 81 Bus. ends / I-135 / US-81 – Wichita, Salina	Northern terminus; northern end of US-81 Bus. concurrency; I-135 exit 58
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access