U.S. Route 50 in Kansas
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by KDOT | ||||
Length | 447.93 mi[1] (720.87 km) | |||
Existed | 1928–present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
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East end | ![]() ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Kansas | |||
Highway system | ||||
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In the U.S. state of Kansas, U.S. Route 50 (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.
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).
US-50 then enters Kearney County and passes though 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 though the towns of Ingalls, Cimarron, Dodge City, Kinsley, and Hutchinson before it heads to Newton. In Newton, US-50 joins Interstate 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.
History
US-50 once had a split into two branch routes in Kansas.[2] 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.
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.[3][4]
Junction list
![]() | This section is missing mileposts for junctions. |
County | Location | mi [5] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hamilton | Coolidge | 0.000 | 0.000 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Continuation into Colorado | ||
Syracuse | 16.094 | 25.901 | ![]() ![]() | West end of concurrency with K-27 | |||
16.624 | 26.754 | ![]() ![]() | East end of concurrency with K-27 | ||||
Kearny | Lakin | 43.965 | 70.755 | ![]() | |||
Finney | Holcomb | 59.848 | 96.316 | Big Lowe Road – Holcomb | Diamond interchange | ||
Garden City | 65.848 | 105.972 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Diamond interchange; west end of concurrency with US-83 | |||
69.618 | 112.039 | ![]() | Pair of half-diamond interchanges with one-way ramps connecting Mary Street and K-156 | ||||
71.156 | 114.514 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Partial cloverleaf interchange; east end of concurrency with US-83 | ||||
Gray | Cimarron | 102.427 | 164.840 | ![]() | |||
Ford | | 116.681 | 187.780 | ![]() ![]() | East end of concurrency with US-400 | ||
Dodge City | 126.349 | 203.339 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | West end of concurrencies with US-56 and US-283 | |||
Wright | 128.085 | 206.133 | ![]() ![]() | East end of concurrency with US-283 | |||
Edwards | Kinsley | 156.245 | 251.452 | ![]() ![]() | East end of concurrency with US-56 | ||
157.363 | 253.251 | ![]() | |||||
Belpre | 175.192 | 281.944 | ![]() ![]() | ||||
Stafford | | 194.427 | 312.900 | ![]() | |||
Reno | | 232.954 | 374.903 | ![]() ![]() | Interchange; west end of concurrency with K-61 | ||
| 238.462 | 383.767 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Partial cloverleaf interchange; west end of concurrencies with K-14 and K-96 | |||
South Hutchinson | 239.974 | 386.201 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Diamond interchange; east end of concurrencies with K-14 and K-96 | |||
240.957 | 387.783 | Scott Boulevard / McNew Road | Diamond interchange | ||||
Hutchinson | 242.535 | 390.322 | ![]() ![]() | Interchange; east end of concurrency with K-61 | |||
| Yoder Road | Interchange | |||||
Harvey | | 264.566 | 425.778 | ![]() ![]() | |||
Newton | 271.238 | 436.515 | Meridian Road north | Partial cloverleaf interchange | |||
272.514 | 438.569 | Anderson Avenue | Interchange | ||||
273.514 | 440.178 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Partial cloverleaf interchange; west end of concurrency with K-15; serves Newton Medical Center | ||||
274.272 | 441.398 | ![]() ![]() | 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 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Eastbound exit westbound entrance; east end of concurrency with I-135/US-81; I-135 exit number 33 | ||||
277.406 | 446.442 | 12th Street | Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||||
Marion | Florence | 302.524 | 486.865 | ![]() | Roundabout | ||
Chase | Elmdale | 320.589 | 515.938 | ![]() ![]() | |||
Strong City | 327.581 | 527.191 | ![]() | Partial cloverleaf interchange | |||
Lyon | Emporia | 345.346 | 555.781 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Roundabout with connector to I-35; I-35 Exit 127A | ||
348.128 | 560.258 | ![]() | |||||
350.438 | 563.975 | ![]() ![]() | Diamond interchange; west end of concurrency with I-35; I-35 exit 133 | ||||
Overlap with I-35 | |||||||
Johnson | Lenexa | ![]() ![]() | Exit 222A on I-35; east end of concurrency with I-35/US-56/US-169 | ||||
![]() ![]() | Exit 83 on I-435; west end of concurrency with I-435 | ||||||
Overlap with I-435 | |||||||
Leawood | 447.93 | 720.87 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Continuation into Missouri | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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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
- ^ Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Planning Network GIS data version 2005.08
- ^ "1932 Kansas Highway Map" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ "1956 Kansas Highway Map" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ "1957 Kansas Highway Map" (PDF). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
- ^ 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
- U.S. Highways in Kansas
- U.S. Route 50
- Transportation in Hamilton County, Kansas
- Transportation in Kearny County, Kansas
- Transportation in Finney County, Kansas
- Transportation in Gray County, Kansas
- Transportation in Ford County, Kansas
- Transportation in Edwards County, Kansas
- Transportation in Stafford County, Kansas
- Transportation in Reno County, Kansas
- Transportation in Harvey County, Kansas
- Transportation in Marion County, Kansas
- Transportation in Chase County, Kansas
- Transportation in Lyon County, Kansas
- Transportation in Coffey County, Kansas
- Transportation in Osage County, Kansas
- Transportation in Franklin County, Kansas
- Transportation in Johnson County, Kansas