![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/K-51.svg/640px-K-51.svg.png&w=640&q=50)
K-51 (Kansas highway)
State highway in Kansas, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
K-51 is an approximately 79-mile-long (127 km) east–west state highway in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. K-51 begins at the Colorado state line as a continuation of County Road M and travels eastward through portions of Morton, Stevens, and Seward counties before ending at U.S. Route 83 (US-83) north of Liberal. Along the way, it runs concurrently with US-56 from Rolla to Hugoton. Although K-51 travels through mostly rural farmlands, it does pass through the cities of Richfield, Rolla and Hugoton. The highway is also a two-lane road most of its length with the exception of short sections within Rolla and Hugoton, where it is four lanes.
K-51 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by KDOT | ||||
Length | 79.095 mi[1] (127.291 km) | |||
History | Established in 1926;[2] became K-12 c. 1930; re-established as K-51 on January 7, 1937[3] | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | ![]() | |||
Major intersections | ![]() | |||
East end | ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | Kansas | |||
Counties | Morton, Stevens, Seward | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Before state highways were numbered in Kansas there were auto trails. The eastern terminus (US-83) was part of the Atlantic and Pacific Highway. K-51 was first designated as a state highway in 1926, and at that time started as a continuation of Colorado Highway 51 and went east to K-25 (current K-27). Then by 1927, it ran from K-12 north of Rolla to K-27 in Richfield.[4] Between 1930 and 1931, K-51 was replaced with an extension of K-12. Then on January 1, 1937, K-51 was re-established from the Colorado border east to K-27. Then by 1937, K-51 was extended further east to US-83, its modern-day routing. K-51 originally overlapped US-270, then in a May 18, 1981 resolution, the US-270 designation was removed.