Interstate 70 in Kansas

This article is about the section of Interstate 70 in Kansas. For the entire route, see Interstate 70.

Interstate 70 (I-70) is a mainline route of the Interstate Highway System in the United States connecting Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland. In the US state of Kansas, I-70 extends just over 424 miles (682 km) from the Colorado border near the town of Kanorado to the Missouri border in Kansas City. I-70 in Kansas contains the first segment in the country to start being paved and to be completed in the Interstate Highway System. The route passes through several of the state's principal cities in the process, including Kansas City, Topeka, and Salina. The route also passes through the cities of Lawrence, Junction City, and Abilene.

Interstate 70
I-70 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by KDOT and KTA
Length	424.15 mi[1] (682.60 km)
Existed	1956–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-70 / US 24 at Colorado state line
Major intersections	I-135 / US-81 in Salina I-470 / US-75 near Topeka US-40 / K-4 / Kansas Turnpike / I-470 Toll near Topeka US-73 / K-7 near Bonner Springs I-435 in Kansas City I-635 in Kansas City I-670 in Kansas City
East end	I-70 / US 24 / US 40 / US 169 at Missouri state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Counties	Sherman, Thomas, Logan, Gove, Trego, Ellis, Russell, Ellsworth, Lincoln, Saline, Dickinson, Geary, Riley, Wabaunsee, Shawnee, Douglas, Leavenworth, Wyandotte
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future Kansas State Highway System Interstate US State Spurs
← US-69 → K-71

The section of I-70 from Topeka to the Missouri border is co-designated as the Kansas Turnpike; only the section between Topeka and just west of Kansas City is tolled.

Route description

I-70 exit 1 in Kanorado

I-70 runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) from the Colorado state line until US 24 splits at Levant and runs north of I-70. At Colby, I-70 begins to turn southeast until it reaches Oakley, where US 40 joins with I-70 for a concurrent journey through most of the state. Initially, the route remains high and unusually level as it follows a projection of the High Plains into the state. From exit 140 (Riga Road), the route lowers from the High Plains into the Blue Hills region, as indicated by gentle undulations in the road and the unusual appearance of stone posts in the countryside.^[2] Approaching Russell, the route passes over three active sinkholes, the largest being the Crawford Sinkhole at mile 179.^[2] Past Russell, the route follows a ridge between the Smoky Hill River and its tributary, the Saline River, where the highway passes through the Smoky Hills Wind Farm. Reaching the county line between Russell and Ellsworth counties, the road begins to traverse the Smoky Hills.

At Salina, I-135 begins its journey southward toward Wichita, and I-70 continues through Abilene and Junction City, where the road begins to run through the Flint Hills.

In Topeka, I-70 intersects a child route, I-470, twice. The second time it is intersected, the Kansas Turnpike merges, making I-70 into a toll road. This is one of only two sections of I-70 that are tolled (the other is along the Pennsylvania Turnpike); as of 2018^[update], the maximum toll on this section of I-70 is $3.50.^[3] I-70 and the turnpike are concurrent from Topeka to Bonner Springs, the turnpike's eastern terminus. From Bonner Springs to 18th Street and extending on to the Kansas eastern border, the highway is free.

I-70 crossing on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct over the Kansas River from Kansas to Missouri in Kansas City, as seen from Quality Hill

I-70 enters Missouri via a main northern route on the Lewis and Clark Viaduct above the confluence of the Kansas River and Missouri River and a route designated "Alternate I-70" which has signs for I-70 as well as I-670 just south of Kansas City main downtown area.

From exit 275 at Abilene to the Missouri state line, the road is named the Dwight D. Eisenhower–Harry S. Truman Presidential Highway. It retains the designation until exit 16 in Missouri at Independence, the location of Truman's presidential library.

History

Aerial view of exit 95 east of Grainfield, Kansas, 1960s

The section of I-70 that is now the Kansas Turnpike was finished by 1956 and opened to traffic.^[4][5] West of Topeka, the freeway was constructed from Topeka west to Salina at its junction with US 81, as well as from Ogallah to Grainfield.^[6] From Salina, the freeway was completed through Wilson the next year. On October 9, 1959, the section of I-70 opened from Junction City west to Abilene through a ribbon-cutting ceremony.^[7] A segment of I-70 from Levant through Ogallah was finished by 1965.^[8] Another section was built the following year connecting Wilson to Grainfield.^[9] The freeway was completed through Kansas with a last section near the Colorado border in 1970.^[10]

Exit list

Exit numbers correspond to the mileposts where they are located (numbered east from the Colorado border), except for those between Topeka and Kansas City, which are part of the Kansas Turnpike and use its mileposts (numbered nominally north from the Oklahoma border) instead.

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Sherman	Stateline Township	0.00	0.00		I-70 west / US 24 west – Denver	Continuation into Colorado
		1.35	2.17	1	K-267 – Kanorado
	Lincoln Township	9.32	15.00	9	County Road 11
	Logan Township	12.27	19.75	12	County Road 14
	Goodland	17.27	27.79	17	US 24 Bus. east / K-27 – Sharon Springs, St. Francis
		19.25	30.98	19	US 24 Bus. west – Goodland
	Washington Township	27.22	43.81	27	K-253 – Edson
Thomas	West Hale Township	36.34	58.48	36	K-184 – Brewster
	East Hale Township	45.83	73.76	45	US-24 east – Levant	Eastern end of US-24 concurrency
	Colby	53.81	86.60	53	K-25 – Leoti, Atwood
	Morgan Township	54.80	88.19	54	Country Club Drive
	North Randall Township	62.73	100.95	62	County Road K
	South Randall Township	70.01	112.67	70	US-83 – Oakley, Rexford
Logan	No major junctions
Gove	Oakley	75.87	122.10	76	US-40 west – Oakley, Sharon Springs	Western end of US-40 concurrency
	Grinnell Township	79.80	128.43	79	Campus Road
		85.75	138.00	85	K-216 – Grinnell
	Grainfield Township	93.72	150.83	93	K-23 – Grainfield, Gove
		95.68	153.98	95	K-23 north (via K-23 Spur) – Grainfield, Hoxie	Grainfield only signed westbound
	Payne Township	99.67	160.40	99	K-211 – Park
	Quinter	107.31	172.70	107	Castle Rock Road – Quinter	Former K-212
Trego	Collyer Township	114.93	184.96	115	K-198 north – Collyer
		119.84	192.86	120	Voda Road
	WaKeeney	126.89	204.21	127	US 40 Bus. east / US-283 – WaKeeney, Ness City
		127.93	205.88	128	US 40 Bus. west to US-283 north – WaKeeney, Hill City
	Ogallah Township	135.11	217.44	135	K-147 – Ogallah
		140.23	225.68	140	Riga Road
Ellis	Ellis	145.29	233.82	145	K-247 – Ellis
	Big Creek Township	152.68	245.71	153	Yocemento Avenue
	Hays	156.80	252.35	157	US 183 Byp. – Hays, La Crosse
		159.00	255.89	159	US-183 – Hays, Stockton
	Big Creek Township	161.31	259.60	161	Commerce Parkway
		163.35	262.89	163	Toulon Avenue
	Herzog Township	168.34	270.92	168	K-255 – Victoria
		172.56	277.71	172	Walker Avenue
Russell	Big Creek Township	175.56	282.54	175	176th Street – Gorham	Former K-257
	Big Creek–Grant township line	180.56	290.58	180	181st Street
	Russell	184.54	296.99	184	US-281 – Russell, Hoisington	Former US 40 Bus.
	Grant Township	188.56	303.46	189	189th Street	Former US 40 Bus.
	Center Township	192.56	309.90	193	193rd Street
	Dorrance	199.09	320.40	199	Dorrance	Former K-231
Ellsworth	Wilson Township	205.48	330.69	206	K-232 – Wilson, Lucas
		209.50	337.16	209	Sylvan Grove
	Columbia Township	215.52	346.85	216	Vesper
	Sherman Township	218.54	351.71	219	K-14 south – Ellsworth	Western end of K-14 overlap
		221.44	356.37	221	K-14 north – Lincoln	Eastern end of K-14 overlap
	Garfield Township	224.87	361.89	225	K-156 – Ellsworth, Great Bend
Lincoln	Madison Township	232.96	374.91	233	Beverly, Carneiro
Saline	Glendale Township	237.96	382.96	238	Brookville, Tescott
	Pleasant Valley Township	243.97	392.63	244	Hedville, Culver
	Elm Creek Township	248.99	400.71	249	Halstead Road
		250.24	402.72	250A-B	I-135 south / US-81 – Wichita, Concordia	I-135 exits 95A-B
	Salina	252.02	405.59	252	K-143 (Ninth Street)
	Cambria Township	253.09	407.31	253	Ohio Street
	Cambria–Dayton township line	259.49	417.61	260	Niles Road
Dickinson	Solomon	265.94	427.99	266	Solomon Road	Former K-221
	Lincoln–Grant township line	272.00	437.74	272	Fair Road
	Abilene	274.54	441.83	275	K-15 – Abilene, Clay Center
	Grant Township	277.09	445.93	277	Jeep Road
	Center Township	280.30	451.10	281	K-43 – Enterprise
	Noble Township	285.54	459.53	286	K-206 – Chapman
Geary	Smoky Hill Township	289.85	466.47	290	Milford Lake Road
	Junction City	294.34	473.69	295	US-77 / K-18 west – Marysville, Herington	Western end of K-18 overlap
		295.92	476.24	296	US 40 Bus. east (Washington Street)
		297.29	478.44	298	East Street / Chestnut Street
	Grandview Plaza	298.28	480.04	299	Flinthills Boulevard ( US 40 Bus. / K-57) / J Hill Road
		299.18	481.48	300	US 40 Bus. west / K-57 – Council Grove	No westbound entrance
	Jefferson Township	300.33	483.33	301	Fort Riley, Marshall Field
		302.28	486.47	303	K-18 east – Manhattan	Eastern end of K-18 overlap
		303.42	488.31	304	Humboldt Creek Road
	Wingfield Township	306.87	493.86	307	McDowell Creek Road
	Jackson Township	311.22	500.86	311	Moritz Road
		313.26	504.14	313	K-177 – Council Grove, Manhattan
Riley	Zeandale Township	315.44	507.65	316	Deep Creek Road
		317.61	511.14	318	Frontage Road
Wabaunsee	Wabaunsee Township	321.76	517.82	322	Tallgrass Road
		323.25	520.22	324	Wabaunsee Road
		326.73	525.82	328	K-99 – Wamego, Alma
	Wabaunsee–Newbury township line	329.26	529.89	330	K-185 – McFarland
	Newbury Township	331.19	533.00	332	Spring Creek Road
		332.18	534.59	333	K-138 – Paxico
		334.28	537.97	335	Snokomo Road
	Newbury–Maple Hill township line	337.24	542.74	338	Vera Road
	Maple Hill Township	340.22	547.53	341	K-30 – Maple Hill
		341.23	549.16	342	Keene-Eskridge Road
		342.21	550.73	343	Ranch Road	Private interchange put in for the Brethour Ranch
Shawnee	Dover Township	345.20	555.55	346	Carlson Road
		346.70	557.96	347	West Union Road
		349.22	562.02	350	Valencia Road
		350.24	563.66	351	Frontage Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Mission Township	352.26	566.91	353	K-4 west (Auburn Road)	Western end of K-4 overlap
	Topeka	354.65	570.75	355	I-470 east / US-75 south – Topeka	Western end of US-75 overlap; I-470 exit 1A to 70 east westbound.
		355.24	571.70	356	Wanamaker Road
		356.38– 356.85	573.54– 574.29	357A	Fairlawn Road	Signed as exit 357 eastbound
				357B	Danbury Lane	Westbound exit only
		357.16– 357.54	574.79– 575.40	358A	US-75 north - Holton	Eastern end of US-75 overlap; signed as exit 358 eastbound
				358B	Gage Boulevard	Signed as exit 358 eastbound
		358.56	577.05	359	MacVicar Avenue
		360.23– 360.94	579.73– 580.88	361A	1st Avenue	Provides access to Topeka Boulevard; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				361B	3rd Street / Monroe Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		361.04– 361.66	581.04– 582.04	362A	4th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				362B	8th Avenue	Signed as exit 362 eastbound
				362C	10th Avenue / Madison Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		362.11	582.76	363	Adams Street / Branner Trafficway
		363.08– 363.82	584.32– 585.51	364A	California Avenue
				364B	Carnahan Avenue / Deer Creek Trafficway
		364.58	586.73	365	Rice Road
		365.39	588.04	366	US-40 / K-4 east / I-470 west / Kansas Turnpike west – Wichita	Last free exit eastbound; eastern end of US-40/K-4 overlap
		366.29	589.49	183	I-470 west / Kansas Turnpike west to I-335 south – South Topeka, Wichita	Western end of Kansas Turnpike overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance; exit numbers follow turnpike mileage
	Tecumseh Township	370.90	596.91	Topeka Service Area
Douglas	Kanwaka Township	379.96	611.49	197	K-10 east (South Lawrence Trafficway) – Lecompton, Lawrence	Access to Lecompton provided by CR-438 (North 1800 Road)
	Lawrence	384.71	619.13	202	To US-59 south – Lawrence
		386.25	621.61	204	US-40 / US-59 to US-24 – Lawrence
Leavenworth	Reno Township	391.71	630.40	Lawrence Service Area
	Tonganoxie	394.55	634.97	212	Tonganoxie, Eudora
Wyandotte	Bonner Springs	406.29	653.86	224	K-7 / US-73 north / US-24 west / US-40 west – Bonner Springs, Leavenworth	Last free exit westbound; western end of US-24/US-40 overlap; westbound exits signed as exit 224A (south) and 224B (north)
	Kansas City	409.19	658.53	410	110th Street – Kansas Speedway	Exit numbers correspond to I-70
		410.48	660.60	411	I-435	I-435 exits 12A-B; signed as exits 411A (south) and 411B (north)
		413.20	664.98	414	78th Street
		414.35	666.83	415	Turner Diagonal / College Parkway	Diverging Diamond Interchange
		415.93	669.37	417	57th Street
		417.57	672.01	418	I-635 – St Joseph, Wichita	Signed as exits 418A (north) and 418B (south) eastbound; westbound access is part of exit 419; I-635 exits 4A-B
		418.04	672.77	419	Park Drive / 38th Street
		419.32	674.83	420	US-69 south (18th Street Expressway) / 18th Street north Kansas Turnpike ends	Signed as exits 420A (south) and 420B (north); eastern terminus of Kansas Turnpike
		421.12	677.73	421A	Railroad Yard – No outlet, railroad use only	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				421B	I-670 east (I-70 Alt.) to I-35 south – St. Louis	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		420.68– 421.33	677.02– 678.06	422A	US-69 north (7th Street Trafficway)	Eastern end of US-69 overlap
				422B	US-169 south (7th Street Trafficway)	Western end of US-169 overlap
				422C	Pacific Avenue
				422D	Central Avenue
		421.68– 422.26	678.63– 679.56	423A	5th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				423B	James Street / 3rd Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				423C	Minnesota Avenue / Washington Boulevard / Lewis and Clark Trail	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				423D	Fairfax District	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		422.82	680.46		I-70 east / US 24 east / US 40 east / US 169 north / Lewis and Clark Trail – Kansas City, St. Louis	Continuation into Missouri
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access        Tolled

Auxiliary routes

I-70 has two auxiliary routes in Kansas. I-470 is a loop around the southern side of Topeka that is signed as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway and overlaps the Kansas Turnpike on the southeast side of town. I-670 is an alternate route for I-70 travelers through downtown Kansas City that is signed as the Dillingham Freeway and as Alternate I-70.

References

1. "Route Log and Finder List — Interstate System — table 1". Federal Highway Administration. October 31, 2002. Retrieved July 8, 2007.
2. Rex C. Buchanan; James R. McCauley (1987). Roadside Kansas. University Press of Kansas (Kansas Geological Survey). pp. 96–102. ISBN 978-0-7006-0322-0.
3. "Tolls". Kansas Turnpike Authority.
4. "Big Impact Seen For Local Area In Superhighway". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. October 24, 1956. pp. 1–2.
5. "KTA Officials Say Traffic Heavy on Pike This Morning". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. October 20, 1956.
6. 1963-1964 Kansas State Highway Map (Map). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
7. "Abilene-JC I-70 Section Opened". The Salina Journal. Salina, Kansas. October 9, 1959. p. 2. Retrieved March 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. 1965 Kansas State Highway Map (Map). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
9. 1966 Kansas State Highway Map (Map). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
10. 1970 Kansas State Highway Map (Map). Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 27, 2011.

External links

Template:Attached KML/Interstate 70 in Kansas

KML is from Wikidata

• Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• Big Ol' Windfarm in Kansas on YouTube - video of the Smoky Hills Wind Farm around mile 230 on Interstate 70, near Ellsworth

Interstate 70
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