US 159 and 160 in Kansas

By | October 30, 2022

US 159 in Kansas

US 159
Get started Nortonville
End Reserve
Length 53 mi
Length 85 km
Route
Nortonville

Horton

hiawatha

Nebraska

According to Iamaccepted, US 159 is a US Highway in the US state of Kansas. The road forms a north-south route in the extreme northeast of the state, from US 59 in Nortonville to the Nebraska border at Reserve. The route is partially double -numbered with US 73 and is 85 kilometers long.

Travel directions

In the village of Nortonville on the prairies, US 159 begins at the intersection with its main route, US 59, which runs from Lawrence to St. Joseph. The road heads north first, then turns west to reach the village of Horton. The road is very close to US 73 from Leavenworth, but it takes until Horton for both routes to really converge. This part of Kansas is undulating with some small forest here and there in shallow river valleys. At Hiawatha one crosses US 36 which comes from the west of the state and continues as Super Two to St. Joseph in the east. The border with Nebraska follows shortly after. US 159 in Nebraskathen continues to Falls City and Mound City in Missouri.

History

US 159 was created in 1934, but then ran only between Nortonville and Horton, wholly in the state of Kansas. In 1945 the route was extended via Nebraska to Missouri and the current route was created in Kansas. When it was created in 1934, a large part of US 159 was still unpaved, the route was paved between 1938 and 1941.

Traffic intensities

The US 159 is not a major road, and very quiet. This is especially true between Nortonville and Horton, with barely 600 to 1000 vehicles per day. After US 73 merges, this is slightly more, about 3,000 vehicles for Hiawatha. 1,300 vehicles cross the border into Nebraska every day.

US 160 in Kansas

US 160
Get started Saunders
End Frontenac
Length 485 mi
Length 780 km
Route
Colorado

Johnson

Ulysses

Sublette

plains

Meade

Ashland

Protection

cold water

Medicine Lodge

Harper

Wellington

Winfield

Independence

Altamont

Oswego

Columbus

Pittsburgh

Missouri

According to acronymmonster.com, US 160 is a US Highway in the US state of Kansas. The road forms a long east-west route through the south of the state. The road begins at Saunders on the Colorado border and runs east past few larger towns parallel to the Oklahoma border. At Frontenac, the road crosses the Missouri border. The US 160 has a lot of double numbering, the road regularly lifts along on intersecting north-south routes. US 160 is 780 kilometers long.

Travel directions

US 160/183 at Coldwater.

At the hamlet of Saunders, US 160 in Colorado enters the state of Kansas from Trinidad on a treeless plain at an elevation of 1,100 meters. The road then begins a long route to the east passing small towns. After about 60 kilometers you pass through Ulysses, and for another 50 kilometers the road turns south and merges with US 83, the road from Garden City. This double numbering takes about 30 kilometers. At Sublette, 10 kilometers south, you cross the US 56, the main road from Boise City to Dodge City in the northeast. A little further, in Seward County, US 160 turns east, and US 83 continues straight to Liberal to the south. This area mainly consists of dry irrigation agriculture. At Plains, US 160 merges with US 54, the Liberal – Wichita main road. This double numbering takes about 20 kilometers to Meade. The road then continues east, through a desolate part of Kansas with little sign of life. In Clark County, a 10-mile double- numbering follows with US 283 to the south. US 283 comes from Sayre in Oklahomaand runs to Dodge City to the north. You come here through a somewhat more hilly area, with shallow river valleys. About 30 miles to the east, at Stika, US 183 merges from Woodward, double-numbering 40 miles to Coldwater. US 183 and US 160 turn north, after which US 160 turns east again.

One then passes through an inhospitable part of Kansas with shallow canyons and riverbeds. The road continues for 40 miles to Medicine Lodge, a small village at the intersection with US 281, the road from Lawton, Oklahoma, to Great Bend in the north. You also cross the river Medicine Lodge here. Then follows a long stretch of 120 kilometers to Wellington, slowly entering eastern Kansas. This area becomes flatter again with meadows. In Wellington one crosses US 81, the road from Enid to Wichita, parallel to the Kansas Turnpike, Interstate 35which are then crossed. Not far to the east one crosses two rivers, the Ninnescah and the Walnut, two medium-sized rivers. In Winfield, shortly afterwards, it connects with US 77, the road from Arkansas City to El Dorado. US 160 then begins a second section of outlying areas, through Cowley and Elk County. There is no grid pattern in the road network here, and there are also few other roads. This part is about 140 kilometers long to the town of Independence.

In Independence you cross US 75, the main road from Tulsa to Topeka. Not much further east you cross US 169, the main road from Coffeyville to Kansas City. This part of Kansas is a bit more hilly again, but forests are still rare. This part of the state, the southeast, is more densely populated with regular small villages. The road passes through the still vast agricultural areas, and is double-numbered for 15 kilometers with US 59 around Oswego. US 59 is a main road from Miami in Oklahomato Lawrence in northern Kansas. After Oswego you really enter the southeast corner of Kansas, and at Columbus the road merges with US 69, the road out of Miami. This double numbering takes a little longer, about 45 kilometers beyond Pittsburg. The road also runs north here, then turns east, while US 69 runs to Kansas City as an expressway. A few miles further on is the border with Missouri. US 160 in Missouri then continues to Springfield.

History

US 160 was created in 1930. The route is a little less important because it runs further south than most of the larger towns in Kansas. In 1932 almost all of US 160 was unpaved, only short stretches of asphalt road could be found near Independence and Pittsburg in eastern Kansas. The asphalting of US 160 was not given the highest priority in the first half of the 1930s, between 1932 and 1938 virtually nothing of US 160 was paved. This did change between 1938 and 1941, when US 160 was heavily paved. Despite this, there were still some unpaved areas in 1945, especially in central Kansas. By 1950, all of US 160 was paved.

Traffic intensities

Although the US 160 is a long road, it has many quiet parts. Only 375 vehicles cross the Colorado border every dayover, rising to 6,000 at Ulysses, before dropping back to 1,600 vehicles. The double numbering with US 83 has about 3,000 vehicles, and 725 to the east of it. The double numbering with US 54 counts 3,300 vehicles and 325 vehicles thereafter. The double numbering with US 283 has 1,100 vehicles, and 500 further east. The double numbering with US 183 has 1,300 vehicles, and only 200 vehicles east of it. After Medicine Lodge this rises to about 1,100 vehicles. There are 4,600 vehicles on I-35, but only 500 vehicles east of Winfield. Only at Independence there is a bit more traffic, with 10,700 vehicles. East of this, this drops again to 900 vehicles, which increases again to 3,000 vehicles on the double numbering with US 59. The double numbering with US 69 has a maximum of 15. 000 vehicles in Pittsburgh. As a result, the US 160 has a very variable picture in terms of traffic intensities.

US 160 in Kansas