 U.S. Highway 50 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US-50 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byKDOT, and the cities ofCimarron,Dodge City andEmporia | ||||
| Length | 447.93 mi[1] (720.87 km) | |||
| Existed | 1927[2]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   US 50 /US 400 atColorado state line | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end |  I-435 /US 50 atState Line Road betweenLeawood, Kansas andKansas City, Missouri | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Kansas | |||
| Counties | Hamilton,Kearny,Finney,Gray,Ford,Edwards,Stafford,Reno,Harvey,Marion,Chase,Lyon,Coffey,Osage,Franklin,Miami,Johnson | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 50 (US-50) is a major east–west route of theU.S. Highway system, stretching just over 3,000 miles (4,800 km) fromInterstate 80 (I-80) inWest Sacramento, California, toMaryland Route 528 (MD 528) inOcean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic Ocean. In theU.S. state ofKansas, US-50 is a main east–west highway serving the southwestern, 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 andEmporia.
US-50 was established in Kansas by 1927, and at that time split into two branch routes in Kansas. The US-50 split began inGarden City and ended slightly west ofBaldwin City. In Garden City, the split began at Kansas Avenue and Main Street. US-50N continued east on Kansas Ave. and went throughJetmore,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 by US-56 the rest of the way. US-156 is now known as K-156. The split was removed during the late 1950s.
US-50 enters the state running concurrently withUS-400, which joins US-50 at Granada,Colorado. The first town it runs through is Coolidge.Syracuse is the first county seat (Hamilton County). In western Kansas, US-50 parallels theArkansas River.
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US-50 then entersKearny County and passes through the towns ofLakin andDeerfield before enteringFinney County. West of the Old US-50 and Big Lowe Road overpass inHolcomb, US-50 splits into four lanes and the speed limit increases to 70 MPH until east of the intersection withUS-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 through the towns ofIngalls,Cimarron,Dodge City,Kinsley, andHutchinson before it heads toNewton. In Newton, US-50 joinsI-135 for a short time before it angles northeast toEmporia, another meat-packing town as well as the home ofEmporia State University. US-50 then joinsI-35 and itoverlaps 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 meetsUS-75, north ofBurlington. The letters in the acronym stand for Burlington, Emporia,Topeka andOttawa, which are the cities to the south, west, north and east, respectively.
From there, US-50 passes throughOlathe and meetsI-435 inLenexa. At this point. US-50 leaves I-35 and joins I-435 for the rest of its trip in Kansas.
The entire 1.369 miles (2 km) section of US-50 in Cimarron is maintained by the city.[3] The entire 1.662 section within Dodge City is maintained by the city. The section in Emporia from Graphic Arts Road to the east city limit is maintained by the city.
US-50 was established in Kansas by 1927, and at that time split into two branch routes. 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 inGarden City and ended nearBaldwin City. In Garden City, the split began at Kansas Avenue and Main Street. US-50N continued east on Kansas Ave. and went throughJetmore,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.[2][4]
The first route considered for US-56 was viaUS-40 from Ellsworth toTopeka andK-4 andUS-59 viaAtchison toSt. Joseph, Missouri.[5] A revised route adopted in March 1955, due to AASHO objections to the original route, which traveledconcurrently with other U.S. Highways for over half of its length, followedK-14,K-18,US-24,K-63,K-16, and US-59 viaLincoln andManhattan.[6][7] In July 1955, the US-50N Association proposed a plan that would have eliminatedUS-50N by routing US 56 along most of its length, fromLarned east toBaldwin Junction, and then along US-59 toLawrence andK-10 toKansas City; towns on US-50N west of Larned, which would have been bypassed, led a successful fight against this.[8][9] However, in September of that year, theKansas Highway Commission accepted that plan, taking US-56 east to Kansas City.[10] On June 27, 1956, the AASHO Route Numbering Committee considered this refined plan for US-56, between Springer, New Mexico and Kansas City, Missouri, with a shortUS-156 along the remaining portion of US-50N from Larned west toGarden City.[11] The entirety of US-156 was decommissioned on April 1, 1981, and redesignated asK-156.[12][13][14]
In mid 2019, work began to convert the junction with US-281 to an enhancedroundabout. The roundabout includes outer diamond shape lanes for oversized loads to bypass the roundabout. The former intersection with US-281 was dangerous as only US-281 traffic had to stop and therefore was the location of several injury and fatal accidents.[15] Between 2002 and 2012, there were 21 accidents, resulting in one fatality.[16] On March 4, 2020, traffic was rerouted, from a four-way stop and temporary asphalt detour, onto the permanent concrete outer roads for the roundabout.[17] The roundabout was completed and opened up to traffic on May 22, 2020. Venture Corporation from Great Bend, was the primary contractor for the $5.2 million project.[18]
On July 20, 2020 work began on a project to reconstruct US-50 from Road E5 to a half mile east of Road F in Lyon County. The project will widen the highway to 4-lanes for one mile. Improvements also will be made at the Road E5 and Road F intersections. Koss Construction Company of Topeka is the primary contractor of the $7.8 million project.[19]
In May 2020, KDOT's Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Plan was announced. One project included in the statewide plan will complete the four-lane expressway between Garden City and Dodge City.[20]
 | This sectionis missing mileposts for junctions. Please helpadd them. |
| County | Location | mi [21] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | Coolidge | 0.000 | 0.000 |  US 50 west /US 400 west | Continuation intoColorado | |||
| Syracuse | 16.094 | 25.901 |   K-27 north (McDow Street) –Tribune | West end of concurrency with K-27 | ||||
| 16.624 | 26.754 |  K-27 south (Main Street) –Johnson City | East end of concurrency with K-27 | |||||
| Kearny | Lakin | 43.965 | 70.755 |  K-25 (Main Street) –Ulysses,Leoti | ||||
| Finney | Holcomb | 59.848 | 96.316 | Big Lowe Road –Holcomb | Diamond interchange | |||
| Garden City | 65.848 | 105.972 |    US-83 north /US 50 Bus. east /US 83 Bus. south –Garden City,Scott City | Diamond interchange; west end of concurrency with US-83 | ||||
| 69.618 | 112.039 |  K-156 (Kansas Avenue) / Mary Street | Pair of half-diamond interchanges with one-way ramps connecting Mary Street and K-156 | |||||
| 71.156 | 114.514 | US-83 south /US 50 Bus. west (Fulton Street) –Garden City,Liberal | Partial cloverleaf interchange; east end of concurrency with US-83 | |||||
| Gray | Cimarron | 102.427 | 164.840 |  K-23 (Main Street) –Meade,Dighton | ||||
| Ford | | 116.681 | 187.780 | US-400 east –Greensburg,Hugoton | East end of concurrency with US-400 | |||
| Dodge City | 126.349 | 203.339 |   US-56 west /US-283 south –Dodge City,Minneola | West end of concurrencies with US-56 and US-283 | ||||
| Wright | 128.085 | 206.133 | US-283 north –Jetmore | East end of concurrency with US-283 | ||||
| Edwards | Kinsley | 156.245 | 251.452 | US-56 east –Great Bend | East end of concurrency with US-56 | |||
| 157.363 | 253.251 |  US-183 (Niles Avenue) –Greensburg,La Crosse | ||||||
| Belpre | 175.192 | 281.944 |  K-19 north (Larned Street) –Larned | |||||
| Stafford | | 194.427 | 312.900 |  US-281 –Great Bend,Pratt | ||||
| Reno | | 232.954 | 374.903 |  K-61 south (John Neal Memorial Highway) –Pratt | Interchange; west end of concurrency with K-61 | |||
| | 238.462 | 383.767 | — |   K-14 north /K-96 west (Nickerson Boulevard) –Lyons | Partial cloverleaf interchange; west end of expressway; west end of concurrencies with K-14 and K-96 | |||
| South Hutchinson | 239.974 | 386.201 | — | K-14 south /K-96 east / Main Street north –South Hutchinson,Wichita | East end of concurrencies with K-14 and K-96 | |||
| 240.957 | 387.783 | — | Scott Boulevard / McNew Road | |||||
| Hutchinson | 242.535 | 390.322 | — | K-61 north (Ken Kennedy Freeway) / Lorraine Street south –McPherson | East end of concurrency with K-61 | |||
| | — |  Airport Road / Yoder Road | East end of expressway; servesHutchinson Municipal Airport | |||||
| Harvey | | 264.566 | 425.778 |  K-89 south –Halstead | ||||
| Newton | 271.238 | 436.515 | — | Meridian Road | Partial cloverleaf interchange; west end of freeway | |||
| 272.514 | 438.569 | — | Anderson Avenue | |||||
| 273.514 | 440.178 | — |   K-15 north (Kansas Avenue) | Partial cloverleaf interchange; west end of concurrency with K-15; servesNewton Medical Center | ||||
| 274.272 | 441.398 | — |   I-135 south (US-81 /K-15 south) –Wichita | 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 | — |  I-135 /US-81 north –Salina | Eastbound exit westbound entrance; east end of concurrency with I-135/US-81; I-135 exit number 33 | ||||
| 277.406 | 446.442 | — | 12th Street | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; access via Old Trail Road; east end of freeway | ||||
| Marion | Florence | 302.524 | 486.865 |  US-77 / 8th Street east –Marion,El Dorado | Roundabout | |||
| Chase | Elmdale | 320.589 | 515.938 |  K-150 west –Marion | Eastern terminus of K-150 | |||
| Strong City | 327.581 | 527.191 |  K-177 –Cottonwood Falls,Council Grove | Partial cloverleaf interchange | ||||
| Lyon | Emporia | 345.346 | 555.781 |     ToI-35 /I-335 /Kansas Turnpike –Kansas City,Wichita,Topeka | Roundabout with connector to I-35; I-35 Exit 127B | |||
| 348.128 | 560.258 |  K-99 (Commercial Street) –Olpe,Admire | ||||||
| 350.438 | 563.975 | I-35 south –Wichita | Diamond interchange; west end of concurrency with I-35; I-35 exit 133 | |||||
| Jackson Township | 135 | County Road R1 | ||||||
| 138 | County Road U | |||||||
| 141 |  K-130 –Neosho Rapids,Hartford | |||||||
| Coffey | Lebo | 148 |  K-131 –Lebo | |||||
| Key West Township | 155 |  US-75 –Lyndon,Burlington | ||||||
| Osage | Melvern | 160 |  K-31 north –Melvern | Southern end of K-31 concurrency | ||||
| 162 | K-31 south –Waverly | Northern end of K-31 concurrency | ||||||
| Franklin | Williamsburg | 170 | Williamsburg,Pomona | Formerly designated as K-273 | ||||
| Homewood Township | 176 | Homewood | ||||||
| Ottawa | 182 | Eisenhower Road | ||||||
| 183 |  US-59 south –Garnett | Southern end of US-59 concurrency | ||||||
| Harrison Township | 185 | 15th Street | ||||||
| Ottawa | 187 |  K-68 –Ottawa,Louisburg | ||||||
| 188 | US-59 north –Lawrence | Northern end of US-59 concurrency | ||||||
| Franklin Township | 193 | Tennessee Road | ||||||
| Wellsville | 198 |  K-33 –Wellsville | ||||||
| Miami | No major junctions | |||||||
| Johnson | Edgerton | 202 | Sunflower Road –Edgerton | |||||
| Gardner Township | 205 | Homestead Lane | Diverging diamond interchange | |||||
| Gardner | 207 | Gardner Road | ||||||
| 210 | US-56 west –Gardner | Southern end of US-56 concurrency | ||||||
| Olathe | 214 | Lone Elm Road, 159th Street | ||||||
| 215 |   US-169 south /K-7 –Paola | Southern end of US-169 concurrency | ||||||
| 217 | Old Highway 56 | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||||||
| 218 | Santa Fe | |||||||
| 220 | 119th Street | |||||||
| Lenexa |  I-35 north (US-56 east /US-169 north) –Des Moines | Exit 222A on I-35; east end of concurrency with I-35/US-56/US-169 | ||||||
 I-435 west | Exit 83 on I-435; west end of concurrency with I-435 | |||||||
| Overlap withI-435 | ||||||||
| Leawood | 447.93 | 720.87 |  I-435 east /US 50 east | Continuation intoKansas City, Missouri | ||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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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.
 U.S. Route 50 | ||
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