Interstate 70 in Kansas

 

I-70
Get started canorado
End Kansas City
Length 423 mi
Length 681 km
Route
  • Colorado → Denver1 canorado
  • 9 County Road 11
  • 12 County Road 14
  • 17 Sharon Springs
  • 19 Goodland
  • 27 Edson
  • 36 Brewster
  • 45 Levant
  • 53 Leotia
  • 54 Country Club Drive
  • 62 County Road K
  • 70 Oakley
  • 76 Oakley
  • 79 Campus Road
  • 85 Grinnell
  • 93 Grainfield
  • 95 Hoxie
  • 99 Park
  • 107 Castle Rock Road
  • 115 Collier
  • 120 Voda Road
  • 127 Wakeeney
  • 128 Wakeeney
  • 135 Ogallah
  • 140 Riga Road
  • 145 Ellis
  • 153 Yocemento Avenue
  • 157 Hays
  • 159 Hays
  • 161 Commerce Parkway
  • 163 Toulon Avenue
  • 168 Victoria
  • 172 Walker Avenue
  • 175 Gorham
  • 180 Balta Road
  • 184 Russell
  • 189 Pioneer Road
  • 193 Bunker Hill Road
  • 199 Dorrance
  • 206 Wilson
  • 209 Sylvan Grove
  • 216 Vesper
  • 219 Ellsworth
  • 221 Lincoln
  • 225 Great Bend
  • 233 Beverly
  • 238 Brookville
  • 244 Hedville
  • 249 Halstead Road
  • 250 → Wichita
  • 251 Salina
  • 253 Ohio Street
  • 260 Niles Road
  • 266 Solomon
  • 272 Fair Road
  • 275 Abilene
  • 277 Jeep Road
  • 281 Enterprise
  • 286 Chapman
  • 290 Milford Lake Road
  • 295 El Dorado
  • 296 Junction City
  • 298 East Street
  • 299 J Hill Road
  • 300 Grandview Plaza
  • 301 Fort Riley
  • 303 Ogden
  • 304 Humboldt Creek Road
  • 307 McDowell Creek Road
  • 311 Moritz Road
  • 313 Council Grove
  • 316 Deep Creek Road
  • 318 Frontage Road
  • 322 Tallgrass Road
  • 324 Wabaunsee Road
  • 328 Wamego
  • 330 McFarland
  • 332 Spring Creek Road
  • 333 Paxico
  • 335 Snokomo Road
  • 338 Vera Road
  • 341 Maple Hill
  • 342 Keene-Eskridge Road
  • 343 Ranch Road
  • 346 Carlson Road
  • 347 West Union Road
  • 350 Valencia Road
  • 351 Frontage Road
  • 353 Auburn Road
  • 355 → Topeka Bypass
  • 356 Wamaker Road
  • 357 Fairlawn Road
  • 358 Topeka
  • 359 MacVicar Avenue
  • 361 1st Avenue
  • 362 4th Street
  • 363 Adams Street
  • 364 California Avenue
  • 365 Rice Road
  • 366 Topeka
  • 366 → Wichita
  • 197 Lecompton
  • 202 West Lawrence
  • 204 East Lawrence
  • 224 Leavenworth
  • 410 110th Street
  • 411 → Kansas City Beltway
  • 414 78th Street
  • 415 State Avenue
  • 417 57th Street
  • 418 → Kansas City Bypass
  • 419 Park Drive
  • 420 → Overland Park
  • 421 → St. Louis
  • 422 Kansas City
  • 423 Kansas City
  • Missouri → Kansas City

Interstate 70 or I -70 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. The highway forms a long east-west connection in the state, from Kanorado on the Colorado border to the Missouri border in Kansas City. The route also passes through the capital, Topeka. The route is 681 kilometers long.

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Travel directions

Western Kansas

I-70 at Quinter.

At Kanorado, Interstate 70 in Colorado crosses the border into the state of Kansas from Denver from Denver. The first part of I-70 runs over the barren High Plains, the highway descends very gradually over a distance of 500 kilometers from 1,200 to 300 meters above sea level. I-70 follows a monotonous route across the plains of western Kansas, most places on the route are quite small, but have a large catchment area. The first place of some magnitude is Goodland, followed by Colby. At Colby, US 24 exits, I-70 then heads southeast for 35 kilometers to Oakley, after which I-70 heads east again. At Oakley one also crosses the US 83, the westernmost north-south US Highway of Kansas. At WaKeeney you cross the US 283 and in the somewhat larger town of Hays the US 183.

At Hays one has already descended to 600 meters above sea level, after 150 kilometers to Salina one descends further to 400 meters altitude. The landscape along I-70 remains flat to slightly undulating with mostly barren pastures. At Salina, the main interchange of I-70 in western Kansas joins Interstate 135 to Wichita in the south and US 81 to Concordia in the north. I-70 passes north of Salina and stays outside this town.

After Salina there is another 180 kilometer long route to Topeka, the capital of Kansas. Here are a number of small towns on or along the route, such as Abilene, Junction City and Manhattan. Around Junction City, the terrain is temporarily more hilly around the Smoky Hill River. Here, I-70 passes close to Fort Riley, a large military base. US 77 is also crossed here. From Manhattan, I-70 parallels the Kansas River to Topeka.

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Topeka & Kansas Turnpike

I-70 passes through downtown Topeka, although Interstate 470 provides an alternate southbound bypass. Near the center of Topeka, I-70 has 2×3 lanes for a short time. On the north side of the center, I-70 runs on a viaduct, on the east side is sunken. In Topeka one also crosses the US 75. On the east side of Topeka, I-70 merges into the Kansas Turnpike, the toll road that runs from Oklahoma to Kansas City. I-70 piggybacks here on the easternmost section, a 70-kilometer stretch to the outskirts of Kansas City.

The Kansas Turnpike also has 2×2 lanes and roughly follows the Kansas River and crosses it at the town of Lawrence, where it also intersects US 59. The toll plaza follows between Lawrence and Bonner Springs, after which I-70 reaches the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Kansas City

I-70 at Kansas City.

The Kansas City metropolitan area is not as vast on the Kansas side as it is in Missouri. One of the largest landmarks on the route is the Kansas Speedway, which is located at the intersection with the Interstate 435 ring road. I-70 then has 2×3 lanes and then enters Kansas City. In the west of Kansas City you cross Interstate 635, after which you cross US 69 and US 169 shortly after each other. After this, Interstate 670 branches off, forming a bypass of I-70. After the center of Kansas City, Kansas, one crosses the Kansas River, after which the border with the state of Missouri follows. Missouri ‘s Interstate 70then continues through Kansas City, Missouri.

History

History

Before the construction of I-70, there were three possible east-west routes of interest for traffic between Colorado and Kansas City, north-south US 36, US 24 and US 40. Most of I-70 is built in the southernmost route of US 40. US 36 was dropped because there are no major towns so far north, while US 40 serves the largest towns in central Kansas, including Topeka and Salina.

In western Kansas, however, the preference was for a slightly more northerly route in order to also open up the places Colby, Goodland and Burlington, which were located in the corridor of the US 24. A contributing factor is that the corridor of the US 40 in this area does not visit places of any size at all. In terms of length, it would have made little difference which route I-70 would take between Limon, Colorado and Oakley, Kansas.

Construction history

Interstate 70 has been constructed quickly. The first section of the Kansas Turnpike between the capital Topeka and Kansas City opened on October 20, 1956. Then, about 1959 or 1960, a number of sections were opened, such as in Kansas City, around WaKeeney, around Junction City, and west of Topeka. In the years that followed, the remaining missing links were completed in quick succession, with significant portions of I-70 passable by 1965. The city route through Topeka was also completed in 1965, although it was possible to drive around Topeka some years earlier when I-470 was completed along the south side of Topeka. In 1969 the last section in the far west of Kansas opened to traffic.

Part of Interstate 70 in Kansas is very old, and is one of the two Intercity Viaducts, located between Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri. The first viaduct was already opened in 1907, and at that time it was a toll bridge over which a tram ran. In 1936 the tram track was removed and 1×4 lanes were available. In 1962, the second viaduct opened, and Interstate 70 near the Missouri border was a fact. In 1969 this viaduct was renamed the Lewis and Clark Viaduct.

Later adjustments

The Lewis and Clark Viaduct in Kansas City was completely replaced between 2018 and 2020 and was closed to the west for two years. As of 2024, the Polk-Quincy Viaduct in Topeka will be replaced by a more modern and wider viaduct with 2×3 lanes.

Opening history

From Unpleasant Length Date
Exit 182 Exit 422 112 km 20-10-1956
Exit 422 Exit 423 2 km 1959/1960
Exit 115 Exit 135 32 km 1959/1960
Exit 269 Exit 300 50 km 1959/1960
Exit 341 Exit 356 24 km 1959/1960
Exit 93 Exit 115 35 km 1962
Exit 140 Exit 145 8 km 1962
Exit 252 Exit 269 27 km 1962
Exit 328 Exit 341 21 km 1962
Exit 356 Exit 361 8 km 1962
Exit 423 Exit 424 1 km 1962
Exit 313 Exit 328 24 km 1963
exit 53 Exit 93 64 km 1964/1965
Exit 145 Exit 159 22 km 1964/1965
Exit 199 Exit 252 85 km 1964/1965
Exit 300 Exit 313 21 km 1964/1965
Exit 361 Exit 182 10 km 1964/1965
exit 45 exit 53 13 km 1967
Exit 159 Exit 199 64 km 1967
exit 0 exit 45 72 km 1969

Toll

The eastern portion of I-70 between Topeka and the edge of the Kansas City region coincides with the Kansas Turnpike and is a toll road. Tolls are relatively low and low traffic avoids I-70 for this reason. The toll can be avoided relatively easily via US 40 and State Route 10 via Lawrence. More than half of this route is a highway (SR-10) and US 40 does not pass through built-up areas between Topeka and Lawrence.

Traffic intensities

I-70 at Kansas City.

About 8,000 vehicles cross the Colorado border every day. East of WaKeeney, this rises to over 10,000 vehicles. Between Salina and Manhattan this rises to 15,000 and between Manhattan and Topeka to 20,000. In Topeka, 40,000 vehicles drive on 2×3 lanes. The toll road section has about 30,000 vehicles between Topeka and Kansas City. In Kansas City, 80,000 vehicles travel in 2×4 lanes. Traffic then spreads to downtown on I-670 and I-70 and 54,000 vehicles cross the Missouri border.

Lane Configuration

From Unpleasant Lanes Comments
exit 0 Exit 362 2×2
Exit 362 Exit 364 2×3 Topeka
Exit 364 Exit 411 2×2
Exit 411 Exit 418 2×3 Kansas City
Exit 418 Exit 421 2×4 Kansas City
Exit 421 Exit 423 2×2 Kansas City
Exit 423 Exit 424 2×3 Kansas City

Interstate 70 at Kansas

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