U.S. Route 59 in Kansas

U.S. Route 59
Route information
Maintained by KDOT
Length:	210.440 mi (338.670 km)
Major junctions
South end:	US-59 near Chetopa
	US-166 in Chetopa US-160 in Oswego US-400 in Parsons US-54 in Moran US-169 near Garnett I-35 / US-50 in Ottawa US-56 four miles west of Baldwin City K-10 in Lawrence US-40 in Lawrence I-70 / Kansas Turnpike in Lawrence US-24 / US-40 in Lawrence US-24 in Williamstown US-159 / K-4 Alt. in Nortonville US-73 / K-7 in Atchison
North end:	US 59 at Atchison
Location
Counties:	Labette, Neosho, Allen, Anderson, Franklin, Douglas, Jefferson, Atchison
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Kansas State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Spurs ← K-58 K-60 →

U.S. Route 59 (US-59) is a north-south highway in Kansas that travels from Chetopa to Atchison.

US-59 is a 210-mile-long (340 km) highway which runs from south to north in eastern Kansas. It enters the state from Oklahoma south of Chetopa and passes through Parsons, Ottawa, and Lawrence. The route leaves Kansas for Missouri by crossing the Missouri River at Atchison. Most of the route climbs the cuestas of the Osage prairie, while north of the Kansas River, it cuts through the glaciated region.

Like other state highways in Kansas, US-59 is maintained by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). KDOT surveys the roads under its control on a regular basis to measure the amount of traffic using the state's highways. These traffic counts are expressed in terms of annual average daily traffic (AADT), a calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. For the 2012 survey, the stretch of road with the highest AADT was 8,249 vehicles south of the Lawrence city limits. The lowest was 380 vehicles at the Neosho–Allen county line. The statistic was not measured within large cities.

US-59 enters Kansas south of Chetopa along a two-lane highway. As it enters the town, it becomes known as 3rd Street. It intersects US-166, which runs along Maple Street. US-59 turns west along Maple and the two routes run together for 1.5 miles (2.4 km). After curving to the north and reaching the northern city limits, US 166 splits off to the west and US-59 continues north. Eight miles (13 km) to the north, it enters Oswego along Commerce Street where it crosses a line of the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL). Near the Labette County courthouse, it meets 6th Street, which carries US-160. These two routes head west together and then to the northwest parallel to a single Union Pacific Railroad (UP) track. Northwest of Oswego, the two routes follow a curve to north and then to the west, which allows a safe crossing of the UP line. Just before reaching Altamont, US-59 splits off to the north leaving US-160 to continue west.

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Wikipedia