U.S. Route 169 in Kansas
U.S. Route 169 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that runs from US-64 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to US-53 near Virginia, Minnesota. In Kansas, the highway is a main north–south route that runs through the eastern end of the state from the Oklahoma border to Missouri border. Along the way US-169 intersects several major highways including US-400 by Cherryvale, US-54 by Iola, overlaps US-59 south of Garnett, overlaps I-35 from Olathe to Merriam, and in Kansas City begins an overlap with I-70, US-24 and US-40 which it follows into Missouri.
Route description
US-169 enters the state at Coffeyville as a four-lane road and is a four-lane highway for about until the edge of the Coffeyville Industrial Park. A segment between Chanute and Iola is a freeway with fully controlled access with center concrete barrier, with two lanes in each direction. US-169 runs concurrently with US-59 and K-31 starting about south of Garnett and diverges northeast again immediately south of Garnett. At Osawatomie the road becomes a full freeway and runs concurrently with K-7. In southern Johnson County US-169 becomes an expressway until its junction with Interstate 35 in Olathe.From this point to the Missouri state line, US-169 alternates between freeways and surface streets. It follows I-35 to Shawnee Mission Parkway in Overland Park, then travels east to Rainbow Boulevard. US-169 then follows surface streets to its junction with I-70 near downtown Kansas City. US-169 and I-70 enter Missouri together just after crossing the Kansas River.
Transit
Jefferson Lines provides intercity bus service along the length of US-169 in Kansas serving Iola, Chanute and Coffeyville.History
In a June 30, 1980 resolution, US-169 and K-57 were realigned to run directly north–south through Iola. Also at this time, K-269 was first designated a state highway and ran from K-57 and US-169 north to US-54. In a September 20, 1991, resolution, it was proposed to realign K-57 and US-169 over K-269. The project was completed on October 31, 1999, and at that time, K-269 was decommissioned and became part of the new K-57 and US-169.The intersection immediately south of Garnett used to be a braided intersection with stop and yield signs; it was identified as a high crash location in 2001, and was rebuilt as a roundabout that opened in April 2006. The Kansas Department of Transportation is rebuilding or planning to rebuild several other rural intersections as roundabouts for increased safety.