Interstate 70 (I-70) is a mainline route of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

in the United States connecting

Cove Fort, Utah Cove Fort is a fort, unincorporated community, and historical site located in Millard County, Utah. It was founded in 1867 by Ira Hinckley (the paternal grandfather of Gordon B. Hinckley) at the request of Brigham Young. One of its distincti ...

, to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. In the US state of

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the w ...

, I-70 extends just over from the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

border near the town of Kanorado to the Missouri border in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

. I-70 in Kansas contains the first segment in the country to start being paved and to be completed in the Interstate Highway System. The route passes through several of the state's principal cities in the process, including

Topeka Topeka ( ; Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeast Kansas, in the Central U ...

, and Salina. The route also passes through the cities of Lawrence, Junction City, and Abilene. The section of I-70 from Topeka to the Missouri border is co-designated as the

Kansas Turnpike The Kansas Turnpike is a , freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the US state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border to Kansas City. It passes through several major Kansas cities, ...

; only the section between Topeka and just west of Kansas City is tolled.

Route description

I-70 runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) from the Colorado state line until US 24 splits at

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

and runs north of I-70. At Colby, I-70 begins to turn southeast until it reaches Oakley, where US 40 joins with I-70 for a concurrent journey through most of the state. Initially, the route remains high and unusually level as it follows a projection of the High Plains into the state. From exit 140 (Riga Road), the route lowers from the High Plains into the Blue Hills region, as indicated by gentle undulations in the road and the unusual appearance of stone posts in the countryside. Approaching

Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia * Russell, Australian Capital Territory * Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) ...

, the route passes over three active sinkholes, the largest being the Crawford Sinkhole at mile 179. Past Russell, the route follows a ridge between the

Smoky Hill River The Smoky Hill River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, running through Colorado and Kansas.Smoky Hill River. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.br ...

and its tributary, the Saline River, where the highway passes through the Smoky Hills Wind Farm. Reaching the county line between

and Ellsworth counties, the road begins to traverse the

Smoky Hills The Smoky Hills are an upland region of hills in the central Great Plains of North America. They are located in the Midwestern United States, encompassing north-central Kansas and a small portion of south-central Nebraska. The hills are a di ...

. At Salina,

I-135 Interstate 135 (I-135) is an approximately auxiliary Interstate Highway in central and south-central Kansas, United States. I-135, which is signed as north–south, runs between I-35 and the Kansas Turnpike in Wichita north to I-70, ...

begins its journey southward toward Wichita, and I-70 continues through Abilene and Junction City, where the road begins to run through the

Flint Hills The Flint Hills, historically known as Bluestem Pastures or Blue Stem Hills, are a region in eastern Kansas and north-central Oklahoma named for the abundant residual flint eroded from the bedrock that lies near or at the surface. It consists of ...

. In

, I-70 intersects a child route,

I-470 Interstate 470 may refer to: *Interstate 470 (Kansas), a loop around Topeka *Interstate 470 (Missouri), a connection at Kansas City *Interstate 470 (Ohio–West Virginia), a loop around Wheeling, West Virginia *Three highways which are part of what ...

, twice. The second time it is intersected, the

merges, making I-70 into a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

. This is one of only two sections of I-70 that are tolled (the other is along the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...

); , the maximum toll on this section of I-70 is $3.50. I-70 and the turnpike are concurrent from Topeka to Bonner Springs, the turnpike's eastern terminus. From Bonner Springs to 18th Street and extending on to the Kansas eastern border, the highway is free. I-70 enters Missouri via a main northern route on the

Lewis and Clark Viaduct The Intercity Viaduct (officially the Lewis and Clark Viaduct since 1969) is an automobile and pedestrian crossing of the Kansas River in the United States. Designed by Waddell and Hedrick, this four lane, two level deck truss bridge opened to th ...

above the confluence of the

Kansas River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is the southwesternmost part of the Missouri River drainage, which is in turn the northwesternmost portion of the extensive Mississippi River dra ...

and Missouri River and a route designated "Alternate I-70" which has signs for I-70 as well as I-670 just south of Kansas City main downtown area. From exit 275 at Abilene to the Missouri state line, the road is named the

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

–

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

Presidential Highway. It retains the designation until exit 16 in Missouri at

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the st ...

, the location of Truman's presidential library.

History

The section of I-70 that is now the

was finished by 1956 and opened to traffic. West of Topeka, the freeway was constructed from Topeka west to Salina at its junction with US 81, as well as from Ogallah to Grainfield. From Salina, the freeway was completed through

Wilson Wilson may refer to: People *Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...

the next year. On October 9, 1959, the section of I-70 opened from Junction City west to Abilene through a ribbon-cutting ceremony. A segment of I-70 from

through Ogallah was finished by 1965. Another section was built the following year connecting Wilson to Grainfield. The freeway was completed through Kansas with a last section near the

border in 1970.

Exit list

Exit numbers correspond to the mileposts where they are located (numbered east from the Colorado border), except for those between Topeka and Kansas City, which are part of the

and use its mileposts (numbered nominally north from the Oklahoma border) instead.

Auxiliary routes

I-70 has two auxiliary routes in Kansas.

is a loop around the southern side of Topeka that is signed as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway and overlaps the

on the southeast side of town. I-670 is an alternate route for I-70 travelers through downtown Kansas City that is signed as the Dillingham Freeway and as Alternate I-70.

References

External links