K-19 is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in the U.S. 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 ...

. From

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

(US-50) to K-19 Spur it is signed as north–south and from K-19 Spur to US-281 it is signed as east–west. K-19's southern terminus is at US-50 in Belpre, and the eastern terminus is at US-281 east of Seward. Before state highways were numbered in Kansas, there were

auto trail The system of auto trails was an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. Marked with colored bands on utility poles, the trails were intended to help travellers in ...

s. The southern terminus follows the former New Santa Fe Trail. The northern terminus of K-19 Spur follows the former National Old Trails Road and Old Santa Fe Trail. K-19 was first designated in 1926, and at that time started in Belpre and ended in Larned. Then between 1931 and 1932, K-19 was extended east, from south of Larned, along the former K-37 designation to K-8, now US-281.

Route description

K-19 runs north–south for its first , and east–west for its final . The first leg begins at US-50 in Belpre and near the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

south of Larned, K-19 turns east for its second leg, bypassing both

Radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...

and Seward to the south before ending at US-281. K-19 begins at US-50 in Belpre and shortly crosses an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

then leaves Belpre. It then continues northward for through flat rural farmlands before entering into Pawnee County. Approximately north of the county line it crosses

Pickle Creek Pickle Creek is a stream in Ste. Genevieve County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is a tributary of the River aux Vases which it joins at the east boundary of Hawn State Park. Pickle Creek has the name of William Pickles, the original owner o ...

, a tributary of the Arkansas River, and passes Zook. From there it continues northward for roughly then reaches the terminus of K-19 Spur. At this point it is redesignated as an east–west route. K-19 Spur crosses the Arkansas River and ends about later at US-56 in Larned. K19 westbound

From K-19 Spur, K-19 travels eastward for about before crossing Pickle Creek again. From there it continues eastward for roughly another and crosses into Stafford County, traveling south of Radium after crossing the county line. After roughly another it reaches the terminus of the former K-219, a spur that served Seward until it was decommissioned in 2013. It then continues another and reaches its eastern terminus at US-281. The

Kansas Department of Transportation The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is a state government organization in charge of maintaining public roadways of the U.S. state of Kansas. Funding issues Since 2012, over $2 billion has been diverted from its coffers to the Kansas ...

(KDOT) tracks the traffic levels on its highways, and in 2017, they determined that on average the traffic varied from 540 vehicles per day at the terminus of former K-219 to 1390 vehicles per day slightly south of the terminus of K-19 Spur. K-19 is not included in the National Highway System. The National Highway System is a system of highways important to the nation's defense, economy, and mobility. K-19 does connect to the National Highway System at each terminus, US-50 and US-281, as well as to US-56 via K-19 Spur.

History

Prior to the formation of the Kansas state highway system, there were

s, which were an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in the early part of the 20th century. The southern terminus follows the former New Santa Fe Trail. The northern terminus of K-19 Spur follows the former National Old Trails Road and Old Santa Fe Trail. K19 eastern terminus

K-19 was first designated as a state highway in 1926, and at that time ran from US-250 in Belpre northward to K-37 by Larned. Also at that time the segment from K-19 Spur eastward to then K-8 was designated as K-37. By 1927, US-250 was renumbered to US-50S. Between 1931 and 1932, the K-37 designation was removed and K-19 was extended along its old alignment to K-8 which later became US-281. In 1956, K-19 was extended southward in Edwards County when US-50, at the time US-50S, was slightly realigned within Belpre. In Pawnee County, K-19 was slightly realigned just south of K-19 Spur to eliminate some sharp curves. The right of way for this relocation from Zook to K-19 Spur was purchased in Spring of 1959. In 1958, the Larned Chamber of Commerce proposed to extend K-19 east to a junction with K-14 and

K-96 K96 or K-96 may refer to: *K-96 (Kansas highway) K-96 is a state highway in central and southern Kansas. Its western terminus is at the Colorado state line east of Towner, Colorado, where it continues as Colorado State Highway 96; its eastern ...

. This was never implemented. In Stafford County, K-19 originally turned north on present day Radium Road towards

, then followed NW 150th Street east to end at US-281, passing just to the south of Seward along the way. In a September 25, 1946 resolution, the turn to the north at Radium Road was eliminated and K-19 was realigned to continue eastward to its current eastern terminus.

Major junctions

K-19 Spur

K-19 Spur is a spur route of K-19. K-19 Spur begins at an intersection with K-19, just south of where it crosses the Arkansas River, and travels northward to US-56 in Larned. 2017 AADT on K-19 Spur was 2650 vehicles per day. The section of K-19 Spur within Larned is maintained by the city.

Major junctions

References

External links

Kansas Department of Transportation State Map

KDOT: Historic State Maps
{{authority control

019 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Transportation in Edwards County, Kansas Transportation in Pawnee County, Kansas Transportation in Stafford County, Kansas

Route description

History

Major junctions

K-19 Spur

Major junctions

See also

References

External links