K-5 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 northeastern

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 ...

. Remaining completely in the

Kansas City metropolitan area 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 ...

, it connects Leavenworth to

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 ...

Route description

K-5 begins on Sunshine Road at

US-69 U.S. Route 69 (US 69) is a major north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only long, but it has since been expanded into a Minnesota to Texas cross-country route. The highway's southern terminus (as well as ...

just south of the

US 69 Missouri River Bridge The US 69 Missouri River Bridge is a girder bridge carrying U.S. Route 69 (US 69) over the Missouri River. It connects Interstate 635 (I-635) in Riverside, Missouri with the 7th Street Trafficway and Fairfax District in Kansas Cit ...

. From there, it heads west until it turns off of Sunshine Rd. onto its own freeway alignment, which lasts for about . It then merges onto Interstate 635 south, then follows Leavenworth Road west until it meets

Interstate 435 Interstate 435 (I-435) is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States. Route description I-435, a loop route of I-35, is long and i ...

. K-5 merges onto northbound I-435, splitting off two exits later. After heading north on 97th Street, and turning onto Hutton Road, it then follows Wolcott Drive towards

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

. Inside the Lansing area, it turns onto 8th Street, then onto Muncie Drive in Leavenworth. K-5 then ends at 4th Street ( US-73/ K-7) in Leavenworth. K-5 mostly parallels the Missouri River for its entire run. The road's direction signs changed from west–east to north–south around 2010, although portions of it in Kansas City are still signed west–east. In 2015, The Kansas state legislature passed Statute 68-1038, which designation the portion of K-5 between US-73/ K-7 to

I-435 Interstate 435 (I-435) is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States. Route description I-435, a loop route of I-35, is long and ...

, then from I-435 to

, and southward on US-69 to the Oklahoma border, as the Frontier Military Scenic Byway.

History

Originally, the portion of K-5 between

I-635 Interstate 635 may refer to: * Interstate 635 (Kansas–Missouri), a connector highway between Interstate 35 in Overland Park, Kansas and Interstate 29 in Kansas City, Missouri, signed as the Harry Darby Memorial Highway * Interstate 635 (Texas) I ...

and

was planned to be designated as I-635. The interstate was planned to head eastward from where it meets K-5 until it meets US-69, at which point it would turn northward and cross the Fairfax Bridge over the Missouri River. However, the plan was never carried out and the highway segment between I-635 and US-69 in the northern area of Kansas City was to be designated as K-6. In 1981, K-6 became part of K-5, when K-5 was moved off of Quindaro Boulevard.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML
Kansas Department of Transportation State MapKDOT: Historic State Maps
005 Transportation in Kansas City, Kansas Transportation in the Kansas City metropolitan area Transportation in Wyandotte County, Kansas Transportation in Leavenworth County, Kansas