K-171 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 southeastern part of the
U.S. state of
Kansas. The highway mostly lies on the
Crawford County/
Cherokee County Cherokee County is the name of eight counties in the United States:
* Cherokee County, Alabama
* Cherokee County, Georgia
* Cherokee County, Iowa
* Cherokee County, Kansas
* Cherokee County, North Carolina
* Cherokee County, Oklahoma
* Cherokee Cou ...
line except for the easternmost of the highway when it is entirely in Cherokee County. Its western terminus is at the intersection of
U.S. Route 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 ...
(US-69),
US-160
U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizo ...
and
US-400 south of
Pittsburg and its eastern terminus is a continuation as
Missouri Route 171
Route 171 is a short highway in western Missouri. Its northern terminus is at the Kansas state line where it continues as K-171 near Opolis, Kansas. Its southern terminus is at the junction of Interstate 49/U.S. Route 71, Route 96 and Route ...
at the
Missouri state line near
Opolis. K-171's current route was established on May 14, 2003, and the routing has not changed since.
Route description
K-171 begins at a
four-way stop south of
Pittsburg.
The west arm of this intersection serves as
US-400, the north arm carries
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 ...
and
US-160
U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizo ...
, the south arm is US-69, US-160, and US-400, and the east arm forms the beginning of K-171.
From this intersection, the highway heads due east to
Opolis.
The highway begins to curve to the south just before crossing the state line and becoming
Route 171 at the
Missouri border.
The entire route travels through mostly rural fields.
The total length of the route is .
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 2019, they determined that
on average the traffic varied from 7,180 vehicles per day near the western terminus to 7,650 vehicles per day near the eastern terminus.
The entire length of K-171 is included in the
National Highway System.
The National Highway System is a system of highways important to the nation's defense, economy, and mobility.
The first of the route is paved with composite pavement, while the remaining is paved with full design
bituminous pavement.
History
In a May 14, 2003 resolution, it was approved to truncate K-57 to end at US-169 by
Colony. At this time K-171 was established along the former section of K-57 between US-69 and the Missouri border.
The highway's route has stayed the same since it was commissioned.
For several years there was a western
K-171 from the city of
Bushton to
K-4.
This western K-171 was decommissioned in 2010.
Major intersections
References
{{Reflist
171
Year 171 (Roman numerals, CLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Herennianus (or, less frequently, year 92 ...
Transportation in Cherokee County, Kansas
Transportation in Crawford County, Kansas