K-55 is a west–east

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 ...

. The highway's western terminus is at

U.S. Route 81 U.S. Route 81 or U.S. Highway 81 (US 81) is a major north–south U.S. highway that extends for in the central United States and is one of the original United States Numbered Highways established in 1926 by the American Association of Stat ...

(US-81) roughly north of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and the eastern terminus is at K-15 in Udall. It passes through the city of Belle Plaine. The road's westbound terminus is a triangle-type intersection. Just before the western terminus, the road passes under 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 ...

, although there is no intersection. Turnpike access is available at K-53 to the north and US-160 to the south near

. 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. K-55's western terminus closely follows the Meridian Highway and the South West Trail. It was first designated a state highway by 1927, and at that time ran from US-81 in Belle Plaine southeast to K-12 in Oxford. A year later, it had been realigned to travel east from US-81 to K-15 west of Udall. By 1945, a new alignment of K-15 had been completed, at which time K-55 was extended east to the new alignment. The entire length of K-55 was paved by 1948.

Route description

K-55's western terminus is at US-81 north of

. The highway travels east through flat rural farmland and after roughly passes under

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

, also known as the

, with no connection. K-55 continues east to an

at-grade crossing An intersection or an at-grade junction is a junction where two or more roads converge, diverge, meet or cross at the same height, as opposed to an interchange, which uses bridges or tunnels to separate different roads. Major intersections a ...

with a

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

track as it enters the city of Belle Plaine. It continues through the city as 4th Avenue for about then exits the city. K-55 proceeds east to a crossing over

Cowskin Creek Cowskin Creek is a stream in northwest Douglas and extreme southeastern Webster counties of Missouri. Cowskin has its headwaters in southeast Webster County west of Cedar Gap and is a tributary to Beaver Creek which it joins just west of the Ar ...

, a tributary of 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 ...

. It continues through flat farmland to a crossing over the Arkansas River, a tributary of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. K-55 continues east to a crossing over Antelope Creek before entering Cowley County. The roadway enters the city of Udall and has an at-grade crossing with a BNSF Railway track. K-55 reaches Clark Street where it turns north and reaches its eastern terminus at K-15. 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 2018, they determined that on average the traffic varied from 805 vehicles per day near the eastern terminus to 2,050 vehicles per day just east of Belle Plaine. K-55 connects to the National Highway System at its junction with K-15.

History

Before state highways were numbered in Kansas there were

s, which were an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. K-55's western terminus, US-81, closely follows the Meridian Highway and the South West Trail. K-55 was first designated as a state highway by the State Highway Commission of Kansas, now known as KDOT, by 1927. At that time it ran from US-81 west of Belle Plaine southeast to K-12 in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. By 1928, it was realigned to travel east from US-81 to K-15 west of Udall. In November 1930, it was announced that work would begin spring of 1931, to reconstruct the road from Belle Plaine east to the Cowley County line. This included a bridge over Cowskin Creek and Arkansas River. K-55 was extended east along K-15 to US-77 south of

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

by 1931. By 1932, K-55 was truncated back to its pre-1931 terminus. In late-March 1932, a bid was approved for grading,

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

, and bridge projects on K-55 east of Belle Plaine. The bridge over the Arkansas River was finished in 1933. In a resolution passed on January 1, 1941, it was approved to realign K-15 from southeast of Mulvane to Udall, and to extend K-55 east to the new alignment in Udall. By October 1941, SHC engineers and surveyors were planning the new alignment of K-15 from Wichita to Winfield. The new alignment of K-15 and extension of K-55 was completed by 1945. By 1948, the entire length of K-55 was paved.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML, display=title,inline
KDOT State Map
055 Transportation in Sumner County, Kansas Transportation in Cowley County, Kansas