U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma at Memorial Drive.

Route description

Oklahoma

US 169 is a major north–south highway spanning in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. The southern terminus for US 169 is Memorial Drive. The highway connects Tulsa, Oklahoma to the south with the Kansas state border to the north at

South Coffeyville, Oklahoma South Coffeyville is a town in Nowata County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 785. The city of Coffeyville, Kansas is located approximately one mile north of the city, existing as a separate political ent ...

. US 169 travels through Tulsa, Rogers, and Nowata counties. US 169 has undergone several widening projects that have brought US 169 to freeway and

expressway Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. * Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional s ...

standards. The highway is two lanes between Talala, Oklahoma and South Coffeyville except for a short four-lane portion north of Nowata, Oklahoma and ending at State Highway 28. An Alternate US 169 passes through Nowata following the original path of US 169. The alternate route begins at the intersection of Choctaw Avenue and reconnects with US 169 south of Nowata at its intersection with Maple Street. In January 2005,

Oklahoma Department of Transportation The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Sec ...

began a $16.8 million widening project on a mile-long stretch of US 169 (officially named 'Pearl Harbor Memorial Expressway', although this name is rarely used by Tulsans) from Interstate 244 (I-244) to I-44. The project widened the highway from four to six lanes, adding one lane in each direction. The project was completed in April 2006. This stretch of US 169 is traveled by approximately 106,000 vehicles per day.

Kansas

US 169 enters the state at Coffeyville as a four-lane road, and is a four-lane highway for about till the edge of the Coffeyville Industrial Park. A segment runs around Chanute is a freeway with fully controlled access with center concrete barrier, with two lanes in each direction. US 169 runs concurrently with US 59 and K-31 starting about south of Garnett and diverges northeast again immediately south of Garnett. The intersection immediately south of Garnett used to be a "braided" intersection with Stop and Yield signs. It was identified as a high crash location in 2001, and was rebuilt as a roundabout that opened in April 2006. The Kansas Department of Transportation is rebuilding or planning to rebuild several other rural intersections as roundabouts for increased safety. In Garnett, 6th Avenue (from US 169 to US 59 is also known as Business US 169. Going south, it veers off from US 169 about a mile and a half north of the US 169/US 59/K-31 roundabout intersection and travels west and south on 6th Avenue from US 169 to US 59/K-31 (Maple St.) before turning south onto US 59/K-31 and running concurrently with them, ending at the US 169/US 59/K-31 roundabout intersection. At Osawatomie the road becomes a full freeway; as well as, running concurrent with K-7. In southern Johnson County 169 becomes an

until its junction with

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 ...

in Olathe. From this point to the Missouri state line, US 169 alternates between freeways and surface streets. It follows I-35 to Shawnee Mission Parkway in Overland Park, then travels east to Rainbow Boulevard. US 169 then follows surface streets to its junction with I-70 near downtown

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 ...

. US 169 and I-70 enter Missouri together just after crossing the Kansas River.

Missouri

US 169 exits I-70 shortly after both roads enter Missouri via 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 ...

. It crosses the Missouri River by the Buck O'Neil Bridge and serves Kansas City Downtown Airport. Northbound, US 169 becomes a freeway at 5th Street south of the Missouri River, however southbound it ceases being a freeway north of the airport. An at-grade private driveway exists just south of the intersection with Route 9 as well as for airport access. At the northern end of the city an intersection is being reconstructed at NE 108th Street with completion in November 2013. Once this is completed it will be a freeway through I-435. This segment is also known as

Arrowhead Trafficway An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

, although this road neither passes nor approaches

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...

. US 169 is a four-lane rural expressway until it reaches Smithville, where it reverts to a two-lane rural highway. In St. Joseph, it forms most of the Belt Highway, a major commercial strip on the eastern edge of town, paralleling just inside I-29. US 169 angles northeastward out of St. Joseph, passing through many rural communities before exiting Missouri north of Grant City. US 169 intersects I-29 three times in Missouri: once in Gladstone, and twice in St. Joseph.

Iowa

US 169 enters Iowa just south of Redding. It intersects I-80 near De Soto. US 169 becomes an

at US 20, south of Fort Dodge. At

Iowa Highway 7 Iowa Highway 7 is a state highway that runs from east to west across the northwestern portion of Iowa. Highway 7 is a fair sized highway in Iowa, at 74 miles (119 kilometers) long. The western terminus of Iowa Highway 7 is at Iowa Highway 3 nor ...

on the northwest side of Fort Dodge it reverts to a two-lane highway again. This is changing, however, as a two-phase, $11 million project began in the spring of 2010 to widen the route to four lanes from Fort Dodge to

Humboldt Humboldt may refer to: People * Alexander von Humboldt, German natural scientist, brother of Wilhelm von Humboldt * Wilhelm von Humboldt, German linguist, philosopher, and diplomat, brother of Alexander von Humboldt Fictional characters * ...

. US 169 passes through Humboldt and Algona before it leaves Iowa north of Lakota.

Minnesota

US 169 is a major north–south highway in Minnesota. It enters the state at Elmore. Shortly after, it junctions with

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

at Blue Earth. It passes Mankato, crossing the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

. Between Mankato and the Twin Cities, US 169 is largely a rural highway. Before entering Le Sueur, US 169 crosses the Minnesota River again. At Shakopee, US 169 becomes a freeway, crossing the Minnesota River for a third time. The freeway ends in Champlin. US 169 crosses the Mississippi River at Anoka and follows concurrently with US 10 to Elk River, where US 169 splits off northbound through central Minnesota. The rest of the route in Minnesota is largely rural. The route passes the western side of Mille Lacs Lake. It terminates at US 53 in Virginia, in the Iron Range.

History

In Kansas, US 169 used run concurrent with US 69 from I-35 through Downtown Kansas City, Kansas and the Fairfax District across the Platte Purchase Bridge to I-635 until splitting at I-29 in Missouri. In Missouri, US 169 replaced Route 1 from

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

, Route 4 from St. Joseph to Stanberry, and all of Route 29 from Stanberry to Iowa. The part of Route 1 north of Kansas City had been Route 33 south of, and Route 50 north of,

Grayson Grayson may refer to: Places Canada * Grayson, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan United States * Grayson, California * Grayson, Georgia ** Grayson High School * Grayson, Kentucky * Grayson, Louisiana * Gra ...

from 1922 to 1926. Prior to 2008, US 169 traveled east on I-435 in Lenexa and Overland Park, Kansas, and then it traveled north on Metcalf Avenue. Prior to 1981, US 169 entered

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Major intersections

;Oklahoma : in Tulsa. The highways travel concurrently through Tulsa. : in Tulsa : in Tulsa : in Nowata ;Kansas : in

Coffeyville Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's southeastern region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,826. Coffeyville is the most popul ...

. The highways travel concurrently to east-northeast of Coffeyville. : south-southwest of Cherryvale. The highways travel concurrently for approximately . : north-northeast of Cherryvale : east of

Iola Iola or IOLA may refer to: * ''Iola'', the ''nom de plume'' of African-American writer Ida B. Wells * ''Iola'' (steamboat 1885), a steamboat active on Puget Sound from 1885 to 1915 * Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts, a method of raising money fo ...

: northeast of

Welda Welda is a village and constituent community ''(stadtteil)'' of the town of Warburg, in the district of Höxter in the east of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Welda has historically been known by the names of Wellede, W ...

. The highways travel concurrently to south of Garnett. : in

Olathe Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 population of 141,290. History 19th century Olathe was ...

. I-35/US 169 travels concurrently to

Merriam Merriam can refer to: People * Alan P. Merriam (1923–1980), American ethnomusicologist * Charles Edward Merriam (1874–1953), American political scientist * Charles W. Merriam (1877–1961), American insurance businessman and politician * Clinto ...

. US 50/US 169 travels concurrently to Lenexa. US 56/US 169 travels concurrently to the Westwood– Mission Woods city line. : in Lenexa : in Lenexa. The highways travel concurrently to Overland Park. : in

: in Kansas City. I-70/US 24/US 40/US 169 travels concurrently to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. ;Missouri : in Kansas City. The highways travel concurrently through Kansas City. : southeast of Northmoor : in

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

: in Kansas City : in

: in St. Joseph : in St. Joseph : in Stanberry. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. ;Iowa : in Afton. The highways travel concurrently to west of

Thayer Thayer may refer to: Places ;United States * Thayer, Illinois * Thayer, Indiana * Thayer, Iowa * Thayer, Kansas * Thayer, Michigan * Thayer, Missouri * Thayer, Nebraska *Thayer, West Virginia * Thayer County, Nebraska * Thayer Street, Providence, ...

. : in De Soto. US 6/US 169 travels concurrently to Adel. : in Ogden. The highways travel concurrently to east-southeast of

Beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...

. : south of Fort Dodge : in Algona ;Minnesota : in Blue Earth : on the

North Mankato North Mankato ( ) is a city in Nicollet and Blue Earth counties in the State of Minnesota. The population was 14,275 at the 2020 census. Most of North Mankato is in Nicollet County, but a small part extends into Blue Earth County. It is neig ...

– Mankato city line : in Bloomington : on the Eden Prairie– Edina city line : on the

St. Louis Park St. Louis Park is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 50,010 at the 2020 census. It is a first-ring suburb immediately west of Minneapolis. Other adjacent cities include Edina, Golden Valley, Minnetonka, Ply ...

– Golden Valley city line : on the Maple Grove– Brooklyn Park city line : in Anoka. The highways travel concurrently to Elk River. : in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. The highways travel concurrently through Grand Rapids. : in Virginia

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 169
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