U.S. Route 160 (US-160) is a part of the

U.S. Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that runs from US-89 near

Tuba City, Arizona Tuba City ( nv, ) is an unincorporated town in Coconino County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is the second-largest community in Coconino County. The population of the census-designated place (CDP) was 8,611 at the 2010 cen ...

east to US-67 and Missouri Route 158 southwest of

Poplar Bluff, Missouri Poplar Bluff is a medium city in Butler County in Southeast Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar B ...

. In the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

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 th ...

, US-160 is a main east–west highway that runs from the Colorado border east to the Missouri border.

Route description

US-160 enters Kansas just west of

Saunders Saunders is a surname of English and Scottish patronymic origin derived from Sander, a mediaeval form of Alexander.See also: Sander (name) People * Ab Saunders (1851–1883), American cowboy and gunman * Al Saunders (born 1947), American foot ...

. It goes northeast to Johnson City, then turns east to go through Ulysses. Near Sublette, it intersects

U.S. Route 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...

and runs concurrently southward past its intersection with U.S. Route 56. It turns east and then runs concurrently with

U.S. Route 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific Railroad, Southern Pacific and ...

between

Plains In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands. In ...

and Meade. It continues east, and runs concurrently with U.S. Route 283 and U.S. Route 183. At Medicine Lodge, it intersects

U.S. Route 281 U.S. Route 281 (US 281) is a north–south United States Numbered Highway. At it is the longest continuous three-digit U.S. Route. The highway's northern terminus is at the International Peace Garden, north of Dunseith, North Dakota, at t ...

. It continues east and at

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 metr ...

, intersects

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 ...

and then

Interstate 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 ...

, on which 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, ...

is routed in the area. East of Interstate 35, it intersects

U.S. Route 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the Mexican border, w ...

in Winfield. It goes east from Winfield, then turns north to Burden, then goes east before going south to Elk City. It then turns east and goes through

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

after being concurrent with

U.S. Route 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other side ...

. It continues east, is briefly concurrent with

U.S. Route 169 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 ...

and then intersects U.S. Route 59 at Altamont. US-160 and US-59 then go into Oswego and separate. At

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, US-160 begins a concurrency with U.S. Route 69, which goes east to Crestline, then north to

Frontenac, Kansas Frontenac is the second largest city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,382. History Frontenac was established as a coal mining town in 1886 in the Cherokee-Crawford Coal Fields ...

. Also at Crestline, it picks up a second concurrency with

U.S. Route 400 U.S. Route 400 (US 400) is a mostly east–west U.S. Highway, commissioned in 1994. The highway's western terminus is in Granada, Colorado, at an intersection with US 385. The highway's eastern terminus is southwest of Joplin, Missouri, ...

, which goes north and ends just south of Pittsburg, Kansas. After Frontenac, it turns east and enters Missouri. The section of US-160 in Harper, from K-14 to slightly east of end of overlap with K-2 is maintained by the city. The entire section within Wellington is maintained by the city.

History

The section of US-160 from the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

border to Santa Fe was established in 1927 as K-46. The section from K-22, now US-83, south of Sublette east to Pittsburg was established in 1927 as K-12. US-160 was extended into Kansas between 1930 and 1931, which resulted in K-46 being decommissioned and K-12 being truncated to US-54 north of

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

. East of Coldwater, US-160 originally turned north to Wilmore then curved southwest and traveled through Sun City and Lake City to its current alignment west of Medicine Lodge. Then between 1941 and 1944, a new alignment was built to travel directly east–west from Coldwater to Medicine Lodge. East of Independence, US-160 originally followed US-169 north to K-37 then east to US-400, which it followed to its current alignment south of Pittsburg. Then in a December 9, 1998 resolution, US-160 was realigned over K-96 from US-169 east to US-69 Alternate then turned north toward Pittsburg. Between 1951 and 1952, the alignment was shifted south between the Colorado border and

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

Major intersections

References

External links

Kansas Department of Transportation State MapKDOT: Historic State Maps
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=160, statebefore=Colorado, state=Kansas, stateafter=Missouri

160 Year 160 ( CLX) was a leap 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 Atilius and Vibius (or, less frequently, year 913 '' Ab urbe condita''). ...