U.S. Route 283 is a spur of

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 ...

. It currently runs for 731 miles (1,175 km) from Brady, Texas at

U.S. Route 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...

Lexington, Nebraska Lexington is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 10,348 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dawson County. Lexington is located in southern Nebraska, on the Platte River, southeast of North Platte. It si ...

at U.S. Route 30. It passes through the states of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

Route description

Texas

US 283 begins at an intersection with

US 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...

about three miles northwest of Brady. The highway travels through rural areas of McCulloch County before entering Coleman County. US 283 maintains its rural route through Coleman County before entering the town of Santa Anna, beginning an overlap with

US 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short distan ...

. The two highways travel northwest together to the town of Coleman before they split. US 283 returns to a rural route once again and intersects State Highway 36 in southern Callahan County. The highway runs through the town of

Baird Baird may refer to: Places United States * Baird, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Baird, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Baird, Texas, a city * Baird, Washington, a community * Baird Mountains, Alaska * Baird Inlet, Alaska ...

where it crosses

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...

. US 283 next enters the town of Albany and shares a short overlap with US 180/ State Highway 6. Just south of Throckmorton the highway begins its lengthy overlap with US 183. The two highways travel to Seymour and begin an overlap with

US 277 U.S. Route 277 (US 277, US-277) is a north–south United States Highway that is a spur route of U.S. Route 77. It runs for 633 miles (1,019 km) across Oklahoma and Texas. US 277's northern terminus is in Newcastle, Oklahoma at I ...

and US 82. US 183/283 leave US 82/277 in the town of Mabelle. US 183 leaves US 283 in Vernon at

US 287 U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is a north–south (physically northwest–southeast) United States highway. At long, it is the second longest three-digit U.S. Route, behind US 281. It serves as the major truck route between Fort Worth and Am ...

/ US 70. US 283 travels in a slight northwest direction and crosses over the Red River into

. In Texas, US-283 originally went southeast from Albany via Cisco, Rising Star, and Brownwood to end at Brady. In 1951, this route became US 380 (later SH 6), US 183, and US 377. It was rerouted to its current routing between Albany and Brady in 1951, replacing the old route of US 183.

Oklahoma

US-283 enters Oklahoma from Texas in rural Jackson County at a crossing of the Red River. It runs concurrently with State Highway 5 for several miles past

Elmer Elmer is a name of Germanic British origin. The given name originated as a surname, a medieval variant of the given name Aylmer, derived from Old English ''æþel'' (noble) and ''mær'' (famous). It was adopted as a given name in the United State ...

and continues north to

Altus Altus or ALTUS may refer to: Music *Alto, a musical term meaning second highest musical or vocal type *Altus (voice type), a vocal type also known as countertenor Places * Altus, Arkansas, US **Altus AVA, a wine-growing region near Altus, Arkans ...

, the largest Oklahoma town on the route. At the intersection of U.S. Highway 62 in Altus, SH-5 splits off and 283 joins with State Highway 6 for the next before it takes a western bend to the town of Mangum. The route continues northwesterly until it crosses I-40 at Sayre. Through northwestern Oklahoma, US-283 passes through very sparsely populated areas and is the main north–south traffic corridor. After passing through

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

, 283 meanders through Black Kettle National Grassland then crosses the Canadian River. It continues north to Arnett where it joins with State Highway 51 west for then turns north again passing through Shattuck and

Laverne Laverne or La Verne may refer to: Places * La Verne, California, a city ** University of La Verne, a private research university in La Verne * Laverne, Oklahoma, a town Other uses * Laverne (name) See also *Verne (disambiguation) Verne may refer ...

following part of State Highway 15 along the way. North of Laverne, 283 turns west for to visit the town of Rosston then turns north again to cross the Cimarron River shortly before leaving the state for Kansas. Some points of interest along US-283 in Oklahoma include the Museum of the Western Prairie in Altus; the Old Greer County Museum in Mangum; Black Kettle National Grassland and the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site near Cheyenne and the Shattuck Windmill Museum.

Kansas

US-283 enters from Oklahoma south of Englewood in Clark County, and passes through largely unpopulated areas of the county until joining up for a brief concurrency with

U.S. Route 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 ...

. Following the split, US-283 continues north through Minneola before making its way into Dodge City, the only town with a population of more than 3,300 the highway passes through in the Sunflower State. At Dodge City, US-283 jogs east. It meets with U.S. Route 400, but the two highways do not stay joined for long; US-400 splits and heads southeast towards Greensburg, while US-283 continues eastbound past the

Dodge City Regional Airport Dodge City Regional Airport is three miles east of Dodge City, in Ford County, Kansas. It is used for general aviation and is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 cate ...

. After passing the airport, the route then bends northeast before joining

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlanti ...

and

U.S. Route 56 U.S. Route 56 (US 56) is an east–west United States highway that runs for approximately in the Midwestern United States. US 56's western terminus is at Interstate 25 Business (I-25 Bus.), US 412 and New Mexico State Road 21 (NM 21) in Springe ...

for a brief stint. US-50 and US-56 split east towards Kinsley, and US-283 resumes a due northerly course through open fields before reaching Jetmore, where K-156 crosses in an east–west direction. K-156 heads to Garden City westbound and

Great Bend Great Bend is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is named for its location at the point where the course of the Arkansas River bends east then southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

eastbound. The highway continues on another stretch through sparsely populated farmland before reaching Ness City and K-96, the first of two junctions in Ness County. The other junction in the county is at K-4 near

Ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

. The highway reaches Interstate 70 in WaKeeney, and makes a brief jog east through downtown WaKeeney before turning back to the north. US-283 between Ransom and I-70 was closed for much of 2006 as part of a major reconstruction program. The highway continues north to Hill City, where it crosses

U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mic ...

. The route stays on course until it reaches southern Norton County, where it has a brief concurrency with K-9. At the split, K-9 continues west to Lenora, and US-283 resumes a straight northerly direction until the city of

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada *Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

, where after crossing

U.S. Route 36 U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection i ...

, it reaches

later. With the exception of small sections in Dodge City, all portions of US-283 in Kansas are two-laned.

Nebraska

U.S. Highway 283 enters Nebraska south of

Arapahoe The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...

. At Arapahoe, US 283 meets

U.S. Highway 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War Grand Army of the Republic, veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast fr ...

and

U.S. Highway 34 U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches elevation ...

. It continues north through

Elwood Elwood may refer to any one of the following:: Places ;In Australia *Elwood, Victoria ;In the United States of America *Elwood, Illinois *Elwood, Indiana *Elwood, Kansas * Elwood, Missouri *Elwood, Nebraska * Elwood-Magnolia, New Jersey *Elwood, N ...

, then turns northeast. Near Lexington, US 283 crosses the Platte River and intersects

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

. It continues north into Lexington as a divided highway, turns back to a 2 lane road, crosses the Union Pacific railroad tracks via an overpass, and after taking 2 right turns on city streets, it ends at an intersection with

U.S. Highway 30 U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...

Major intersections

;Texas : northwest of Brady : in Santa Anna. US 67/US 283 travels concurrently through Santa Anna. US 84/US 283 travels concurrently to Coleman. : in

: in Albany. The highways travel concurrently through Albany. : south of Throckmorton. The highways travel concurrently to Vernon. : in Throckmorton : south-southwest of Seymour. The highways travel concurrently to Mabelle. : north-northeast of Seymour. The highways travel concurrently to Mabelle. : in Vernon ;Oklahoma : in

: in Sayre : east of Arnett. The highways travel concurrently to west of Arnett. : south-southeast of

: east of Rosston. The highways travel concurrently to northwest of Rosston. ;Kansas : north of Englewood. The highways travel concurrently to south-southeast of Minneola. : in Minneola : south of Dodge City. US 56/US 283 travels concurrently to . US 283/US 400 travels concurrently to Dodge City. : east-northeast of Dodge City. The highways travel concurrently to west-southwest of

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a shipwright is ...

. : in WaKeeney : in Hill City : in

;Nebraska : in

: south of Lexington : in Lexington

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 283
{{DEFAULTSORT:83-2 United States Numbered Highway System U.S. Highways in Kansas U.S. Highways in Nebraska U.S. Highways in Oklahoma 2