U.S. Route 81 (US-81) 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 travels from

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

to the

Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing The Pembina–Emerson Border Crossing is a United States-Canada port of entry (POE) that connects the U.S. city of Pembina, North Dakota and the Canadian community of Emerson, Manitoba. On the American side, the crossing is connected by Interst ...

near

Pembina, North Dakota Pembina () is a city in Pembina County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 512 at the 2020 census. Pembina is located south of the Canada–US border. Interstate 29 passes on the west side of Pembina, leading north to the Canada� ...

. 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-81 is a main north–south highway central part of the state. Wichita is the only metropolitan area US-81 serves in the state but the highway does serve several other larger towns in Kansas such as (from south to north)

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 ...

and Concordia.

Route description

Nearly all of US-81 in Kansas is either freeway or expressway. The route enters Kansas as a two-lane near Caldwell. From South Haven to Wichita it closely parallels

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 ...

, which is also known as 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, ...

in that area. After South Haven, the only town of any significance along US 81 until Wichita is

, which is just west of the Turnpike along

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 ...

Int135sUS81sKS15sSRoadSigns-MM10 (40105234471)

At Wichita, US-81 joins Interstate 135. The two highways remain joined until Salina, with I-135's mile markers taking precedence. Interstate 135 ends at

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

but US-81 continues as a freeway to

Minneapolis 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 ...

, then as an expressway passing through Concordia before exiting the state north of Belleville. All but of US-81's alignment is maintained by KDOT. The entire section within Wellington is maintained by the city. The section within Wichita from the south city limit to I-135 is maintained by the city. The entire section within Concordia is maintained by the city.

History

The alignment of US-81 from Wichita to Salina prior to the completion Interstate 135 is fully intact. The prior alignment ran from where current US-81 breaks off for Interstate 135 at 47th street, north through Wichita along Broadway street. Old US-81 roughly parallels Interstate 135 to Newton. Old US-81 follows current K-15 through Newton between an interchange with US-50 and Hesston Road, where old US-81 breaks northwest onto Hesston road. Old US-81 then travels through the small Kansas towns of Hesston, Moundridge, and Elyria, before turning to the north, and going through the town of McPherson as Main street. North of McPherson, old US-81 continues to Lindsborg, where it follows current K-4 until an interchange with Interstate 135. Old US-81 passes under Interstate 135 and continues to parallel it about 1/2 mile to the east. Old US-81 then travels through Assaria, where it encounters another brief overlap with K-4 and K-104. Old US-81 continues through the city of Salina as Ninth street. North of Salina, Old US-81 encounters brief overlaps with K-143 and K-18. Old US-81 follows K-106 to an interchange with current US-81, where the two alignments are joined back together. In a June 8, 1960 resolution, K-225 was assigned from US-81 east to I-35W (modern I-135). K-225 became a section of US-81 by 1979, when US-81 was moved from its former alignment in Wichita to run along I-135. K-226 was first designated as a state highway in a March 8, 1961 resolution. The highway remained the same, then between 1979 and 1981, US-81 had been realigned onto I-35W and at this time K-226 was decommissioned. In an August 24, 1966 resolution, a section of the new I-35W was to be built south of Lindsborg. At this time, K-155 was proposed to connect US-81 to the new I-35W. This plan was later cancelled in a March 29, 1961 meeting, when US-81 was realigned onto I-35W to current exit 72, then west along the proposed K-155 (modern Smoky Valley Road) to the old US-81 alignment. From Salina to the Nebraska state line, the highway is named the Frank Carlson Memorial Highway, in honor of the late Senator

Frank Carlson Frank Carlson (January 23, 1893May 30, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 30th governor of Kansas, Kansas State representative, United States representative, and United States senator from Kansas. Carlson is the only Kansan to ...

. Senator Carlson was a native of Concordia who represented Kansas in the U.S. Senate from 1951 to 1969. Before serving in the Senate, he was Governor of Kansas from 1947 to 1950.

Major intersections

Business routes

McPherson

Business US-81 in Kansas is in McPherson. This route is long. It begins at the intersection of I-135, US-81, and US-56 east of McPherson. It goes west on Kansas Ave. for about two miles (3 km) in a concurrency with US-56 and turns south on Main Street for , passing Central Christian College and National Cooperative Refinery Association. At K-61, it exits east in a "wrong-way" concurrency with K-61 before ending at I-135 and US-81 southeast of McPherson. BUS US-81 in McPherson first appeared on the Kansas Department of Transportation Map in 1970 when Interstate 35W (now Interstate 135) was completed between McPherson and Salina.

Lindsborg

Former Business US-81 in Lindsborg began at the intersection of Interstate 135, US-81, and K-4 north of Lindsborg on an older routing of US-81. It shared a concurrency with K-4, which turns to the west in south Lindsborg. At this junction, it went for another mile south before turning east on Smoky Valley Road, ending later at I-135 and US-81. This BUS US-81 had a total length of . The Lindsborg business loop first appeared in 1970, at the same time as the McPherson loop.

References

External links