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 Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

in the U.S. state of

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. 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 Sta ...

(US-81) roughly north of

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

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 controlled-access 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 citie ...

, 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 t ...

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 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 Sta ...

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 Mexico–Uni ...

, 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 are ...

with a

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

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, 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 Colorado, specifically ...

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

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. 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 (KSDOT) 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 Kans ...

(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 status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. 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 Wale ...

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 (fluid conveyance), pipe, reinforced concrete or other materia ...

, 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. In October 2022 a complete over-haul and reconstruction of the bridge began after numerous delays. The rebuild is expected to be completed in November 2023.

Major intersections

References

External links

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