K-66 is a east–west

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 southeastern corner of 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 ...

. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 69 Alternate (US-69 Alt.) and US-400 in Riverton. Its eastern terminus is at the

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

state line near

Galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...

(where it continues as

Missouri Route 66 Route 66 is a fourteen-mile long road in Jasper County, Missouri. Route description Route 66 begins at the Kansas state line in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper County, where it continues west into that state as K-66 (Kansas highway), K-66. F ...

). This road is noteworthy in the fact that it used to be part of the famed US-66. After 1961, the nearby

Interstate 44 Interstate 44 (I-44) is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Falls, T ...

(I-44) offered a more direct route between Missouri and Oklahoma. In 1985, US-66 was decommissioned nationally. Kansas replaced the US-66 designation with K-66 on the portion of historic highway not numbered as US-69 Alt.

Route description

K-66 begins at a

roundabout A roundabout, a rotary and a traffic circle are types of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junct ...

with US-69 Alt. and US-400 in Riverton. From here the highway travels eastward, and after intersects Southeast 70th Street and Military Street. Shortly past this intersection, K-66 becomes a four-lane divided highway and then crosses the Spring River. It remains a divided highway for roughly then converts back to two-lane, and shortly later intersects the northern terminus of K-26 (South Main Street). Past K-26, the highway travels about then turns to the northeast and becomes a four-lane divided highway once again. It continues northeastward for a short distance before crossing into

and becoming

near

History

The easternmost section of K-66 was not US-66 until 1979. Prior to 1979, US-66 came in from Missouri as Front Street and turned south on Main Street before joining K-66. US-66 then followed K-66 to Riverton, where K-66 ends. Original US-66 through Kansas continues as a county road to the north and west of US-69 Alt. to

Baxter Springs Baxter Springs is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States, and located along Spring River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,888. History Indigenous settlement For thousands of years, indigenous peoples h ...

, and joins US-69 Alt. to the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

state line. The of US-66 in Kansas retain much of the character of the Mother Road. Thus the final (1985) alignment of US-66 completely matches present US-69 Alt. and K-66. US-69 Alt. was formed in 1985 when US-66 was decommissioned.

Major intersections

References

External links

Route 66 in Kansas
* {{compact state detail browse, type=US, route=66, state=Kansas, statebefore=Oklahoma, stateafter=Missouri 066

Transportation in Cherokee County, Kansas U.S. Route 69