K-92 (Kansas Highway)
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K-92 is an approximately
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 ...
. western terminus is at south of the community of Rock Creek, and the eastern terminus is a continuation as Missouri State Route 92 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 ...
border by the City of Leavenworth. is co-designated as
U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south U.S. highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. Highway System, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It par ...
in Oskaloosa, from Oskaloosa to McLouth, and and in Leavenworth. The majority of the route passes through rural farmland and is almost entirely a two-lane roadway, except for the overlap with and and a portion of the overlap, which are four-lane. In the 1850s, a
military road A military road is a type of road built by an armed force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and ma ...
was built connecting
Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...
with
Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
, which follows or closely follows. 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. western terminus was part of the former Southwest Trail. The section of the highway that overlaps and closely follows or was part of the
George Washington National Highway George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...
and former King of Trails. The section of that overlaps with was part of the former Southwest Trail and former Corn Belt Route. was first designated as a state highway in 1926. At that time it began at south of Oskaloosa and ran east to the Missouri border. Between 1931 and 1932, the highway was extended further west to end at south of Rock Creek. In the mid 1950s, was realigned in Leavenworth to cross the new bridge over the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
. In the mid 1960s, the highway was rerouted slightly to make room for Perry Lake, which was being constructed by the
US Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
.


Route description

K-92's western terminus is at south of the community of Rock Creek, and the eastern terminus is a continuation as Missouri State Route 92 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 ...
border by the City of Leavenworth. The majority of the route passes through rural areas and is almost entirely a two-lane roadway, except for the overlap with and , and a portion of the overlap, which are four-lane. 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 2017, they determined that on average the traffic varied from 1,560 vehicles per day slightly west of Leavenworth, 12,700 vehicles per day along the overlap with and , to 12,800 vehicles per day slightly west of the Missouri border. The only section of included in the National Highway System is its overlap with and . The National Highway System is a system of highways important to the nation's defense, economy, and mobility. also connects to the National Highway System at its western terminus, K-4. All but of alignment is maintained by KDOT. Leavenworth maintains the highway from west of and to the eastern end of the overlap with and . Most of is a two-lane roadway, except for the overlap with and and a portion of the overlap, which are four-lane.


Jefferson County

begins at south of Rock Creek and begins travelling east through flat lands with scattered houses. After about it passes through the south end of Ozawkie. As the highway exits the city it begins to cross the causeway across Perry Lake. At the other side, the highway curves northeast and crosses Fishpond Creek roughly later. curves back east, crosses Little Slough Creek, then shifts south slightly. The highway advances east for roughly through rolling hills, then curves southeast and crosses Slough Creek. The road continues about then curves east and enters Oskaloosa as Jefferson Street. After roughly the roadway intersects and (Walnut Street). At this point, turns south and begins to overlap and for roughly then exits the city. After about , and turn east as continues south. and pass through mostly flat farmlands for about then curve south at Wellman Road. After roughly the highway curves back east. and continue east through flat rural farmlands for about then enters McLouth as Lake Street. After about turns north onto South Union Street, as continues east along Lake Street. then exits the city later. The highway advances north through mostly flat farmlands for roughly then crosses Prairie Creek. The road then curves east and crosses Prairie Creek again. passes through rolling hills with farmlands for then enters Leavenworth County.


Leavenworth County

advances through rural farmlands for about then passes through Springdale and curves northeast. After a short distance the road curves more east, just east of Yllier Lake. The highway briefly parallels Walnut Creek then intersects 227th Street, which was the former western terminus of . crosses Stranger Creek and then dips south briefly before curving to the northeast. The road meanders northeastward through a mix of forested and open lands for about then curves east. The highway continues for about then crosses Rock Creek. continues east for about then shifts south slightly. The roadway advances eastward through rural farmlands for roughly then curves northeast. The highway meanders northeast for about then curves east and enters Leavenworth as Spruce Street. continues through the city for about then intersects and , also known as 4th Street. At this point turns north and begins to overlap and . The highway soon crosses Three Mile Creek then reaches Metropolitan Avenue. Here, and curve turn west and turns east. continues east for a short distance then begins to cross the Centennial Bridge, which crosses a
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
track and the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
. About halfway across it enters into Missouri, where it continues as Missouri Route 92.


History


Early roads

In a March 3, 1853, act of Congress, $11,125 (equivalent to $ in ) was appropriated to build bridges and establish communications between
Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
and
Fort Riley Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...
. By 1857, $9,181 (equivalent to $ in ) has been expended and to finish building bridges and excavation, a further $50,000 (equivalent to $ in ) was requested. In 1863, the Kansas territorial legislature passed a resolution for Congress to make provisions for improving the road from Fort Leavenworth via Fort Riley to Fort Larned. At that time, the road lacked bridges in places and at some times of the year was impassable, which caused delay to the US Military. Certain sections of K-92 closely follow the former military road, especially near Ozawkie and Oskaloosa. Around 1910, a national system of
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 was created in the United States as well as in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. K-92's western terminus (K-4) was part of the former
Southwest Trail The Southwest Trail was a 19th-century pioneer route that was the primary passageway for American settlers bound for Texas. History The Southwest Trail, also known as the Old Military Road, replaced the older Natchitoches Trace, which ran f ...
, which ran from
El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. The section of the highway that overlaps K-7 and US-73 closely follows or was part of the
George Washington National Highway George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorg ...
, which ran from
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
east to
Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
, and former King of Trails, which ran from
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
north to
Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
. The section of K-92 that overlaps with US-59 was part of the former Southwest Trail and former Corn Belt Route, which began south of Marysville and traveled east to Bonner Springs.


Establishment and realignments

was first designated as a state highway in 1926. At that time it began at south of Oskaloosa and ran east to Leavenworth. It then overlapped (modern ) for a short distance then continued east to the Missouri border. By 1927, became and became . Between 1931 and 1932, the highway was extended further west to end at south of Rock Creek. Also by 1932, was extended from Valley Falls along to , then south along to , then east along . then left and went southward and ended in Tonganoxie. Sometime between April 1933 and 1934, was renumbered to and was renumbered to . Between 1934 and 1936, K-24 was renumbered to to avoid confusion with , which had been extended into Kansas. In a January 28, 1941 resolution, was realigned by Ozawkie to eliminate two turns and to fix some sharp curves. , and originally followed Cherokee Street in Rock Creek. Then in a November 18, 1953 resolution, , and was realigned slightly east onto Walnut Street. By 1966 the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
had begun building Perry Lake. Then in a November 9, 1966 resolution, a roughly section of was realigned to make room for the new
reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...
. The former crossing of the Missouri River was located slightly north of the current bridge. It was opened in 1872, and known as the Fort Bridge. In a March 24, 1954 resolution, it was approved to realign in Leavenworth to cross the new bridge being built over the Missouri River. The Centennial Bridge opened with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.
on April 2, 1955. Five thousand were in attendance to see Representative William R. Hull of Missouri and
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
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 ...
of Kansas cut the ribbon. The bridge cost $3.5 million (equivalent to $ in ) to build and opened as a toll road to repay bonds used to finance the construction. Tolls were initially set at $0.15 for passenger cars and $0.15 per axle for trucks (equivalent to $ in ). A plaque on one of the
piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...
read "A memorial dedicated to those who gave their lives to their country, 1854–1954." Six and a half miles of new road and bridge was needed to connect to Metropolitan Avenue in Leavenworth on the Kansas side and the existing section of Missouri Route 92 on the Missouri side.


Major intersections


References


External links


Kansas Department of Transportation State Map

KDOT: Historic State Maps
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219115640/http://ksdot.org/burtransplan/maps/HistoricStateMaps.asp , date=December 19, 2010 092 Transportation in Jefferson County, Kansas Transportation in Leavenworth County, Kansas