U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of

Virginia, Minnesota Virginia is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the Mesabi Iron Range's commercial center. The population was ...

, to

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, at Memorial Drive.

Route description

Oklahoma

US 169 is a major north–south highway spanning in

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 ...

. The southern terminus for US 169 is Memorial Drive. The highway connects

to the south with the

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 ...

state border to the north at South Coffeyville, Oklahoma. US 169 travels through

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

, Rogers, and Nowata counties. US 169 has undergone several widening projects that have brought US 169 to

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

and expressway standards. The highway is two lanes between Talala, Oklahoma and South Coffeyville except for a short four-lane portion north of Nowata, Oklahoma and ending at State Highway 28. An Alternate US 169 passes through Nowata following the original path of US 169. The alternate route begins at the intersection of Choctaw Avenue and reconnects with US 169 south of Nowata at its intersection with Maple Street. In January 2005,

Oklahoma Department of Transportation The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) is an government agency, agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction and maintenance of the state's transportation infrastructure. Under the leadership of the Oklahoma Se ...

began a $16.8 million widening project on a mile-long stretch of US 169 (officially named 'Pearl Harbor Memorial Expressway', although this name is rarely used by Tulsans) from

Interstate 244 Interstate 244 (I-244), also known as the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Expressway (in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.) since 1984, the Crosstown Expressway, and the Red Fork Expressway, is a east–west Interstate Highway bypass rou ...

(I-244) to I-44. The project widened the highway from four to six lanes, adding one lane in each direction. The project was completed in April 2006. This stretch of US 169 is traveled by approximately 106,000 vehicles per day.

Kansas

US 169 enters the state at Coffeyville as a four-lane road, and is a four-lane highway for about till the edge of the Coffeyville Industrial Park. A segment runs around Chanute is a

with fully controlled access with center concrete barrier, with two lanes in each direction. US 169 runs concurrently with US 59 and K-31 starting about south of Garnett and diverges northeast again immediately south of Garnett. The intersection immediately south of Garnett used to be a "braided" intersection with Stop and Yield signs. It was identified as a high crash location in 2001, and was rebuilt as a roundabout that opened in April 2006. The Kansas Department of Transportation is rebuilding or planning to rebuild several other rural intersections as roundabouts for increased safety. In Garnett, 6th Avenue (from US 169 to US 59 is also known as Business US 169. Going south, it veers off from US 169 about a mile and a half north of the US 169/US 59/K-31 roundabout intersection and travels west and south on 6th Avenue from US 169 to US 59/K-31 (Maple St.) before turning south onto US 59/K-31 and running concurrently with them, ending at the US 169/US 59/K-31 roundabout intersection. At Osawatomie the road becomes a full freeway; as well as, running concurrent with K-7. In southern Johnson County 169 becomes an expressway until its junction with

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 ...

in Olathe. From this point to the Missouri state line, US 169 alternates between freeways and surface streets. It follows I-35 to Shawnee Mission Parkway in Overland Park, then travels east to Rainbow Boulevard. US 169 then follows surface streets to its junction with I-70 near downtown

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

. US 169 and I-70 enter Missouri together just after crossing the Kansas River.

Missouri

US 169 exits I-70 shortly after both roads enter Missouri via the Lewis and Clark Viaduct. It crosses the Missouri River by the Buck O'Neil Bridge and serves Kansas City Downtown Airport. Northbound, US 169 becomes a freeway at 5th Street south of the Missouri River, however southbound it ceases being a freeway north of the airport. An at-grade private driveway exists just south of the intersection with Route 9 as well as for airport access. At the northern end of the city, an intersection was reconstructed at NE 108th Street in November 2013. US 169 is a freeway through I-435. This segment is also known as Arrowhead Trafficway, although this road neither passes nor approaches Arrowhead Stadium. US 169 is a four-lane rural expressway until it reaches Smithville, where it reverts to a two-lane rural highway. In St. Joseph, it forms most of the Belt Highway, a major commercial strip on the eastern edge of town, paralleling just inside I-29. US 169 angles northeastward out of St. Joseph, passing through many rural communities before exiting Missouri north of Grant City. US 169 intersects I-29 three times in Missouri: once in Gladstone, and twice in St. Joseph.

Iowa

US 169 enters Iowa just south of Redding. It intersects

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

near De Soto. US 169 becomes an expressway at US 20, south of Fort Dodge. At Iowa Highway 7 on the northwest side of Fort Dodge it reverts to a two-lane highway again. US 169 passes through Humboldt and Algona before it leaves Iowa north of

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

Minnesota

US 169 is a major north–south highway in Minnesota. It enters the state at Elmore. Shortly after, it junctions with

I-90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...

at Blue Earth. It passes

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

, crossing the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

. Between Mankato and the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

, US 169 is largely a rural highway. Before entering Le Sueur, US 169 crosses the Minnesota River again. At Shakopee, US 169 becomes a

, crossing the Minnesota River for a third time. The freeway ends in Champlin. US 169 crosses 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 ...

at Anoka and follows concurrently with US 10 to Elk River, where US 169 splits off northbound through central Minnesota. The rest of the route in Minnesota is largely rural. The route passes the western side of Mille Lacs Lake. It terminates at US 53 in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, in the Iron Range.

History

In Kansas, US 169 used to run concurrent with US 69 from I-35 through Downtown Kansas City, Kansas and the Fairfax District across the Platte Purchase Bridge to I-635 until splitting at I-29 in Missouri. In

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 ...

, US 169 replaced Route 1 from

to St. Joseph, Route 4 from St. Joseph to Stanberry, and all of Route 29 from Stanberry to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. The part of Route 1 north of Kansas City had been Route 33 south of, and Route 50 north of, Grayson from 1922 to 1926. Prior to 2008, US 169 traveled east on I-435 in Lenexa and

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

, and then it traveled north on Metcalf Avenue. Prior to 1981, US 169 entered the

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Major intersections

;Oklahoma : in

. The highways travel concurrently through Tulsa. : in Tulsa : in Tulsa : in Nowata ;Kansas : in Coffeyville. The highways travel concurrently to east-northeast of Coffeyville. : south-southwest of Cherryvale. The highways travel concurrently for approximately . : north-northeast of Cherryvale : east of Iola : northeast of Welda. The highways travel concurrently to south of Garnett. : in Olathe. I-35/US 169 travels concurrently to

Merriam Merriam can refer to: People * Alan P. Merriam (1923–1980), American ethnomusicologist * Charles Edward Merriam (1874–1953), American political scientist *Charles W. Merriam (1877–1961), American insurance businessman and politician * Clinton ...

. US 50/US 169 travels concurrently to Lenexa. US 56/US 169 travels concurrently to the Westwood– Mission Woods city line. : in Lenexa : in Lenexa. The highways travel concurrently to

Overland Park Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the pop ...

. : in

: in Kansas City. I-70/US 24/US 40/US 169 travels concurrently to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. ;Missouri : in Kansas City. The highways travel concurrently through Kansas City. : southeast of Northmoor : in

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

: in Kansas City : in St. Joseph : in St. Joseph : in St. Joseph : in Stanberry. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

. ;Iowa : in Afton. The highways travel concurrently to west of Thayer. : in De Soto. US 6/US 169 travels concurrently to Adel. : in Ogden. The highways travel concurrently to east-southeast of

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

. : south of Fort Dodge : in Algona ;Minnesota : in Blue Earth : on the North Mankato–

city line : in Bloomington : on the

Eden Prairie Eden Prairie is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It had a population of 64,198 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-largest city in Minnesota. The city is adjacent to the north bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from ...

–

Edina EDINA is a centre for digital expertise, based at the University of Edinburgh as a division of the Information Services Group. Services EDINA front and back ends, front-end services (those accessed directly by the user) are available free at ...

city line : on the St. Louis Park– Golden Valley city line : on the Maple Grove– Brooklyn Park city line : in Anoka. The highways travel concurrently to Elk River. : in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. The highways travel concurrently through Grand Rapids. : in

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 169
{{s-end 69-1 69-1 69-1 1