U.S. Route 83 in Kansas

U.S. Route 83 (US-83) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from the Veterans International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas north to the Canadian border, north of Westhope, North Dakota, where it continues as Manitoba Highway 83. In the U.S. state of Kansas, US-83 is a main north–south highway that runs from the Oklahoma border north to the Nebraska border.

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 83 in Kansas. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 83.

U.S. Route 83
US-83 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by KDOT
Existed	c. 1931[1]–present
Major junctions
South end	US-83 / US-270 at Oklahoma state line
	US-54 / US-270 in Liberal US-160 US-56 southwest of Sublette US-160 / K-144 US-54 / US-400 / K-156 in Garden City K-96 in Scott City US-40 in Oakley I-70 US-24 US-36 in Oberlin
North end	US 83 at Nebraska state line
Location
Counties	Seward, Haskell, Finney, Scott, Logan, Thomas, Sheridan, Decatur
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Kansas State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Spurs ← K-82 K-84 →

In 1927 the highway that first became known as US-83 was established as K-22. Then between 1930 and 1931, US-83 was extended into Kansas along K-22, which was decommissioned. Then between 1941 and 1944, US-83 and US-183 were swapped within Nebraska and a small portion into Kansas. US-83 was changed to turn north just northeast of Selden and the former alignment of US-83 from northeast of Selden to US-183 east of Woodruff became US-383, now K-383.

Route description

US-83 enters the Sunflower State, overlapped with US-270 in Seward County, approximately four miles (6.4 km) south of Liberal. From here it continues north to Liberal where it intersects US-54 and US-270 ends. North of Liberal, US-83 begins a concurrency with US-160, and the highways remain joined until reaching Sublette, the seat of Haskell County. US-83 and US-160 split north of Sublette; US-160 heads west toward Ulysses, and US-83 continues north toward Garden City.

At Garden City, US-50 and US-400 join US-83 for a brief concurrency on a bypass around the east and north sides of the city while US-83 Business follows the former routing through downtown. All three routes cross K-156, also known as Kansas Avenue, in the northwest portion of the city. At the north end of the US-50/US-83 Business route, US-83 splits and heads north toward Scott City, while US-50 and US-400 remain joined through the rest of the state. The highway passes through largely unpopulated areas of Finney County and Scott County before reaching a junction with K-96 in downtown Scott City.

In northern Scott County, K-4 has its origins at US-83, heading east toward Healy, and US-83 traverses through rolling farmlands until reaching Oakley, the seat of Logan County. US-83 reaches US-40 less than a mile west of I-70, and the two highways jog west for a brief multiplex before US-83 splits and crosses I-70.

North of I-70, US-83 intersects US-24 then curves northeast, east of Gem in Thomas County. US-83 continues its northeasterly track through Rexford and Selden. After passing through Selden, US-83 intersects the southern terminus of K-383 and the northern terminus of K-23. From here, US-83 turns north, crosses into Decatur County then continues north and intersects US-36 in Oberlin. Oberlin is the last area of significant population the highway passes in Kansas; the next city is McCook, Nebraska.

History

K-22
Location
Existed	1927[2]–c. 1931[1]

In 1927 the highway that first became known as US-83 was established as K-22. Then between 1930 and 1931, US-83 was extended into Kansas along K-22, which was decommissioned.[1] Between July 1938 and 1939, US-183 was altered to follow US-36 east to K-1 in Phillipsburg, which created a short overlap between US-83 and US-183 near Norton.[3][4] Then between 1941 and 1944, US-183 and US-83 were swapped within Nebraska and a small portion into Kansas. US-83 was changed to turn north just northeast of Selden and US-183 was changed to continue north past Phillipsburg, which eliminated the overlap between the two in Norton. The former alignment of US-83 from northeast of Selden to east of Woodruff became US-383, now K-383.[5][6]

Major intersections

County	Location	mi[7]	km	Destinations	Notes
Seward	​	0.000	0.000	US-83 south / US-270 east	Continuation into Oklahoma
	Liberal	3.116	5.015	US-54 / US-270 ends	Western terminus of US-270; northern end of US-270 overlap
	​	12.785	20.575	K-51 west	Eastern terminus of K-51
	​	21.627	34.805	US-160 east	Southern end of US-160 overlap
	​	28.650	46.108	K-190 west	Eastern terminus of K-190
Haskell	​	35.644	57.363	US-56
	​	41.663	67.050	US-160 west / K-144 east	Northern end of US-160 overlap; western terminus of K-144
Finney	​			US-83 Bus. north	Southern terminus of US-83 Business
	Garden City			US-50 east / US-400 east / US-50 Bus. west	Southern end of US-50 and US-400 overlap; eastern terminus of US-50 Business
				K-156 east	Western terminus of K-156
				US-50 west / US-400 west / US-50 Bus. east / US-83 Bus. south	Northern end of US-160 overlap; western terminus of US-50 Business; northern terminus of US-83 Business
Scott	Scott City			K-96
	​			K-4 east	Western terminus of K-4
	​			K-95 north	Southern terminus of K-95
	​			K-95 south	Northern terminus of K-95
Logan	Oakley			US-40 east to I-70	Southern end of US-40 overlap
				US-40 west	Northern end of US-40 overlap
Thomas	​			I-70 – Hays, Denver	I-70 exit 70; diamond interchange
	​			US-24
Sheridan	​			K-23 south / K-383 north	Northern terminus of K-23; southern terminus of K-383
Decatur	Oberlin			US-36
	​			US 83 north	Continuation into Nebraska
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Business route

U.S. Route 83 Business
Location	Garden City

U.S. Route 183 Business (US-183 Business) is a business route in Garden City. It begins at US-83 and runs north and ends at US-40.

References

1. Rand McNally and Company (1931). "Kansas" (Map). Clason's Road Map of Kansas. 1:2,000,000. Denver: Clason Map Company. p. 87 – via Rumsey Collection.
2. Rand McNally and Company (1927). "Kansas" (Map). Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas of the United States and Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, with a Brief Description of the National Parks and Monuments. 1:1,600,000. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. pp. 54–55. OCLC 2078375 – via Rumsey Collection.
3. State Highway Commission of Kansas (1938). Kansas State Highway System (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Topeka: State Highway Commission of Kansas. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
4. State Farm Insurance Companies Travel Bureau (1939). "Nebraska" (Map). Rand McNally Road map: Nebraska. 1:1,267,200. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. pp. 58–59. Retrieved July 26, 2020 – via Rumsey Collection.
5. State Highway Commission of Kansas (1941). Kansas State Highway System (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Topeka: State Highway Commission of Kansas. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
6. State Farm Insurance Companies Travel Bureau (1944). "Kansas" (Map). State Farm Road map: Kansas. 1:1,235,520. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. Retrieved July 26, 2020 – via Rumsey Collection.
7. Staff (2016). "Pavement Management Information System". Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 21, 2017.

External links

Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 83 in Kansas

KML is not from Wikidata

• Kansas Department of Transportation State Map
• KDOT: Historic State Maps