Interstate 35

Interstate 35 overlays the southern half of the tolled Kansas Turnpike, from Sumner County (Exit 4) to U.S. 50 (Exit 127) at Emporia. The toll road connects Wichita with Topeka and Kansas City. It opened to traffic on October 26, 1956.¹

East from Emporia, Interstate 35 combines with U.S. 50 along a freeway to Ottawa and the Johnson County suburbs of Kansas City. U.S. 50 joins Interstate 435 east through Overland Park, while I-35 overlaps with portions of U.S. 56, U.S. 69 and U.S. 169 between Gardiner and south Kansas City. The Turkey Creek Expressway takes I-35 into Missouri along a 1960s-built freeway.

Interstate 35 Kansas Guides

All of the original turnpike bridges were constructed during a two year span. Salt corrosion over the intervening decades led to deterioration for many of the 345 bridges along the turnpike mainline. The Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) opted to sell additional bonds in 1983 to raise revenue to replace or rebuild the failing bridge decks system wide, add safety barriers between Kansas City and Topeka and make other upgrades to the toll road. Additional bonds were sold to extend the barrier project southwest in 1990.¹

The Johnson County Gateway project upgraded I-35, I-435 and K-10 at their crossroads in Lenexa. Finished in December 2012, Phase 1 of the project expanded Interstate 35 by two additional lanes from 119th Street (Exit 220) in Olathe to I-435 in Kansas City. Phase 2 work further widened I-35 from I-435 north to 95th Street (Exit 224) in Lenexa between Spring and November 2015. The 95th Street exit was converted to a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) in 2016, while upgrades were made at the cloverstack interchange with the Kansas City Beltway to January 2017. Phase 3 work, currently unfunded, will add a new flyover from Interstate 35 north to a distributor roadway along I-435 west to the K-10 freeway.

scenes

Sunflower Road heads north from Miami County near Hillside Lake into southern Johnson County ahead of I-35/U.S. 50 at Exit 202. 06/18/15

The diamond interchange joining Sunflower Road with I-35/U.S. 50 partially falls within the city limits of Edgerton. 06/18/15

The span taking Sunflower Road across I-35/U.S. 50 was built in 1959. 06/18/15

I-35/U.S. 50 overlap west to Emporia. Interstate 35 turns southwest from there along the Kansas Turnpike to Wichita. 06/18/15

Sunflower Road extends south from Nelson Street in the city of Edgerton to I-35/U.S. 50. 06/18/15

U.S. 50 overlaps with Interstate 35 north 19.5 miles from Sunflower Road to Interstate 435 in Lenexa. 06/18/15

95th Street west at the diverging diamond interchange (Exit 224) with I-35/U.S. 56-169 in Lenexa. 10/06/21

Antioch Road heads south between the Merriam and Overland Park city limits to a parclo interchange (Exit 230) with Interstate 35. 10/30/16

Interstate 35 passes through the city of Merriam south to travel between Shawnee and Overland Park. 10/30/16

A loop ramp joins Antioch Road with Interstate 35 northeast to Kansas City. 10/30/16

Photo Credits:

• 06/18/15 by AARoads.
• 10/30/16 by AARoads and Richie Kennedy.
• 10/06/21 by AARoads.

Connect with:
Interstate 135
Interstate 235
Interstate 435
Interstate 635
U.S. 54
U.S. 69
U.S. 169
U.S. 400
Highway 96

Page Updated 10-15-2021.