Was a diagonal highway once planned between Syracuse and Liberal? Or did US 270 run through there just to put a couple of county seats on a US highway?
Not sure. It wasn't part of the 1915 proposal. But, then, neither is any of US-270's route, really.
There was never any plan as far as I know. it was a bizarre routing through Kansas anyway. And Kansas wouldn't have even retained the little bit of it it has now if Oklahoma would have rolled it back to U.S. 64.
The only thing I can think of was that it was possibly meant to be a short-cut route to Pueblo or Denver so that you didn't have to go all the way up to Garden City.
The only way U.S. 270 would have made the slightest bit of sense in Kansas probably would have been to remove the duplex with K-51 from it and have it end in Hugoton.
It was U.S. 400 before U.S. 400 was a thing.
Kansas applied to AASHTO to extend US 270 north to I-70 in 1967 but it was denied.
US 270, at least as it exists today, is a deeply stupid highway west of Shawnee. Just drop it already.
Quote from: Jeff Morrison on March 29, 2018, 02:18:24 PM
US 270, at least as it exists today, is a deeply stupid highway west of Shawnee. Just drop it already.
It is used through Calumet to Geary. West of Geary it is duplexed to its termination and could easily be dropped.
Quote from: skluth on April 01, 2018, 02:18:10 PM
Quote from: Jeff Morrison on March 29, 2018, 02:18:24 PM
US 270, at least as it exists today, is a deeply stupid highway west of Shawnee. Just drop it already.
It is used through Calumet to Geary. West of Geary it is duplexed to its termination and could easily be dropped.
Most traffic following the route of 270 would bypass Calumet on Spur US 281 (which is itself a really silly designation, but whatever). No reason that section couldn't become SH-281B or SH-103 or something.
I would end US 270 in Geary, Oklahoma at US 281. The number of co-currencies for US 270 in Western Oklahoma (and formerly to Syracuse, Kansas) is insane. US 270 shouldn't go anywhere near Kansas. In a related manner, US 412 also should not be co-designated with other routes as much as it is in Western Oklahoma. I'd terminate 412 at US 54 in Guymon, Oklahoma.