Freeway completion dates for Kansas

[J N Winkler]

I am posting to ask if anyone has attempted to compile a freeway completion map or a freeway completion database for Kansas.  Such a compilation would include each freeway segment cross-referenced by completion date, length, and location.

I have searched and not found anything like this on the Web.  I am considering preparing one using the historic official state maps available from the KDOT website (notwithstanding the definite methodological limitations of this approach), but since this will mean careful scrutiny of over 100 separate map sheets for evidence of newly opened freeway lengths, I would rather not reinvent the wheel if I can avoid it.

[Scott5114]

Unfortunately, lack of a regular Kansas contributor on Wikipedia means that such research is not available from there yet.

[J N Winkler]

Unfortunately, lack of a regular Kansas contributor on Wikipedia means that such research is not available from there yet.

Are there any other states for which this has been tried?

[roadman65]

I know that there is a major part of I-35 (FREE) that was built later on than the rest.  I do not know which section, but during the freeway gap, the KTA was defacto I-35 until it was completed.  I believe it was in the early 70's when it got opened to be through Kansas.

[qguy]

Are there any other states for which this has been tried?

I've done this for all of the freeways (of any type–interstate or "interstate lookalike," as PennDOT engineers would say) in Pennsylvania, but it's not digital. It consists of one of PennDOT's state transportation maps with my own notations written all over it (IOW, inscribed section dividers and the completion year of each section).

[Scott5114]

Unfortunately, lack of a regular Kansas contributor on Wikipedia means that such research is not available from there yet.

Are there any other states for which this has been tried?

The most extensively researched state on Wikipedia is, far and away, Michigan, thanks to an editor who goes under the username Imzadi1979 (he contributes to this forum under the username "bulldog1979"). I don't know that all of the freeways have been researched by him, but a good deal of them have been, especially outside of metro Detroit. I would say, ballpark, that if someone were to attempt a comparable map for Michigan, they could probably get at least 75% of their data from Wikipedia.

[JREwing78]

And, of course, can't forget Chris Bessert's contributions:
http://www.michiganhighways.org/
http://wisconsinhighways.org/ (not recently updated, but pretty solid for historical research)

[J N Winkler]

I am posting a preliminary listing which includes completion information from map editions spanning 1957-1972.  The 1972 edition shows I-70, I-470, I-335, and I-235 complete; all rural lengths of I-135 complete; all urban lengths of I-35 complete; and all segments of I-435 as then authorized complete.  (As of 1972, I-35 still had a gap between US 59 south of Ottawa and the east end of the Emporia bypass, and I-135 had a gap where the Canal Route segment in Wichita was still unfinished.)  The maps also show freeway lengths of US 54, US 69, and US 81 which had been completed by 1972, but with inconsistent symbology and in a way which leaves the termini of freeway segments ambiguous (see discussion of methodological problems below).

In the listing below, exit numbers and interchanging route designations are as they currently exist, not necessarily as they existed when the relevant segments of freeway opened.

Map edition first shown	Route	Length
1957	I-35, I-335, I-470, I-70	Entire length of Kansas Turnpike plus a connecting length of untolled freeway (including MP 0-MP 127 of I-35, entire length of I-335, I-70 from East Topeka Interchange at Exit 182 to 7th Street Expressway interchange at Exit 422A)
1957	I-70	Exit 353 (K-4 westbound) to Exit 357B (US 75/Gage Blvd. in Topeka) (this segment carries Kansas' claim to first Interstate segment funded under the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act)
1960	US 69	18th Street Expressway from I-35 to I-70
1960	I-70	Exit 422A (7th Street Expressway) to Exit 423B (James Street) (both in Kansas City)
1960	I-35	Exit 183 (US 59 Ottawa) to Exit 232B (18th Street Expressway interchange)
1960	I-70	Exit 341 (K-30 Maple Hill) to Exit 353
1960	I-70	Exit 275 (K-15 Abilene) to Exit 304 (Humboldt Creek Road)
1960	I-70	Exit 115 (K-198 Collyer) to Exit 135 (K-147 Ogallah) (divided section appears to have continued until approximately MP 137)
1961	I-470	Entire untolled length on west side of Topeka
1962	I-135, I-235	I-135 from southern terminus (I-35 Exit 50, South Wichita Interchange) to Exit 1C (I-235 northbound); I-235 from southern terminus to Exit 15 (Broadway Ave.) (this entire route originally opened as I-235, the southern part later being transferred to I-135)
1962	US 54	West Street intersection to Vine Street intersection (both in west Wichita, approximately one mile; includes both the Edwards Ave./Southwest Blvd. and Meridian Ave. interchanges, which were separate folded-diamond partial cloverleafs rather than, as now, a combined split-diamond interchange)
1962	US 54	Vine Street intersection to Main Street intersection (both in west Wichita; includes the Seneca Street interchange and old Arkansas River flyover)
1962	I-70	Exit 328 (K-99 Wamego) to Exit 341 (K-30 Maple Hill)
1962	I-70	Exit 252 (K-143 Ninth Street/Salina) to Exit 275 (K-15 Abilene)
1962	I-70	Exit 93 (K-23 Grainfield) to Exit 115 (K-198 Collyer)
1962	I-135	Exit 30 (US 50/K-15) to Exit 34 (K-15) (this is the Newton bypass)
1962	I-35	Exit 232A (US 69 18th Street Expressway) to Exit 233A (Southwest Blvd./Mission Road) (both in suburban Wyandotte County)
1962	I-70	Exit 357B (US 75/Gage Blvd.) to Exit 361A (1st Ave.) (both in Topeka)
1963	I-70	Exit 313 (K-177 Manhattan) to Exit 328 (K-99 Wamego)
1965	I-70	Exit 199 (K-231 Dorrance) to Exit 252 (K-143 Ninth Street/Salina)
1965	I-70	Exit 304 (Humboldt Creek Road) to Exit 313 (K-177 Manhattan)
1965	I-135	Exit 86 (Mentor Road) to Exits 95A-B (I-70)
1965	I-70	Exit 361A (1st Ave.) to Exit 366 (East Topeka Interchange) (both in Topeka)
1965	I-235	Exit 15 (Broadway Ave.) to present terminus, continuing as K-254 (both in Wichita)
1965	I-435	Exit 83 (I-35) to Exit 79 (Metcalf Ave.) (both in suburban Johnson County)
1965	I-70	Exit 135 (K-147 Ogallah) to Exit 159 (US 183 Hays)
1965	I-70	Exit 53 (K-25 Colby) to Exit 93 (K-23 Grainfield)
1965	I-135	Exit 1C (I-235 northbound) to Exit 2 (Hydraulic Ave.) (both in Wichita)
1967	I-135	Exit 78 (K-4 Bridgeport) to Exit 86 (Mentor Road)
1967	I-70	Exit 159 (US 183 Hays) to Exit 199 (K-231 Dorrance)
1967	I-70	Exit 45 (US 24 Levant) to Exit 53 (K-25 Colby)
1967	I-135	Exit 2 (Hydraulic Ave.) to Exit 3B (Pawnee Ave.) (both in Wichita)
1967	K-254	Present western terminus (at I-135/I-235) to 45th Street North/Hillside (both in Sedgwick County)
1967	I-35	Exit 127 (US 50/KTA Emporia Interchange) to Exit 133 (US 50 Emporia) (this is the I-35 northern bypass of Emporia)
1969	I-435	Exit 79 (Metcalf Ave.) to Exit 75B (State Line Rd.) at Missouri state line
1969	I-70	Exit 19 (US 24 Goodland) to Exit 45 (US 24 Levant)
1969	I-135	Exit 58 (K-61 McPherson) to Exit 78 (K-4 Bridgeport)
1969	I-35	Exit 233A (Southwest Blvd./Mission Road) to Exit 234 (US 169 7th Street Trafficway/Rainbow Blvd.) (both in suburban Wyandotte County)
1969	US 54	K-251 exit (Cheney Reservoir) to current end of freeway at 263rd Street West (all in rural Sedgwick County; this includes bypasses of Garden Plain and Cheney; approximately 8 miles)
1970	I-70	Colorado state line to Exit 19 (US 24 Goodland)
1971	US 69	Bucyrus exit (223rd Street) to (probably) 127th Street (southern Johnson and northern Miami Counties)
1971	I-135	Exit 9 (21st Street in Wichita) to Exit 30 (K-15/US 50 south of Newton)
1971	US 81	I-135 Exits 95A-B (I-70) to K-93 intersection near Minneapolis (approximately 16 miles in Saline and Ottawa Counties)
1971	I-35	Exit 234 (US 169 7th Street Trafficway/Rainbow Blvd.) to Missouri state line
1972	I-135	Exit 34 (K-15 Newton) to Exit 58 (K-61 McPherson)

A short summary of methodological problems:

*  Until the 1962 map edition, there was no clear differentiation between freeways and divided highways, the same double-line stroke being used for both.  Open circles were used as symbols for both towns and freeway interchanges on the single-sheet state map, making the two difficult to differentiate.  Ramp sketches for city insets were introduced with this edition; previously interchange locations were invisible.  (This is why the date of 1962 for the old Kellogg expressway in Wichita between West and Seneca is suspect.  Opening dates of 1947 and 1953 have been suggested for this length.)

*  Where a segment of finished freeway ends at interchanges, termini are easy to identify.  Where one or both ends consists of a simple termination of access control (whether or not the divided section also terminates) in the middle of nowhere, the true location of that terminus or those termini is almost impossible to identify from the map.  (This is why the imputed length of the "first interstate in the country" segment is just four miles while the map includes a photo of the brag sign giving the actual length as eight miles.)

*  In later editions, apparently inconsistent symbology is used.  For example, US 54 in western Sedgwick County and US 81 north of the I-135 terminus are identical in design and construction:  rural freeways.  However, the former is shown as an expressway with occasional grade separations while the latter is shown using the same three-line stroke as free Interstates and the Turnpike.  It is possible US 54 had flat intersections between the grade separations for K-251 (Cheney) and K-163 (Garden Plain) when it first opened, but I think this is deeply improbable.  Rather, I suspect it is based on legalities invisible from the physical fabric of the highway, and may be related to the reason US 81 has prohibited-class signs while US 54 does not.

*  In later editions, the same two-line stroke is used for both expressways and state- and US-route freeways in urban areas.  This makes it difficult to tell where in the Johnson County urbanized area the US 69 rural freeway north from Bucyrus terminated.  (127th Street, the present location of the Overland Parkway/Metcalf Avenue wye, is just a guess.)  It also makes it impossible to tell whether the lengths of US 24, (then) US 75 Alternate, and relocated US 75 in north Topeka (all in place by 1970, and all shown with intermittent ramp sketches indicating interchanges) were part of a true freeway route, and thus to attribute opening dates and segment termini to them.

*  Opening dates and segment termini are also difficult to attribute to segments of surface roads and bridges that have been incorporated into freeways since the adaptations that allow them to function as parts of freeways are not shown clearly on the inset maps, let alone the single-sheet state maps.  This is why the table given above does not include an opening date for the Intercity Viaduct segment of I-70, even though it is clear the whole Colorado-Missouri route was finished by 1970.

[Alps]

Unfortunately, lack of a regular Kansas contributor on Wikipedia means that such research is not available from there yet.

Are there any other states for which this has been tried?

The most extensively researched state on Wikipedia is, far and away, Michigan, thanks to an editor who goes under the username Imzadi1979 (he contributes to this forum under the username "bulldog1979"). I don't know that all of the freeways have been researched by him, but a good deal of them have been, especially outside of metro Detroit. I would say, ballpark, that if someone were to attempt a comparable map for Michigan, they could probably get at least 75% of their data from Wikipedia.

Do you happen to know who that is? Having talked with him, I'd be surprised if he's missing anything.

[Scott5114]

Unfortunately, lack of a regular Kansas contributor on Wikipedia means that such research is not available from there yet.

Are there any other states for which this has been tried?

The most extensively researched state on Wikipedia is, far and away, Michigan, thanks to an editor who goes under the username Imzadi1979 (he contributes to this forum under the username "bulldog1979"). I don't know that all of the freeways have been researched by him, but a good deal of them have been, especially outside of metro Detroit. I would say, ballpark, that if someone were to attempt a comparable map for Michigan, they could probably get at least 75% of their data from Wikipedia.

Do you happen to know who that is? Having talked with him, I'd be surprised if he's missing anything.

Yes, I do know him, rather well actually (I drove around Marquette County with him last summer), though I'll defer to him to determine if he would like to publish his real name. I know he still has a lot of polishing left to do, but I think the basic research is in place. I just don't know how much of the remaining work to be done is on freeways versus surface roads.

[route56]

Sounds like this would be a good place to reference Milestones.

I decided to make today a Kansas Highways R&D day, and scanned a good chunk of KDOT's in-house history in hopes of clearing up information on when some of these segments of Kansas freeway opened up.

[J N Winkler]

I think that even if Milestones doesn't include anything handy like a list of completion dates, it should include citations to other resources that might enable us to pin down dates.

I didn't start this project with very many illusions about the official state maps being able to carry us all the way.  I think we can count on them to corral Interstate segment openings to within a year or two, at which point it becomes feasible to use archive newspaper searches to pin down the specific opening dates.  With state and US routes this is more difficult because of symbology issues--old USGS 7.5' quadrangle maps may be able to help.

[route56]

I can say with absolute certainty that the Turnpike opened on October 25, 1956. I do not know about the segment of freeway between the end of the Turnpike and 7th Street.

[J N Winkler]

The Shawnee quadrangle (USGS 7.5' topo series) shows this area, and the 1957 edition shows the finished Turnpike west of the 18th Street Expressway interchange and an "under construction" road to the east (similar linestyle as the Turnpike, but hatched).  The up and down lanes flare out (future ramps?) just before 7th Street, where it ends.

I vaguely remember Paul W. Kearney's book I drive the turnpikes and survive (1956) saying that the Kansas Turnpike ended at Muncie Boulevard in Kansas City.  Notwithstanding its name implying that it was originally a surface street, I suspect it was actually a freeway built on new location, possibly for the specific purpose of connecting to the Turnpike, since it is not shown on the 1934 edition of the Shawnee quadrangle.  The current edition of the Shawnee quadrangle shows the length of I-70 immediately east of the Turnpike as the Muncie Expressway.

I think the name has something to do with Muncie Bluff Road, which was later renamed to Kaw Drive and runs parallel to and south of the Turnpike west of what is now the I-635 directional (which absorbed the former K-32 interchange in its footprint).

[NE2]

http://www.modernsteel.com/Uploads/Issues/March_2009/032009_7th_street%20_web.pdf
"To  accommodate  the  Muncie  Expressway  (I-70)  construction  in 1959, the north five spans were buried, shortening the structure to 1,450 ft."

A 1959 aerial shows the entire thing complete and in use, except between the 5th Street wye and the viaduct: http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=4&lat=39.11&lon=-94.62&year=1959

[J N Winkler]

This is just to follow up on Roadman65's observation upthread that a long section of free I-35 between the US 50 wye just east of Emporia and US 59 south of Ottawa was left uncompleted for more than a decade.  It turns out this was a deliberate decision, as part of the deal whereby Kansas got I-135.  The details are spelled out in a 1958 report by the federal Comptroller General dealing with the cost estimates for Interstate completion in eleven states, one of which was Kansas.

Before the Kansas Turnpike came on the scene, Kansas had an agreement with the federal Bureau of Public Roads that I-35 would run north from Wichita parallel to the US 81 corridor and turn northeastward at Newton, paralleling the US 50 corridor to Kansas City.  This agreement was concluded about a year before BPR instituted the policy that whenever an Interstate existed in the same corridor as a pre-existing turnpike, the Interstate designation would be applied to that turnpike rather than to a new freeway built parallel to it (at the standard 90% federal, 10% state cost-sharing ratio).  BPR later came back to the Kansas State Highway Commission and attempted to pressure it into giving up the free I-35 mileage between Wichita and Kansas City, saying that this route was effectively paralleled by the Turnpike and should carry the I-35 designation.  The Commission resisted, saying that the two routes were not really parallel and that I-35 as then planned served a different set of significant cities.

A compromise was eventually reached whereby Kansas agreed to the I-35 designation being applied to the Turnpike between Wichita and Emporia, with the forgone mileage being applied to a new Interstate route (eventually built as present I-135) between Wichita and Salina.  Kansas had been pressing for this route to be included in a later expansion of the Interstate system, but since it was mileage in lieu of free I-35 as formerly planned, BPR treated it retroactively as if it were original Interstate mileage.  Kansas also, provisionally, got to keep free I-35 between Emporia and Kansas City.  This much has been known to the road enthusiast community for at least 10 years.

What has not been mentioned before, however, is that as part of this arrangement, Kansas undertook not to build I-35 in the approximately 50 miles between the east end of the Emporia bypass and US 59 south of Ottawa until traffic studies satisfied the BPR that this corridor justified an Interstate freeway.  I don't know when this requirement was considered to be met or what was ultimately done to satisfy it, but the state maps I have examined so far show no evidence of I-35 completion in this corridor as of 1972.  Presumably, if BPR (or its successor, FHWA) had instead decided to cancel this I-35 mileage--which I think would have been politically much more difficult than is suggested by its provisional status--the Emporia bypass and the portion of I-35 between Kansas City and Ottawa would have become three-digit I-35 spurs (I-535 and I-735, anyone?).

[route56]

What has not been mentioned before, however, is that as part of this arrangement, Kansas undertook not to build I-35 in the approximately 50 miles between the east end of the Emporia bypass and US 59 south of Ottawa until traffic studies satisfied the BPR that this corridor justified an Interstate freeway.  I don't know when this requirement was considered to be met or what was ultimately done to satisfy it, but the state maps I have examined so far show no evidence of I-35 completion in this corridor as of 1972.  Presumably, if BPR (or its successor, FHWA) had instead decided to cancel this I-35 mileage--which I think would have been politically much more difficult than is suggested by its provisional status--the Emporia bypass and the portion of I-35 between Kansas City and Ottawa would have become three-digit I-35 spurs (I-535 and I-735, anyone?).

335 would have also been available since, under a scenario in which present-day I-35 between Emporia and Ottawa were cancelled, the present-day I-335 would have been designated I-35 instead.

Edit 10/10/16: Clarifing the wording of my response

[route56]

Map edition first shown	Route	Length
1957	I-70	Exit 353 (K-4 westbound) to Exit 357B (US 75/Gage Blvd. in Topeka) (this segment carries Kansas' claim to first Interstate segment funded under the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act)

I don't know about Kansas's claim to first interstate funded, but Kansas's "first section of interstate completed." is the segment from Keene-Eskridge Road in Wabaunsee County (exit 342) to Valencia Road in Shawnee County (exit 350).

From Just west of Valencia Road.


42031 by richiekennedy56, on Flickr

[route56]

What has not been mentioned before, however, is that as part of this arrangement, Kansas undertook not to build I-35 in the approximately 50 miles between the east end of the Emporia bypass and US 59 south of Ottawa until traffic studies satisfied the BPR that this corridor justified an Interstate freeway.

While it does appear that the lack of Activity on I-35 was deliberate, I found a different reason while perusing the State Archives.

In 1963 State Legislators, including several along the Turnpike corridor, complained that a free I-35 was diverting traffic off of the Turnpike and were demanding new studies, and even one Wichita Senator suggested a bill halting construction altogether. Apparently, SHC agreed to save I-35 between Emporia and Ottawa for last. The original plan was to construct I-35 between 1974 and 1976, though SHC sped that up a little by 1965. According to the archives, the segment of I-35 in Franklin, Osage, and Coffey counties opened November 20, 1973.

[J N Winkler]

It sounds like the plan to build free I-35 faced obstacles at the state level, not just at the federal one, but not necessarily at the same time.  My source for the I-35-for-I-135 swap with BPR dates from 1958 and I think the deal itself was made around 1956.  By the early 1960's it would have been evident that the Kansas Turnpike was having problems with debt service.

Where exactly in the state archives did you find reference to the 1963 attempt to kill untolled I-35?

[route56]

Where exactly in the state archives did you find reference to the 1963 attempt to kill untolled I-35?

Good Roads Clippings, v. 2

Based on those newspaper Clippings, I've got an updated table for you.

Date Opened	Source	Route	Length
10/25/56	Newspaper	I-35, I-335, I-470, I-70	Entire length of Kansas Turnpike (including MP 0-MP 127 of I-35, entire length of I-335, I-70 from East Topeka Interchange at Exit 182 to 18th Street Expressway interchange at Exit 420A-B)
11/10/56	Newspaper	I-70	Exit 342 (Eskridge/Keene Road, near Maple Hill) to Exit 350 (Valencia Road). 2 lanes out of 4. Kansas's claim to "First section of interstate completed."
1957	Map	I-70	Exit 420 (End of Turnpike at 18th) to Exit 422 (7th Street Trafficway)
1957	Map	I-70	Exit 353 (Auburn Road/K-4) to Exit 357B (US 75/Gage Blvd. in Topeka)
12/18/58	Newspaper	I-35	Exit 182 (US 50B Ottawa) to Exit 198 (K-33 Wellsville)
1960	Map	US 69	18th Street Expressway from I-35 to I-70
1960	Map	I-70	Exit 422A (7th Street Expressway) to Exit 423B (James Street) (both in Kansas City)
1960	Map	I-35	Exit 198 (K-33 Wellsville) to Exit 232B (18th Street Expressway interchange)
1960	Map	I-70	Exit 341 (K-30 Maple Hill) to Exit 342 (Eskridge/Keene Road)
1960	Map	I-70	Exit 350 (Valencia Road) to Exit 353 (Auburn Road/K-4)
1960	Map	I-70	Exit 275 (K-15 Abilene) to Exit 304 (Humboldt Creek Road)
1960	Map	I-70	Exit 115 (K-198 Collyer) to Exit 135 (K-147 Ogallah) (divided section appears to have continued until approximately MP 137)
1961	Map	I-470	Entire untolled length on west side of Topeka
1962	Map	I-135, I-235	I-135 from southern terminus (I-35 Exit 50, South Wichita Interchange) to Exit 1C (I-235 northbound); I-235 from southern terminus to Exit 15 (Broadway Ave.) (this entire route originally opened as I-235, the southern part later being transferred to I-135)
1962	Map	US 54	West Street intersection to Vine Street intersection (both in west Wichita, approximately one mile; includes both the Edwards Ave./Southwest Blvd. and Meridian Ave. interchanges, which were separate folded-diamond partial cloverleafs rather than, as now, a combined split-diamond interchange)
1962	Map	US 54	Vine Street intersection to Main Street intersection (both in west Wichita; includes the Seneca Street interchange and old Arkansas River flyover)
1962	Map	I-70	Exit 328 (K-99 Wamego) to Exit 341 (K-30 Maple Hill)
1962	Map	I-70	Exit 252 (K-143 Ninth Street/Salina) to Exit 275 (K-15 Abilene)
1962	Map	I-70	Exit 93 (K-23 Grainfield) to Exit 115 (K-198 Collyer)
1962	Map	I-135	Exit 30 (US 50/K-15) to Exit 34 (K-15) (this is the Newton bypass)
1962	Map	I-35	Exit 232A (US 69 18th Street Expressway) to Exit 233A (Southwest Blvd./Mission Road) (both in suburban Wyandotte County)
1962	Map	I-70	Exit 357B (US 75/Gage Blvd.) to Exit 361A (1st Ave.) (both in Topeka)
1963	Map	I-70	Exit 313 (K-177 Manhattan) to Exit 328 (K-99 Wamego)
11/24/64	Newspaper	I-70	Exit 199 (K-231 Dorrance) to Exit 252 (K-143 Ninth Street/Salina)
12/02/64	Newspaper	I-70	Exit 361A (1st Ave.) to Exit 362B (8th Street) (both in Topeka)
12/24/64	Newspaper	I-70	Exit 304 (Humboldt Creek Road) to Exit 313 (K-177 Manhattan)
1965	Map	I-135	Exit 86 (Mentor Road) to Exits 95A-B (I-70)
06/16/65	Newspaper	I-70	Exit 362B (8th Ave.) to Exit 366 (East Topeka Interchange) (both in Topeka)
1965	Map	I-235	Exit 15 (Broadway Ave.) to present terminus, continuing as K-254 (both in Wichita)
1965	Map	I-435	Exit 83 (I-35) to Exit 79 (Metcalf Ave.) (both in suburban Johnson County)
1965	Map	I-70	Exit 135 (K-147 Ogallah) to Exit 159 (US 183 Hays) [Exit 157?]
1965	Map	I-135	Exit 1C (I-235 northbound) to Exit 2 (Hydraulic Ave.) (both in Wichita)
08/19/65	Newspaper	K-254	Present western terminus (at I-135/I-235) to 45th Street North/Hillside (both in Sedgwick County)
12/17/65	Newspaper	I-70	Exit 53 (K-25 Colby) to Exit 93 (K-23 Grainfield)
11/17/66	Newspaper	I-70	Exit 159 (US 183 Hays) to Exit 199 (K-231 Dorrance)
1967	Map	I-135	Exit 78 (K-4 Bridgeport) to Exit 86 (Mentor Road)
1967	Map	I-70	Exit 45 (US 24 Levant) to Exit 53 (K-25 Colby)
1967	Map	I-35	Exit 127 (US 50/KTA Emporia Interchange) to Exit 133 (US 50 Emporia) (this is the I-35 northern bypass of Emporia)
08/07/68	Newspaper	I-135	Exit 2 (Hydraulic Ave.) to Exit 3B (Pawnee Ave.) (both in Wichita)
1969	Map	I-435	Exit 79 (Metcalf Ave.) to Exit 75B (State Line Rd.) at Missouri state line
1969	Map	I-70	Exit 19 (US 24 Goodland) to Exit 45 (US 24 Levant)
07/03/69	Newspaper	I-135	Exit 58 (K-61 McPherson) to Exit 78 (K-4 Bridgeport) [Includes new K-61 south of McPherson]
1969	Map	I-35	Exit 233A (Southwest Blvd./Mission Road) to Exit 234 (US 169 7th Street Trafficway/Rainbow Blvd.) (both in suburban Wyandotte County)
1969	Map	US 54	K-251 exit (Cheney Reservoir) to current end of freeway at 263rd Street West (all in rural Sedgwick County; this includes bypasses of Garden Plain and Cheney; approximately 8 miles)
06/18/70	Newspaper	I-70	Colorado state line to Exit 19 (US 24 Goodland)
12/07/70	Newspaper	I-635	Exit 5 (State Ave.) to Exit 7 (Leavenworth Rd.)
1971	Map	US 69	Bucyrus exit (223rd Street) to (probably) 127th Street (southern Johnson and northern Miami Counties)
07/02/71	Newspaper	I-135	Exit 11 A-B (I-235/K-254) to Exit 30 (K-15/US 50 south of Newton)
07/28/71	Newspaper	US 81	I-135 Exits 95A-B (I-70) to K-93 intersection near Minneapolis (approximately 16 miles in Saline and Ottawa Counties)
07/30/71	Newspaper	I-135	Exit 9 (21st Street in Wichita) to Exit 11 A-B (I-235/K-254)
1971	Map	I-35	Exit 234 (US 169 7th Street Trafficway/Rainbow Blvd.) to Missouri state line
06/02/72	Newspaper	I-70	Exit 157 (US 183 Bypass) to Exit 159 (US 183) [?]
1972	Map	I-135	Exit 34 (K-15 Newton) to Exit 58 (K-61 McPherson)
1973	Map	I-635	Exit 1B (Meriam Dr.) to Exit 2A (Metropolitan Ave)
11/20/73	Newspaper	I-35	MM 143 (temporary tie-in to old US 50) to Exit 182 (US 50B, Ottawa)
1975	Map	I-635	Exit 2A (Metropolitan Ave.) to Exit 3 (Kansas Ave.)
1975	Map	I-635	Exit 7 (Leavenworth Rd.) to Missouri River
12/01/76	Newspaper	I-635	Exit 3 (Kansas Ave.) to Exit 5 (State Ave.) [final section of I-635]
1977	Map	I-35	Exit 133 (US 50, Emporia) to MM 143 (grade seperation old US 50)
12/20/79	Newspaper	I-135	Exit 3B (Pawnee) to Exit 9 (21st Strreet) [final section of I-135]
1981	Map	K-5	Spur from I-635 to the Fairfax district
1981	Map	I-435	Exit 5 (Midland Dr.) to Exit 9 (K-32)
1984	Map	I-435	Exit 83 (I-35) to Exit 1A (Lackman Rd.)
1984	Map	I-435	Exit 3 (87th Street Parkway) to Exit 5 (Midland Dr.)
1984	Map	I-435	Exit 9 (K-32) to Exit 11 (Kansas Ave.)
1986	Map	I-435	Exit 11 (Kansas Ave.) to Exit 15 A-B (Leavenworth Rd)
1987	Map	I-435	Exit 15 A-B (Leavenworth Rd.) to Missouri River (final section of I-435)
1991	Map	I-670	I-70 to Exit 1B (entire length of 670 in Kansas)

[J N Winkler]

Richie--many thanks for the cite, and for the additions to the completion list.  This leaves just several lengths of rural freeway in northeastern Kansas (US 69, US 169, and US 75) for which we have to find completion dates, as well as K-96, K-254, US 54, and the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport connector freeway in Wichita.  Google News' archive seems to include the Wichita Eagle, so I'll see what dates I can scrounge from there, but if necessary I can take my laptop and access the public library's subscription to Newslibrary.

[J N Winkler]

In case anyone is interested--the source is US Comptroller General, Review of cost estimates prepared by selected states for completion of the national system of interstate and defense highways, January 1958 (pp. 21-23):

The Kansas estimate includes costs of 61.9 million dollars for a public highway roughly parallel to the Kansas Turnpike for a distance of about 108 miles.  The estimate includes also a new route with a cost of 60.4 million dollars that was approved by the Bureau as part of the original 40,000-mile authorization for interstate highways, although this route was designated subsequent to July 1, 1956, the base date for preparation of the reported estimate.

On February 17, 1955, the Bureau approved the location of an interstate route that generally paralleled the Kansas Turnpike, between Wichita and Kansas City, for a distance of about 220 miles.  Subsequent to that date the Bureau established the general policy that free roads will not be approved as locations of interstate routes where satisfactory toll roads are available in the same general traffic corridor.  In October 1956, the state was requested to revise the location of the parallel interstate highway and include the entire length of the Kansas Turnpike as the interstate route location.

The state, in reply to the Bureau's request, did not agree that any part of the turnpike should be incorporated in the system in lieu of the then proposed route location on the grounds that (1) the Kansas Turnpike is not actually in the same traffic corridor as the proposed free road, (2) the proposed location of the interstate route would serve numerous towns and a population of nearly one-half million, and (3) the turnpike will not adequately serve local needs as intended by section 116(b) of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.  In November 1956 a compromise agremeent was reached between the state and the Bureau, as follows:

1.  A part of the Kansas Turnpike, between Wichita and Emporia, was designated as part of the Federal-aid Interstate System in lieu of 112 miles of the previously designated free road in this same general area.  The remaining 108-mile section of the designated interstate route, which the Bureau also believed to be roughly parallel to the turnpike between Emporia and Kansas City, was retained as the Interstate System designation.  The estimated cost of 61.9 million dollars to construct this parallel public highway was included in the Kansas estimate.  The state will delay construction on about a 50-mile portion of the parallel route between Emporia and Ottawa, until additional traffic studies and analyses are made to determine the effect of this section on traffic using the Kansas Turnpike.

2.  The state was allocated an additional interstate route of 103.3 miles in a different area, between Wichita and a connection with an interstate route at Salina.  The cost of constructing this route, estimated at 60.4 million dollars, is included in the Kansas estimate although the route was designated subsequent to the base date for preparation of the reported estimate.  This route was designated as part of the original 40,000-mile authorization although the state had initially requested that the route be considered as part of the additional 1,000 miles to be added to the Interstate System under the provisions of section 108(1) of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956.  Under this section the cost of completing any mileage designated from the 1,000 miles is specifically to be excluded from the estimate.

[route56]

Google News' archive seems to include the Wichita Eagle

Where are you seeing the Eaglein the Google archives?

[J N Winkler]

Old articles can be accessed through a standard Google News search but you have to choose "Archive" in a pull-down menu under "News," otherwise the search is limited to current news.