Kansas Turnpike Totally Explained

Everything about Kansas Turnpike totally explained

   The Kansas Turnpike is a 236-mile (380-km) freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the U.S. state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest-northeast direction from the Oklahoma border, and passes through several major Kansas cities, including Wichita, Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City. The turnpike is owned and maintained by the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA), headquartered in Wichita.
   The Kansas Turnpike was built from 1954 to 1956, predating the Interstate Highway System. While not part of the system's early plans, the turnpike was eventually incorporated into the Interstate system in late 1956, and is designated today as four different interstate highway routes: I-35, I-335, I-470, and I-70. The turnpike also carries a piece of U.S. Route 40 in Kansas City.
   Because it predates the Interstate Highway System, the road isn't engineered to current Interstate highway standards, and notably lacks a regulation-width median. To attain the reduced risks of head-on collisions which were designed into Interstate-standard roadways, the Kansas Turnpike now has continuous, permanent Jersey barriers in the median over its entire length. On opening, there was no fixed speed limit on the highway; drivers were merely asked to keep to a "reasonable and proper" limit.
   Around 120,000 drivers use the turnpike daily. The road features numerous services, including a travel radio station and six service areas. One of these service areas is notable for the presence of a memorial to Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, who died near the current highway's route.
   The turnpike is self-sustaining, deriving its entire revenue from the tolls collected and requiring no tax money for maintenance or administration.

History

Early history

Early federal plans for a nationwide system of "Interregional Highways" didn't include a route along or near the present Turnpike, instead connecting Oklahoma City and Kansas City via southeastern Kansas and U.S. Route 69. By the mid-1940s, this route had shifted to roughly the present Interstate 35 alignment, serving Wichita. The only major difference from the present route was between Wichita and Emporia, where the highway ran north to Newton before turning northeast along U.S. Route 50.
However, the Interstate Highway System wasn't funded until the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. Prior to this, the state of Kansas wished to build a freeway system but was having issues with funding. Thus, they turned to toll roads, which were gaining in popularity as ways of raising funds for new freeways. The Kansas Turnpike Act, defining a turnpike from Oklahoma to Kansas City, became effective April 7, 1953.
Given Oklahoma's plans to build a turnpike north from Oklahoma City to the Kansas state line, a preliminary route was chosen via Wichita and Topeka. After considering a number of different alignments, including one bypassing Topeka via the present route of I-35, the state decided on an "airline" route between Wichita and Topeka. From Wichita south, the turnpike was to parallel U.S. Route 81, continuing into Oklahoma; the interchange with U.S. Route 166 at South Haven was included to provide an outlet if Oklahoma lagged in its construction. At the Kansas City end, the turnpike was to parallel U.S. Route 40 from Topeka. The Kansas City end was set at 18th Street and Muncie Boulevard, which was to be extended and upgraded to a freeway (the Muncie Expressway) to the Intercity Viaduct by the state. From Park Drive (exit 419) east to 18th Street (exit 420), the turnpike was built on top of Muncie Boulevard. Ground was broken on December 31, 1954 at the Kansas River bridge near Lawrence. After almost 22 months of construction, funded by private investors, the road was opened for a day of free travel on October 20, 1956 between 6 a.m. and 2pm. An estimated 12,000 to 15,000 cars traveled on the turnpike. Many of those motorists traveled to Lawrence for a football game between the Universities of Kansas and Oklahoma. Official opening ceremonies were held at interchanges in each of the three major cities on October 25. The Kansas City celebration included Gene Autry jumping his horse through a large paper map of the Turnpike. John Masefield, the British Poet Laureate, wrote a tribute to commemorate the occasion. The turnpike originally had 14 interchanges; as of 2006, there are 27 interchanges.

The southern terminus

Oklahoma's plans for a connecting turnpike fell through, as they hadn't performed a traffic study and their credit rating wasn't good enough to obtain loans. Just across the state line was an oat field, into which many inattentive motorists crashed. This abrupt end became nationally famous after Wyoming governor Milward L. Simpson and his wife crashed in mid-1957. The oat farmer plowed the field to provide a safer landing, and the KTA was persuaded to install a huge wooden barrier at the end of the highway. However, within a day, three more drivers had crashed and destroyed the barrier, so the KTA closed the Turnpike south of the South Haven interchange.

Tolls

As of July 1, 2007, the passenger or passengers of two-axle vehicles (such as cars and motorcycles) pay a total of $9.25 USD to travel the entire length of the Turnpike. Tolls are calculated based on the length of the route traveled, and the toll is as little as 25¢ for motorists driving only a short distance (3 mi or 5 km, for example) on the Turnpike. Drivers in vehicles with more than two axles, such as truckers, pay higher tolls.
   The Turnpike runs on a ticket-based collection system. When entering the turnpike, either at one of the termini or at an interchange, a driver is issued a ticket which indicates the toll plaza at which they entered. When leaving the turnpike, this ticket is collected and used to determine the amount of the toll.
   As an alternative to using tickets, motorists can purchase a transponder, known as a K-Tag. K-Tag customers can proceed slowly through the toll plaza without stopping and collecting a ticket or paying toll. The toll is instead paid through one of two payment plans. K-Tag I, intended for frequent turnpike users, requires the customer to maintain a prepaid account, which funds are drawn from as needed. The plan intended for intermittent users, K-Tag II, keeps track of the tolls accrued by the customer, and a bill is automatically sent out when $10.00 of tolls is accumulated. K-Tag I accounts are subject to a $1 monthly fee per tag, while K-Tag II account holder pay a $5 annual fee per tag. K-Tag I users also receive a 10 percent discount on tolls. K-Tag was introduced in 1995.
   The Kansas Turnpike is completely self-sustaining. All costs are paid for by the tolls collected; no tax money is used for construction, maintenance, or administration. KTA estimates that 120,000 drivers use the turnpike each day.

Route description

The Kansas Turnpike is long. I-335 has only one interchange (with U.S. Route 56) along its section of the turnpike other than the two end junctions. Interstate 470 forms a bypass loop around the southern side of Topeka. The eastern five miles (8 km) of this loop are part of the Kansas Turnpike, although it has no interchanges other than at I-335 and I-70. Interstate 70 makes up the remainder of the turnpike, running from Topeka to Lawrence and the turnpike's eastern terminus in Kansas City. This east-west section is the route between the state capital in Topeka, the University of Kansas in Lawrence, and the industrial center of Kansas City, Kansas.

Design

Because the Kansas Turnpike was built before the Interstate Highway System, it isn't engineered to current Interstate Highway standards. Notably, the Turnpike was built without a median. When it opened, the central reservation was a depressed median. Jersey barriers were installed along its entire length. This is similar to what the Pennsylvania Turnpike did in the 1970s, as that highway has an even narrower median. In both cases, as with all other toll roads that predated the Interstate Highway System, the highway is grandfathered from Interstate standards.
Kansas Turnpike mileposts are continuous along the entire length of the turnpike. Mile markers begin at the point where I-35 enters Kansas at the southern border. These numbers are continued along the other three interstates that make up the turnpike, rather than numbering each interstate individually, leading to discontinuous numbering on I-70 - the exit numbers east of Topeka are much lower than those west of the city.
The majority of the turnpike, from the Oklahoma state line to Topeka, was constructed with asphalt. The from Topeka to Kansas City was built with Portland cement concrete. Originally, the Turnpike had a "reasonable and proper" speed rule (for example, no numerical speed limit), with early reports saying that curves were designed to accommodate speeds of 70 to 75 mph. Eventually, the speed limit was lowered to . The speed limit wouldn't be enforced again anywhere in the United States until 2006, when Texas posted the speed limit on Interstate 10 and Interstate 20 in the western part of that state.

Services

The Kansas Turnpike Authority provides a number of services to help motorists and provide incentives for using the Turnpike. KTA broadcasts a travel radio station at 1610 AM from Wellington, Wichita, El Dorado, Cassoday, Emporia, Admire, East Topeka, and West Lawrence. Law enforcement is provided by a separate Turnpike Division of the Kansas Highway Patrol. Motorists needing assistance can use a roadside assistance hotline by dialing *KTA (*582) on a mobile phone. Statewide weather and traffic conditions can be accessed by dialing 511. KTA also provides weather and traffic information on their website.
There are six service areas located along the highway at various locations. Four of these service areas, Belle Plaine (mile 26), Towanda (mile 65), Matfield Green (mile 97), and Emporia (mile 132), provide a Phillips 66 gas station and a McDonald's restaurant to motorists needing those services. The service area at Matfield Green also contains a memorial to legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, who died in a 1931 plane crash a few miles north of the service area. The Topeka service area (mile 188) provides a Conoco gas station, multiple restaurants including Bresler's Ice Cream, Cinnamon Street Bakery and Coffee Company, Hardee's, Hot Stuff Pizza, and Taco Bueno. The Lawrence service area (mile 209) provides an EZ-Go gas station and a McDonald's restaurant. There are also gift shops at the Belle Plaine and Topeka service areas, and a Kansas travel information center at Belle Plaine.

Interchanges

The Turnpike currently has 27 interchanges and two barrier toll plazas. Many of the interchanges are designed as trumpet interchanges with a connector road to the crossroad, for easy placement of a single toll plaza on the connector. Exit numbers were originally sequential but are assigned today by mileage from south to east, the same numbering system used by the majority of U.S. states for their interstate highways as well. After passing the Bonner Springs interchange, exit numbers change to match the mileage of Interstate 70 east from the Colorado border.

Oklahoma to Wichita

The southernmost interchange on the Turnpike is exit 4 (South Haven), which serves U.S. Route 166. US 166 heads east to Arkansas City and west to U.S. Route 81 at South Haven. This interchange is a four-ramp folded diamond with ramps in the southeast and northwest quadrants. It has no toll plazas, as it lies south of the southern barrier toll. Northbound traffic must exit at US 166 to avoid paying a toll. Initially the interchange provided only a southbound exit and northbound entrance, forcing drivers who didn't wish to pay a toll to leave I-35 in Oklahoma. By 1976 the other two ramps had been added.) serves U.S. Route 160, which heads west to Wellington and east to Winfield. It is the first of many trumpet interchanges, serving the surface road via a connector road with a toll plaza. Until spring 2003, when it was moved south to mile 17, The new configuration was built ca. 1988.
   In the median at mile 26 is the Belle Plaine Service Area. The service area opened in May 1998, burned down on April 6, 2002, due to a grease fire in the Hardee's restaurant, and was later rebuilt. It contains a Kansas Travel Information Center. There is currently no fuel service available at the Belle Plaine Service area until at least late June 2008, as the fueling areas are undergoing expansion and replacement of pumps.
   Exit 33 (Mulvane) connects to K-53 via a trumpet ramp, just east of the west end of K-53 at U.S. Route 81. The interchange was built ca. 1985.), which is the south end of Interstate 135. I-135 heads north through Wichita towards Salina; U.S. Route 81 joins at the first interchange and Interstate 235 begins at the second. The interchange is a simple trumpet with I-135, and opened in 1956 with the Turnpike, but the connector ended at 47th Street (now US 81) until ca. 1961.) is a trumpet connection to K-15 in southern Wichita. It opened in 1956 as one of the original interchanges.) is a trumpet connection to K-254 just east of its junction with K-196. The connector originally directly intersected K-254,) connects to U.S. Route 77 via a trumpet ramp. It opened ca. 1986.) is a diamond interchange with a connector to K-177. The interchange wasn't present when the Turnpike opened in 1956, but was built soon after as an east-facing folded diamond with two separate toll plazas.
   Exit 127 (Emporia) is a trumpet connection to a complicated partial interchange between Interstate 35 and U.S. Route 50. It is the south end of Interstate 335, as I-35 leaves the Turnpike there to head northeast on its own to Kansas City via Ottawa. The interchange, as opened in 1956 with the original Turnpike, connected directly to US 50 at Overlander Street;
   The Emporia Service Area is in the median at mile 132.) is a trumpet connection to U.S. Route 56, which heads west to Council Grove and east to Osage City. It was one of the original 1956 interchanges. The interchange originally connected only to Topeka Blvd (then US 75); I-470 was added ca. 1960. A partial junction with I-70 was added ca. 1965, when that road was built west through Topeka.
   Exit 183 (East Topeka The Topeka Service Area is on the north side of the Turnpike, accessed via right-side ramps in both directions, at mile 188. It opened in May 2002 to replace the former service area between exits 182 and 183, and includes a full food court.) is a folded diamond at the west end of K-10, with two separate toll booths, one in the southwest quadrant and one to the northeast. The road that takes K-10 to the Turnpike continues north to end at North 1800 Road. In addition to Lecompton, K-10 serves the west and south parts of Lawrence. The interchange opened November 7, 1996.
   Exit 202 (West Lawrence) is a trumpet connection to the south/west split of U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 59. The connector - McDonald Drive - intersects 2nd Street and 4th Street at-grade before interchanging with US 40 and US 59. The interchange was one of the original junctions in 1956.) connects to the concurrent U.S. Route 40 and U.S. Route 59 via a trumpet ramp. Just to the north on US 40/US 59 is a junction with U.S. Route 24. The interchange opened in 1956 along with the Turnpike. is a planned interchange with Leavenworth County Road 1 (222nd Street) near Tonganoxie. In late March 2006, the Leavenworth County Commission debated whether the interchange should be built since funds couldn't be established to rebuild of the southern portion of the county road. Reconstruction of the northern portion is funded and awaiting a start date.
   The Eastern Terminal barrier toll is the east end of the toll system, at approximately mile marker 217. It replaced the old Eastern Toll Plaza at mile marker 224 in October 2000 for the construction of Kansas Speedway. All travel east of the toll plaza is free.
   Exit 224, old Exit 223 (Bonner Springs) is a trumpet connection to K-7. In addition to heading south to Bonner Springs, K-7 runs north, mostly with U.S. Route 73, to Leavenworth. The interchange opened in 1956 with the Turnpike,
   Exit 415 serves Turner Diagonal, which carries U.S. Route 40 north from the Turnpike to State Avenue (U.S. Route 24). To the south, Turner Diagonal is unnumbered; US 40 uses the Turnpike east of exit 415. The interchange is composed of a half-cloverleaf for the west-pointing ramps (split into 415A south and 415B north), and a Y connection for the east-pointing ramps, junctioning Turner Diagonal at a trumpet north of the Turnpike.
   Exit 417 is a diamond interchange with 57th Street, opened ca. 1986. Exit 418 (split into 418A south and 418B north eastbound) is a fully directional interchange with Interstate 635. Westbound, as it shares an exit ramp with Park Drive, it's designated exit 419. The interchange opened ca. 1975. Exit 419 is an east-facing folded diamond with Park Drive. The interchange has been around for a while, but it was rebuilt in its present form circa 1974 as part of the I-635 construction. Exit 420 (split into 420A south and 420B north) is a cloverleaf interchange with the north end of the 18th Street Expressway, which carries U.S. Route 69 to the south. (To the north, US 69 joins I-70 and US 40 east.) It was built in 1956 as the east end of the Turnpike.

In Fiction

The Kansas Turnpike is part of the Path of the Beam in an alternative version of the USA in Stephen King's The Dark Tower.

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