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The Kansas Turnpike is a tolled freeway that lies entirely within the U.S. state of Kansas. The road runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border south of Wichita via Wichita, Topeka, and Lawrence to Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas Turnpike Act defined the turnpike to be built from Oklahoma to Kansas City, Kansas. The turnpike is owned and maintained by the Kansas Turnpike Authority, headquartered in Wichita. The Kansas Turnpike was built from 1954 to 1956, predating the Interstate Highway System. The turnpike presently has 27 interchanges and two barrier toll plazas. Exit numbers are assigned by mileage from south to east. After passing the Bonner Springs interchange, exit numbers change to match the mileage of Interstate 70 east from the Colorado border. In the median at mile 97 is the Matfield Green Service Area, which contains a memorial to football coach Knute Rockne, who died in a plane crash near Bazaar, Kansas. (Full article...)