U.S. Route 54 in Kansas

U.S. Highway 54
US 54 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by KDOT
Major junctions
West end	US 54 at Oklahoma state line
Major intersections	US-83 / US-270 in Liberal US-160 near Meade US-400 US-281 in Pratt I-235 I-135 / US-81 / K-15 I-35 / Kansas Turnpike US-77 US-75 in Yates Center US-59 in Moran US-69 / K-7
East end	US 54 at Missouri state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Kansas State Highway System Interstate US State Spurs
← K-53 → K-55
← K-41 → K-41

U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from El Paso, Texas, to Interstate 72 (I-72) in Griggsville, Illinois. In the U.S. state of Kansas, US 54 is a main east–west highway that runs from the Oklahoma border east to the Missouri border.

Route description

US 54 intersects US 69/K-7 in Fort Scott, KS

US 54 enters the state from Oklahoma in Seward County, and travels through the cities of Liberal and Plains, where it runs concurrently with US 160 in Meade County. Just east of the city of Meade, US 54 splits from US 160 and continues in a northeasterly direction through Meade and Ford counties before beginning a long concurrency with US 400 in Mullinville in Kiowa County.

The highway then travels through the town of Greensburg and continues as a two-lane road through Pratt, Cunningham, and Kingman. At Pratt, the Union Pacific railroad tracks which paralleled the highway for over 600 miles (970 km) from El Paso turn to the northeast (towards Topeka) and leave US 54. The road becomes a divided highway in eastern Kingman County. From Kingman to Garden Plain in Sedgwick County it is a freeway but becomes an at-grade expressway as it passes through Goddard and approaches Wichita.

US 54/US 400 a few miles west of Pratt, Kansas

The freeway resumes as the road crosses the city limits of Wichita near Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport. In Wichita, US 54/US 400 is known as Kellogg Avenue, and has junctions with I-235, I-135 and I-35, the Kansas Turnpike, before a junction with K-96. The Kellogg Avenue freeway has six lanes and extends 16 miles (26 km) from 111th Street on the west side of Wichita to Zelta just before the I-35/Kansas Turnpike interchange on the east side. Upgrading of Kellogg Avenue from a surface arterial to a freeway has been underway since the mid-1980s, with the latest interchange project opening in late 2019. The road gets its name from Milo Bailey Kellogg, a shopkeeper and Civil War veteran who was the city's first civilian postmaster in 1870.

The concurrency of US 54 and US 400 continues through Augusta in Butler County before US 400 heads east toward the Missouri state line, while US 54 forms a brief concurrency with US 77 through El Dorado. At El Dorado, US 54 continues its easterly course through rural areas in Greenwood and Woodson counties before passing through the cities of Iola and Fort Scott; US 77 heads north to Junction City. US 54 exits Kansas in Bourbon County before reaching Nevada, Missouri.

History

K-41
Existed	1926–1927

On March 6, 2020, work began on a $27.6 million project to expand US-54 from two lanes to a four-lane divided limited access expressway, an additional three miles east from Liberal. Koss Construction Company of Topeka is the main contractor of this project.

Construction on the first section of the East Kellogg improvement project started in August 2015. The project included a redesigned intersection with Webb Road and widened US-54 and US-400 from four lanes to six lanes from Webb Road to Greenwich Road. Construction on a second project began in 2016, to continue widening the highway to a six-lane freeway between Greenwich Road and K-96. Also new bridges will be built over I-35/KTA, new ramps will be constructed from southbound I-35/KTA to westbound US-54/US-400 and from eastbound US-54/US-400 to both northbound and southbound I-35/KTA. In addition, two-lane one way frontage roads on each side of the freeway will be built. Construction for both projects should be completed by late 2021. A two-mile section of the new highway, from Eastern Street to the K-96 junction, opened on November 21, 2019. On April 16, 2020, vandals damaged an estimated $50,000 worth of construction equipment, which included a bulldozer, excavator and an off-road vehicle.

Future

The state is studying a northwestern bypass of Wichita, which would redesignate K-254 as US-54.

Major intersections

All exits are unnumbered.

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Seward	​	0.000	0.000	US 54 west	Continuation into Oklahoma
	​			Old US 54	Interchange
	Liberal			US-270 east / US-83 (Country Estates Road) / 2nd Street / Bluebell Road – Garden City, Turpin OK	Western terminus of US-270
Meade	​			US-160 west	Western end of US-160 overlap
	Meade			K-23 (Fowler Street)
				US-160 east	Eastern end of US-160 overlap
	​			K-98 west	Eastern terminus of K-98
Clark	Minneola			US-283 (Oak Street) – Englewood, Dodge City
Ford	​			K-94 south	Northern terminus of K-94
	Bucklin			K-34 north	Western end of K-34 overlap
				K-34 south (Main Street)	Eastern end of K-34 overlap
Kiowa	​			US-400 west – Mullinville, Dodge City	Interchange; western end of US-400 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	​			US-183 – Kinsley, Coldwater
Pratt	Pratt			US-281 – St. John, Medicine Lodge, Airport
				K-61 north – Hutchinson, Pratt Community College
Kingman	​			170th Avenue – Cunningham	Interchange
	​			K-11 north – Hutchinson	Former K-14 north
	Kingman			K-14 south (Main Street) – Anthony, Business District, Airport	Western end of K-14 overlap
	​			40th Avenue	Western end of freeway
	​			70th Avenue
	​			K-14 north (100th Avenue) – Hutchinson, Murdock	Eastern end of K-14 overlap; former K-17
	​			Mt. Vernon
Sedgwick	​			K-251 (391st Street West)
	​			383rd Street West
	​			343rd Street West
	​			Garden Plain	Eastern end of freeway; former K-163
	Wichita			Maize Road	Western end of freeway
				Tyler Road
				Ridge Road – Eisenhower National Airport
				Dugan Road	No direct eastbound exit (signed at Ridge Road)
				I-235	Split into separate exits for I-235 NB and SB; I-235 exit 7
				West Street
				Edwards Street / Meridian Avenue	Access to Southwest Boulevard (former K-42)
				Seneca Street / Sycamore Street
				Central Business District
				Washington Avenue
				I-135 / US-81 / K-15 – Salina, Oklahoma City	I-135 exits 5B-6A
				Grove Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				Hillside Street
				Oliver Avenue / Edgemoor Street
				Woodlawn Boulevard	Westbound access via Towne East Drive/Armour Drive
				Towne East Drive / Armour Drive
				Rock Road	Eastbound access via Towne East Drive/Armour Drive
				I-35 / Kansas Turnpike – Oklahoma City, Kansas City	Closed, access via south frontage road only; I-35/Kansas Tpke. exit 50
				Webb Road	Opened in 2020
				Greenwich Road
				I-35 / Kansas Turnpike – Oklahoma City, Kansas City	Future interchange, westbound entrance open; I-35/Kansas Tpke. exit 53A
	​			K-96 west to I-35 / Kansas Turnpike – Hutchinson	Interchange; eastern end of freeway
Butler	Augusta			US-77 south (Walnut Street) – Douglass, Winfield	Western end of US-77 overlap
	​			Haverhill, Smileyberg	Interchange
	​			US-400 east – Fredonia	Partial interchange; eastern end of US-400 overlap; eastbound exit ramp, westbound access via SE 100th Street
	El Dorado			US-77 north (N. Main Street) / K-254 west (W. Central Avenue)	Eastern end of US-77 overlap; eastern terminus of K-254
	​			K-177 north	Southern terminus of K-177
Greenwood	​			K-99 south	Western end of K-99 overlap
	​			K-99 north	Eastern end of K-99 overlap
Woodson	​			K-105 south – Toronto
	Yates Center			US-75
Allen	​			US-169 – Garnett, Chanute	Interchange
	Moran			US-59
Bourbon	​			K-3 north	Western end of K-3 overlap
	​			K-3 south	Eastern end of K-3 overlap
	​			K-7 north	Western end of K-7 overlap
	​			US-69 north – Kansas City	Interchange; western end of US-69 overlap
	Fort Scott			US-69 / K-7 south – Pittsburg	Interchange; eastern end of US-69/K-7 overlap
	​			US 54 east – Nevada	Continuation into Missouri
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

External links

• Kansas Department of Transportation State Map
• KDOT: Historic State Maps