Talk:Kansas Turnpike

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Contents

[edit] Length

A quick comment: the Turnpike is 236 miles long. This is the distance to US 69 (18th Street Expressway), not to K-7, the end of tolls. It would also be nice to have details on the east end and what it originally connected to in 1956; I'll see what I can get out of the NBI (assuming not all bridges have been rebuilt). I'll also add some history on the original plan for I-35 via Newton. --SPUI (T - C) 03:14, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

Do you have details on exactly which interchanges opened in 1956? Here's what I can find:

0. US 166 probably 1956
  1. US 160 probably 1956
    K-53 not on [1]
    Haysville not on [2]
  2. US 81/I-135 definitely 1956
  3. K-15 definitely 1956
  4. US 54 definitely 1956
    K-96 not on [3]
    Andover not on [4]
  5. K-254 definitely 1956
    US 77 not on [5]
    K-177 no idea - weird interchange [6], but not in the original numbering
  6. US 50/I-35 definitely 1956
  7. US 56 definitely 1956
  8. US 75/I-470 definitely 1956
  9. US 40/I-70 probably 1956, but can't be sure as it's been rebuilt
    K-10 not on [7]
  10. US 59 definitely 1956
  11. US 24/US 59 definitely 1956
  12. K-7 definitely 1956
    110th Street not on [8]
    I-435 under construction on [9]
    78th Street not on [10]
    US 40 - NBI clearly shows 1956 for the bridge of the ramp over US 40 - but only west-pointing ramps on 1966 KDOT map! The Turner Diagonal to the south is 1958/1959 - so presumably that's when the original half-interchange opened.
    57th Street not on [11], built ca. 1986 (from bridge on eastbound onramp over creek)
    I-635 built ca. 1974
  13. Park Drive unsure - on 1966 KDOT map, with a west-facing folded diamond
  14. US 69/18th Street definitely 1956

So if US 160 and US 166 are original, and Park Drive isn't, that's 14. --SPUI (T - C) 13:57, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

Hmmm... who owned the tolled 18th Street Expressway? --SPUI (T - C) 05:39, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bridge dates on I-70 east of the Turnpike

  • 1980 over 18th Street (US 69) - ramp over railroad is 1956
  • 1956 over Service Road
  • 1957 under 10th Street
  • 1990 under Mill Street
  • 1958 eastbound under 7th Street (US 69/US 169)
  • 1957 westbound over 7th Street (US 69/US 169)
  • 1959 over Service Road
  • 1959 under Central Avenue
  • 1993 westbound over 5th Street
  • 1962 westbound over US 24 east
  • 1907 eastbound over Kansas River
  • 1963 westbound over Kansas River

1956 map - nothing yet

1969 map - obviously all done; check out US 40! Also note the barrier toll location, and the Kaw Drive interchange (rebuilt ca. 1974 when I-635 was built).


[edit] Interchanges

14 interchanges is definitely correct. It's specifically mentioned in the KTA pamphlet I have.

I have a map of Kansas from 1974 that I found in my mapbox, and it shows something interesting - the Kansas Turnpike originally used sequential exit numbering, starting at 0. Or rather, insequential numbering, as the numbering jumps from 5 to 14 and then to 6 (probably built out of order). The interchanges it shows are:

  • 0 - current exit 4
  • 1 - current 19 (toll booth under bridge)
  • Current 33 (to K-53) did not exist in 1974 (K-53 runs under the turnpike, so the bridges would have been built in 1956)
  • Current 39 (to U.S. 81) did not exist in 1974
  • 2 - current 42
  • 3 - current 45
  • 4 - current 50
  • The K-96 freeway did not exist in 1974. Instead K-96 was concurrent with U.S. 54 where they crossed under the turnpike. So current 53 did not exist.
  • Current 57 (Andover) did not exist in 1974
  • 5 - current 71
  • Current 76 (U.S. 77 El Dorado) did not exist in 1974
  • 14 - current 92
  • 6 - current 127
  • 7 - current 147
  • 8 - current 177
  • 9 - current 182
  • 10 - current 197 (then it appeared to serve U.S. 40 rather than K-10)
  • 11 - current 202
  • Current 204 (U.S. 24/59) did not exist in 1974
  • 12 - current 224

I have no clue where 13 was. I'd guess either current 410 (not sure how old this is, it may have been built to service the KS Speedway), Turner Diag, or 18th St. (That part of I-435 wasn't built yet so it couldn't have been the I-70/435 interchange.)

According to my mom, who lived in Kansas City, Ks. through the 60s and 70s, 18th St. was tolled then (this is confirmed on the 1974 map, and another I have of just Kansas City). The 1974 map has the toll section as running from I-70/KTA down to the Metropolitan/Ruby exit, the rest free, and the whole length of it was K-58 (I). It could have served as a spur from the turnpike, assuming KTA administered it. Still-existing signs at that interchange mark the beginning/end of KTA maintenance, but between the tolled part and those signs it seems more likely that KDOT is maintaining it, as the surface looks more like KDOT's and the signage is demountable copy (KTA uses direct-applied). I'd like to know the story about that.

I think the reason that you had trouble finding the info was because it looks like in most cases the bridges were built with the highway, but with no access. They just stuck the ramps on later. There's still a lot of bridges on the turnpike you go under or over that have no access. Hopefully those maps will help you find out more about our missing interchanges and when they were built. —Scott5114↗ 05:56, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

When is the KTA pamphlet from?
As for exit 14, that indicates it was added after the original construction. --SPUI (T - C) 06:08, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
You say that exit 10 was where K-10 is now. But [12] shows nothing at all there. --SPUI (T - C) 06:10, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
I bet 13 was the east barrier toll. [13] shows its original location. --SPUI (T - C) 06:13, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
I misread the map. Looking at the inset, Exit 10 is not for a highway, but a Lawrence city street (which the map doesn't name). 40 and 59 duplex along 6th St., across the Kansas River and under the turnpike, and to U.S. 24, which 40 gets onto and 24 begins duplexing with 59. To help you with your cites, the 1974 map is of Texaco branding but the copyright on the map is by the H.M. Gousha Company.
The pamphlet's undated. I remember picking it up at either Towanda or Matfield Greene in the late 1990s or early 2000s though. —Scott5114↗ 06:21, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
Exit 11 is in fact current 204 by the way. —Scott5114↗ 06:23, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
I believe Exit 10 above is the current exit 202. It actually exits to McDonald Drive [14], about 1/2 mile north of 6th and Iowa (the western point in Lawrence where US 40 and US 59 meet). US 59 only crosses the turnpike once (exit 204), but McDonald Drive (exit 202) is used as a 59 South exit because it bypasses a couple of miles of Lawrence streets and quite a few stoplights. Exit 197 opened in 1996 when K-10 was extended as a bypass around the SW corner of Lawrence. --Sppence 03:40, 13 July 2006 (UTC)


Found this from m.t.r. --SPUI (T - C) 06:49, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

more on the eastern toll booth --SPUI (T - C) 08:43, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

statutes dealing with the KTA --SPUI (T - C) 08:54, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

new interchanges - 33, 57, 39, 53, 76, 197
Kansas City to southeast corner
Wichita to Tulsa
Winfield to southeast corner
Ottawa south to Oklahoma
Mullinville west to Colorado
Leon to Fredonia
new interchanges - 197, 76, 33, 57
--SPUI (T - C) 09:07, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

18th Street Expressway was originally the 18th Street Trafficway - see [15]. It appears that only the part south of Argentine Boulevard had this name - it is now Argentine Boulevard south of the river, and crossed the rail yard before ending at present Miami Avenue and Strong Avenue. --SPUI (T - C) 14:52, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

"My 1982 road atlas shows the exit to K-132 (now an unnumbered road) as exit 231" --SPUI (T - C) 09:34, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Letter from KTA

I wrote to KTA asking for more information a few weeks ago. They didn't send any more, but they did say:

We have checked your site and the information you have on the Kansas Turnpike is accurate. You have a lot of good information on the history and background of our Kansas tollroad.

So at least, we're on the right track. —Scott5114↗ 23:10, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Useful article

[16] could be useful --SPUI (T - C) 17:49, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Exit numbers from 1965 Rand McNally atlas

  • 0 South Haven - U.S. 166
  • 1 Wellington - U.S. 160
  • 2 South Wichita - U.S. 81
  • 3 Wichita - Kans. 15 (Boeing Plant)
  • 4 East Wichita - U.S. 54
  • 5 El Dorado - Kans. 196
  • 14 Cassoday - Kans. 177
  • 6 Emporia - U.S. 50
  • 7 Admire - U.S. 56
  • 8 South Topeka - U.S. 75
  • 9 East Topeka - U.S. 40
  • 10 West Lawrence - U.S. 40 & 59
  • 11 East Lawrence - U.S. 59 & 40
  • 12 Bonner Springs - Kans. 7
  • 13 Eastern Terminal [longer space] Turner Diagonal - U.S. 40 - Kans. 132 & Kans. 32 & 58

--SPUI (T - C) 00:16, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Date Error

I recently went up to Watson Library to check out the original source material (i.e. Microfilm of the Topeka Daily Capital and the Lawrence Journal-World) and found that the Kansas Turnpike was opened for a "free preview" on the 20th of October (rather than the 21st). Next time I go back to Watson, I'll scan the source pages and prepare the citations

Oh, BTW, who put in the references to "Milestones"? route56 06:53, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] GA Review

Good article. Two comments: the administration section is far too short and should be expanded or folded into another section, and the images of road signs towards the bottom get a little cluttered - you might reconsider using them. - Mocko13 00:16, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Could a table be used to place that in another format? I'm thinking about something like the list of exits on Interstate_355... I'd be happy to try it, unless someone thinks the straight text is a better way to go at it. You could always revert me if you don't like it, I suppose. ----Steve 20:38, 13 March 2007 (UTC)
The article did once have a standard exit list, but it was expanded to prose to add more detail about the history of each interchange and its design. The road sign clutter has been deleted, now, anyway. —Scott5114↗ 06:13, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Construction

Hi. Should this article discuss any of the construction projects going on?

E.g. I don't think I saw in the article anywhere how many lanes it is, if that's appropriate for an article like this. (Two, mostly, but I can't remember about Wichita and KC, and of course the nearly-completed expansion to 3 lanes from Lecompton to Topeka.)

And I haven't exited at Emporia in a couple of years but that exit is under construction. According to my mom this is because its design made it really prone to accidents, but obviously that isn't proper verifcation for Wikipedia. -- 66.45.137.204 08:11, 22 March 2007 (UTC) (just a random wikipedian passing through here)

[edit] Wikipedia is not a reliable source

^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z National Bridge Inventory

SandyGeorgia (Talk) 14:13, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

That's not referring to the Wikipedia article, that's referring to the actual inventory. —Scott5114↗ 14:31, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
Then it should *link* to or include a reference to the actual inventory—what is it, a website, a book, a brochure? Where do our readers find the information sourced? SandyGeorgia (Talk) 14:36, 30 March 2007 (UTC)
NBI is a database of all bridges in the United States. I believe there are multiple ways of accessing it, but one is through http://www.nationalbridges.com/. As for how to format the ref, I'm not sure. I suppose cite web would work. I can't edit the article right now because of an overaggressive school cleanfilter, though. —Scott5114↗ 16:26, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Gimmetrow fixed the NBI sources - there are numerous other problems - I left inline notes and verify tags, and completing a lot of missing information. SandyGeorgia (Talk) 16:36, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

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