K-149 (Kansas highway)

K-149
K-149 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by KDOT
Length	6.098 mi[2]: 69–70  (9.814 km)
Existed	February 13, 1957[1]–present
Major junctions
South end	US-56 east of Herington
North end	K-4 south of White City
Location
Counties	Morris
Highway system
Kansas State Highway System Interstate US State Spurs
← K-148 → K-150

K-149 is a 6.098-mile-long (9.814 km) north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. Entirely within Morris County, K-149's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 56 (US-56) east of Herington and the northern terminus is at K-4 south of White City. The majority of the highway passes through rural grasslands and is a two-lane road its entire length.

Before state highways were numbered in Kansas there were auto trails, the southern terminus follows the former National Old Trails Road, Old Santa Fe Trail and Southwest Trail. K-149 was first designated as a state highway by the State Highway Commission of Kansas, now known as the Kansas Department of Transportation, on February 13, 1957. The highways alignment has not changed since it was created.

Route description[]

K-149's southern terminus is at US-56 west of Council Grove. The highway begins traveling northward through the great plains before entering a small forested area at the crossing of an unnamed creek. The landscape quickly transitions back to open plains as the roadway continues north to the Third Standard Parallel South. The highway curves east then back north after roughly 0.1 miles (160 m). The roadway continues north to a crossing over the West Fork Neosho River. K-149 passes by an abandoned schoolhouse and continues another roughly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) through the great plains before reaching its northern terminus at K-4 south of White City.^[3][4]

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) tracks the traffic levels on its highways, and in 2020, they determined that on average the traffic was 160 vehicles per day on K-149.^[5] The entire route is paved with partial design bituminous pavement.^{[2]: 69–70 [6]}

History[]

Before state highways were numbered in Kansas there were auto trails, which were an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. The southern terminus follows the former National Old Trails Road, which ran from Baltimore and Washington D.C. west to Los Angeles;^[7] the former Old Santa Fe Trail, which ran from Franklin to Santa Fe;^[8] and former Southwest Trail, which ran from Fort Worth north to Chicago.^[9][10]

K-149 was first designated a state highway by the Kansas State Highway Commission (SHC), now known as KDOT, on February 13, 1957.^[1] On June 5, 1957, the SHC asked for bids to seal the entire length of the new K-149.^[11] In October 1957, the SHC placed a load limit of 8 short tons (7,300 kg) per vehicle on the bridge over the West Fork Neosho River.^[12] In August 1976, the SHC approved a seven-year statewide highway construction program at an estimated cost of $266 million (equivalent to $949 million in 2019 dollars).^[13] Included in the project were plans to rebuild the K-149 bridge over the West Fork Neosho River at an estimated cost of $170,000 (equivalent to $606,526 in 2019 dollars).^[13][14] The next year, the program was replaced with a five-year statewide highway construction program at an estimated cost of almost $596 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2019 dollars).^[13] Still included were plans to replace the bridge, but at an estimated cost of $180,000 (equivalent to $604,574 in 2019 dollars).^[13][15] In early February 1978, it was announced that the existing 30-by-28-foot (9.1 m × 8.5 m) bridge will be replaced with a 132.5-by-28-foot-long (40.4 m × 8.5 m) concrete slab bridge.^[16] In late February 1978, the Federal Highway Administration approved the design plans for the new bridge.^[17] On August 31, 1978, the SHC asked for bids to be submitted by September 21, to replace the bridge over the West Fork Neosho River as well as grading and planting on a 0.372-mile-long (0.599 km) section by the bridge.^[18] The bridge was then replaced that next year.^[19] K-149's alignment has not changed since it was created.^[20][21]

Major intersections[]

The entire route is in Morris County.

Location	mi[2]: 69–70	km	Destinations	Notes
​	0.000	0.000	US-56 – Council Grove, Herington	Southern terminus
​	6.098	9.814	K-4 – White City, Dwight, Herington	Northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References[]

External links[]

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