Kansas Highways Routelog

Kansas Highway 7

A7
Original Kansas Highway
Length: 243.57 miles
South Endpoint:
Oklahoma State Line, north of Picher, Oklahoma (concurrent with US 69)

North Endpoint:
Nebraska State Line north of White Cloud

Counties Passed through: Cherokee, Crawford, Bourbon, Linn, Miami, Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Atchison, Doniphan
Full Description

History

K-7 initially had its north end US 40 near Bonner Springs. By 1932, K-7 was hard-surfaced from the Bourbon/Crawford County line north to K-38, from the Miami/Linn County line to Paola, from Bonita to Olathe, along the concurrency with K-10, and from Bonner Springs north to US 40. A segment in the southern half of Linn County was also dirt. By 1933, the dirt segment in Linn County was graveled, and the road was hard surfaced in Cherokee and Crawford Counties.

In 1936, US 69 and US 169 were designated in Kansas. US 69 was moved to K-7 south of Fort Scott, and a new diagonal alignment was built southwest from US 69. This stretch was graveled by 1937, and hard-surfaced by 1950. US 169 was designated along K-7 from Osawatomie to Olathe and had been hard-surfaced from Paola north to the junction with K-68. K-7 was also extended north along US 73 to Atchison, then replaced K-16 from Atchison to US 36 at Troy. The former K-16 was hard surfaced.

In 1937, K-7 was extended north from Troy northwest along US 36 along a new alignment, ending at the Nebraska line northwest of White Cloud. The new K-7 north of US 36 was graveled by 1937 and hard surfaced by 1953. The US 169/K-7 segment was paved from K-68 to Spring Hill between 1937 and 1940. K-7 was paved between K-10 and Bonner Springs by 1941. K-7 in Linn County was hard surfaced from south to north between 1953 and 1957

By 1957, a new Kansas River bridge was built at Bonner Springs, an K-7 bypassed Bonner on the east side before meeting the old alignment north of town. Past the new interchange on the Kansas Turnpike (also I-70), K-7 angled northwest, meeting US 24/40/73 at a cloverleaf interchange. By 1971, K-7 had been widened to four lanes along the concurrency with K-10. By 1982, K-7 had been widened from the new K-10 freeway north to the Kansas River bridge, and from I-70 north to the US 24/40/73 interchange. By 1986, K-7 was widened between the Kansas River and I-70. The final stretch of K-7 was widened by 1995.

In 2008, the interchange with US 24/40/73 at State Avenue was closed for reconstruction into a six-ramp partial cloverleaf, with the loop ramps from eastbound State Ave. to northbound K-7, and from westbound State Ave. to southbound K-7 removed. Upon completion of the new interchange in 2009, State Ave. east of K-7 was turned back to the Unified government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City Kansas, and K-7 between State Ave. and I-70 re-designated as US 24/40/73 and K-7.

Average Annual Daily Traffic
Junction Guide
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