K-57 (Kansas highway)

K-57
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Route information
Maintained by KDOT
Length:	31.2 mi (50.2 km)
Major junctions
North end:	US-77 near Milford Lake
South end:	K-4 in Dwight
Location
Counties:	Geary, Morris
Highway system
Kansas numbered highways ← K-55 K-58 →

K-57 is a 31.2-mile-long (50.2 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a north-south highway that connects Junction City to Milford Lake, as well as serving as a southeasterly connection to Council Grove. The highway's mileposts are signed the wrong way; generally the mileage starts at the southern or western terminus. However, the mileposts begin at the northern terminus.

Route description

File:K-57 Milford State Park.jpg

K-57 in Milford State Park

K-57 begins at US-77 east of Milford Lake, where it heads southwest towards the reservoir. It enters Milford State Park and traverses the dam at the lake. The highway meets a spur of K-244, and turns southeast before meeting K-244. K-57 intersects US-77 once again, and enters Junction City as Jackson Street. It turns east at 18th Street near Junction City Municipal Airport. After traveling east 4 blocks, the highway turns onto Washington Street, where it travels south for a mile (1.6 km) before turning east onto 6th Street and exiting the city. The portion between US-77 and 6th street is also signed as Alternate US-77. K-57 approaches Grandview Plaza, where it crosses the Smoky Hill River at the western city limit. The highway passes through the southern edge of town while paralleling I-70. East of the town, it turns southeast, and passes under I-70 with a diamond interchange. K-57 travels southeast through rural Geary County, winding through the Flint Hills. The highway enters Morris County 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Dwight, and meets its southern terminus in the town at K-4.

History

K-57 first appeared on the map in 1932. The highway was once much longer, and spanned a large portion of eastern Kansas. The southern terminus was at the Missouri border southeast of Pittsburg on what is current-day K-171. Much of the old alignment is now county-owned roads, and after being moved to other, overlapping highways over the years, last appeared on the 2003-2004 map.

Major junctions

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Geary	​	0.0	0.0	US-77	Northern terminus
	​	3.6	5.8	K-244 Spur
	​	5.0	8.0	K-244
	​	5.4	8.7	US-77
	Junction City	9.1	14.6	US-40 Bus.	Northern end of US-40 Business concurrency
	Grandview Plaza	11.6	18.7	I-70 / US-40 Bus.	Southern end of US-40 Business concurrency
Morris	Dwight	31.2	50.2	K-4	Southern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus