U.S. Route 36 in Kansas
# U.S. Route 36 in Kansas

U.S. Route 36 (US-36) is a major east–west route in the U.S. state of Kansas, extending from the Colorado state line to the Missouri border.

## Route description

The highway enters from Colorado into Cheyenne County, and shares a seven-mile (11 km) concurrency through the town of St. Francis with K-27, the first north–south route intersected in Kansas. K-27 splits east of St. Francis and heads south toward Goodland, and US-36 then continues through Bird City and McDonald before intersecting K-25 in Atwood, the seat of Rawlins County.

US-36 continues east through Decatur County, intersecting with US-83 in Oberlin before beginning a concurrency with K-383 in Norton County, a concurrency which runs for 12 miles (19 km) through the city of Norton, where it crosses US-283. K-383 splits in eastern Norton County and bends northeast toward Almena and the Nebraska state line, while US-36 enters Phillips County, picking up a brief concurrency with US-183 in Phillipsburg.

The highway passes through the small towns of Agra and Kensington before reaching Smith Center, the seat of Smith County, where US-281 joins US-36 for a 12-mile (19 km) concurrency. Near Lebanon, US-36 passes about four miles (6.4 km) south of the Geographic center of the contiguous United States, which is indicated by a marker where US-281 splits northward to Lebanon. US-36 then passes through largely unpopulated areas, except for the tiny town of Mankato in Jewell County.

At Belleville, the seat of Republic County, US-36 has an interchange with US-81. After passing through Washington County, US-36 picks up a brief concurrency with US-77 in Marysville, the seat of Marshall County, and another one with US-75 in Fairview. Between the junctions with US-77 and US-75, the highway passes through Nemaha County and its seat, Seneca.

In Brown County, US-36 becomes a super two, intersecting the concurrency of US-73 and US-159 in Hiawatha. The highway becomes full-access again before entering Doniphan County for its final trek through the state, passing through Troy and into Wathena, where it picks up freeway status though Elwood before crossing the Missouri River on the Pony Express Bridges and entering Missouri.

## History

Prior to 1926, the portion of future US-36 between Norton and the Missouri state line was known as the Rock Island Highway. The US-36 designation first appeared on Kansas maps in 1932. Since then, the highway has been straightened and parts of it upgraded to freeway or super two status.

Originally US-36 overlapped K-63 for a mile north out of Seneca, then turned east and left K-63 towards Oneida. Then in a March 21, 1939 resolution, it was approved to realign US-36 between Seneca and Fairview on a straight alignment, eliminating the overlap with K-63.

## Major junctions

All exits are unnumbered.

| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cheyenne | ​ | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 36 west – Denver | Continuation into Colorado |
| Cheyenne | ​ | | | K-27 north – Haigler Ne. | West end of K-27 concurrency |
| Cheyenne | ​ | | | K-27 south – Goodland | East end of K-27 concurrency |
| Cheyenne | Bird City | | | K-161 north – Benkelman Ne. | |
| Rawlins | Atwood | | | K-25 – Trenton Ne., Colby | |
| Rawlins | Midway | | | K-117 north – Herndon | |
| Decatur | Oberlin | | | US-83 – McCook Ne., Hoxie, Oakley | Former US-183 |
| Norton | ​ | | | K-383 south – Clayton | West end of K-383 concurrency; former US-383 south; originally US-83 south |
| Norton | Norton | | | US-283 (State Street) – Arapahoe Ne., Hill City, Business District | Former K-21 |
| Norton | ​ | | | K-67 north – Norton Correctional Facility | |
| Norton | ​ | | | K-383 north – Almena | East end of K-383 concurrency; former US-383 north; originally US-83 north |
| Norton | ​ | | | K-60 north (Road E11) – Almena | |
| Phillips | Phillipsburg | | | US-183 north (Second Street) – Alma Neb. | West end of US-183 concurrency; former K-1 north |
| Phillips | Phillipsburg | | | US-183 south – Stockton | East end of US-183 concurrency; former K-1 south |
| Smith | Kensington | | | K-248 south (Main Street) – Business District | |
| Smith | ​ | | | K-8 north (H Road) – Franklin Ne. | |
| Smith | ​ | | | K-204 east – Smith Center | |
| Smith | Smith Center | | | US-281 south (Main Street) – Osborne, Business District | West end of US-281 concurrency; former K-8 south |
| Smith | ​ | | | K-182 north (V Road) – Bellaire | |
| Smith | ​ | | | US-281 north / K-181 south – Lebanon, Downs | Interchange; east end of US-281 concurrency; northern terminus of K-181; US-281 north is former K-65 |
| Jewell | ​ | | | K-112 north (50 Road) – Esbon | |
| Jewell | ​ | | | K-128 south – Waconda Lake | West end of K-128 concurrency |
| Jewell | ​ | | | K-128 north (110 Road) – Burr Oak | East end of K-128 concurrency; former K-28 west |
| Jewell | ​ | | | K-14 south – Jewell, Beloit | West end of K-14 concurrency |
| Jewell | ​ | | | K-14 north – Superior Ne. | East end of K-128 concurrency |
| Republic | ​ | | | K-199 south – Courtland | |
| Republic | ​ | | | K-266 (50 Road) – Pawnee Indian Village | |
| Republic | Belleville | | | US-81 – Concordia, Hebron Ne. | Interchange |
| Republic | ​ | | | K-139 south – Cuba | |
| Washington | ​ | | | K-22 north (Deer Road) – Haddam | |
| Washington | ​ | | | K-15 north – Morrowville, Fairbury Neb. | West end of K-15 concurrency; former K-15W north |
| Washington | Washington | | | K-15 south (B Street) – Clay Center | East end of K-15 concurrency; former K-15W south |
| Washington | ​ | | | K-148 (All-American Road) / Oregon National Historic Trail / California National Historic Trail / Pony Express National Historic Trail – Hanover, Nebraska state line, Barnes | Former K-15E |
| Marshall | Marysville | | | US-77 north – Beatrice Ne. | West end of US-77 concurrency |
| Marshall | Marysville | | | US-77 south (Tenth Street) / Oregon National Historic Trail / California National Historic Trail – Junction City, Blue Rapids | East end of US-77 concurrency |
| Marshall | ​ | | | K-99 (21st Terrace) – Beattie, Frankfort | |
| Marshall | ​ | | | K-87 south (26th Road) – Vliets | |
| Marshall | ​ | | | K-110 north (30th Road) – Axtell | |
| Nemaha | ​ | | | K-187 south – Centralia | |
| Nemaha | ​ | | | K-178 north – St. Benedict | |
| Nemaha | Seneca | | | K-63 north (21st Terrace) – Beattie, Frankfort | West end of K-63 concurrency |
| Nemaha | ​ | | | K-63 south (26th Road) – Vliets | East end of K-63 concurrency |
| Nemaha | ​ | | | K-236 north – Oneida | |
| Brown | ​ | | | US-75 – Sabetha, Holton | Interchange |
| Brown | ​ | | | 12th Street | West end of super two |
| Brown | Hiawatha | | | US-73 / US-159 – Hiawatha, Horton | |
| Brown | ​ | | | Mulberry Road | |
| Brown | ​ | | | Raccoon Road | |
| Brown | ​ | | | Timber Road | |
| Doniphan | ​ | | | Ash Point Road – Leona | At-grade intersection; east end of super two |
| Doniphan | ​ | | | K-120 – Highland, Severance | Interchange |
| Doniphan | ​ | | | K-7 – Atchison, White Cloud | Interchange |
| Doniphan | ​ | | | K-136 – Troy | Interchange; northern terminus of K-136 |
| Doniphan | Wathena–Elwood line | | | 165th Road | West end of freeway |
| Doniphan | Elwood | | | K-238 | Southern terminus of K-238 |
| Doniphan | Elwood | | | Roseport Road | |
| Missouri River | Missouri River | 390.0 | 627.6 | Pony Express Bridges; Kansas–Missouri line | Pony Express Bridges; Kansas–Missouri line |
| Missouri River | Missouri River | 390.0 | 627.6 | US 36 east | Continuation into St. Joseph, Missouri |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Route transition ||||||
