K-61 is a north-south state highway in the U.S. State of Kansas. K-61's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 54 and US-400 on the east side of Pratt, and the northern terminus is at I-135 and US-81 south of McPherson. K-61 is signed as a north-south but runs southwest and northeast.
Route description
K-61 passes through the towns of Preston, Turon, Langdon and Partridge, while paralleling a line of the Union Pacific Railroad, then beginning a six-mile concurrency with US-50. It shares a short concurrency with K-14 and K-96 near South Hutchinson. After breaking to the northeast from US-50, K-61 passes through the east side of Hutchinson. It bypasses Medora, Inman, and Groveland before ending at I-135 and US-81 south of McPherson. Its last two milesshare a "wrong-way" concurrency with US-81 Business. K-61 is a two-lane highway from its south end until it meets US-50, and a four-lane highway for the rest of its route. It has controlled access interchanges at North K-96, west of Hutchinson; South K-96, also signed To K-17 in South Hutchinson. After breaking away from US-50, K-61 has controlled access interchanges at Avenue A in Hutchinson, 56th Avenue in Hutchinson, 85th Avenue/Medora Road north of Hutchinson, and Cherokee Road in Inman. Near McPherson, the highway is a full freeway, with interchanges at K-153, K-153 Spur, and US-81 Bus.
History
K-61 was commissioned by 1932. It appears on the 1932 state highway map. K-61 originally ended in Hutchinson at US-50. Sometime between 1956 and 1962, K-61 was extended on a previous routing of K-17 between Hutchinson and McPherson. In a September 9, 2009 resolution KDOT slightly realigned K-61 southwest of McPherson, slightly realigned it to the west of Inman and realigned it westward slightly north-northwest of Hutchinson. In a project lasting several years, the Kansas Department of Transportation turned the northern part of K-61 from Hutchinson to McPherson into a four-lane expressway. Some intersections were changed to controlled-access interchanges, and the number of at-grade intersections was reduced. The original route went through Medora and Inman, but the new route bypasses both, west of its original route. As of August 2012, all lanes are open to traffic. The new section of the highway has been designated the John Neal Memorial Highway in memory of a major advocate of the project.
