K-141 (Kansas highway)


K-141 is a north–south state highway in Ellsworth County in central Kansas. The highway connects K-4 west of Marquette and K-140 northeast of Carneiro with Kanopolis Lake. K-141 is a part of the Prairie Trail Scenic Byway, a scenic byway designated to highlight the history, culture, and nature of the area.

Route description

K-141 is a north-south route with a total length of. The entire route travels primarily through rural grassland.
K-141 begins at a southern terminus with K-4 west of the town Marquette. From there, the highway heads north for about before turning north-northwest. After the turn, K-141 travels along the top of Kanopolis Dam. Immediately after crossing the dam, the highway turns northwest, travels a short distance, then gently curves back to a northerly direction. K-141 continues traveling in a northward direction until it is south of K-140, at which time it turns northeast, crosses railroad tracks, then turns back north to its northern terminus with K-140 northeast of the unincorporated community of Carneiro.
From the southern terminus northward it is paved with full design bituminous pavement, the next is paved with partial design bituminous pavement and the final is paved with full design bituminous pavement. K-141 is not included in the National Highway System. The National Highway System is a system of highways important to the nation's defense, economy, and mobility. 2017 Annual average daily traffic on K-141 ranged from 455 near the intersection of Avenue M to 520 slightly north of the southern terminus.

History

On October 6, 1954 the Kansas State Highway Commission, now known as Kansas Department of Transportation, passed a resolution to make Kanopolis Lake Road a state highway as soon as Ellsworth County had brought it up to state highway standards. Then in an August 16, 1955 resolution it was designated K-141 as the county had finished required projects. On October 13, 1967 US-40 was rerouted to overlap the newly constructed section of I-70 from Dorrance to Salina. At that time K-141 was extended from its northern terminus eastward along old US-40 to Salina. This extension was brief because on November 27, 1968, old US-40 from Ellsworth eastward to Salina was designated K-140 and K-141 was truncated to end at the new K-140, its original northern terminus.

Major intersections