K-39 begins seven miles (11 km) north of Fredonia at U.S. Highway 400 (US-400). It travels east to Benedict, where it turns north toward Buffalo. South of town, K-39 meets US-75 and begins a short, one-mile-long (1.6 km) concurrency with the U.S. Highway. Once leaving US-75, the highway again travels east toward Chanute, where it intersects US-169. The highway continues east 12 miles (19 km) before beginning a seven-mile-long (11 km) concurrency with US-59. After briefly turning north with US-59, K-39 resumes its easterly route north of Stark. The highway shares a very short overlap with K-3 (less than one mile, 1.6 kilometers) and passes through Hiattville before meeting its eastern terminus at K-7, which completes the connection to US-69.[2]
History
K-39 has been at its current alignment since 1999.[3] Prior to that the western terminus was located near Elk City. The portion of the route between Elk City and Fredonia are now county owned roads. Before 1956, when K-39 was modernized, a large portion of the route was unpaved and used 90 degree turns to travel northeast instead of the current diagonal alignment.[4]
Comparison of K-39 alignments between 1945 (left) and 2015 (right). The dashed line indicates lack of pavement.
^Kansas Department of Transportation (1999). Kansas Official State Transportation Map(PDF) (Map) (1999–2000 ed.). Scale not given. Topeka: Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
^State Highway Commission of Kansas (1945). Travel Kansas: Crossroads of a Continent(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Topeka: State Highway Commission of Kansas. Retrieved August 1, 2015.
