In 1926, the highway that first became known as US-83 was established as K-22. Then between 1930 and 1931, US-83 was extended into Kansas along K-22, which was decommissioned. Then between 1941 and 1944, US-83 and US-183 were swapped within Nebraska and a small portion into Kansas. US-83 was changed to turn north just northeast of Selden and the former alignment of US-83 from northeast of Selden to US-183 east of Woodruff became US-383, now K-383.
Route description
US-83 enters the Sunflower State, overlapped with US-270 in Seward County, approximately four miles (6.4 km) south of Liberal. From here it continues north to Liberal where it intersects US-54 and US-270 ends. North of Liberal, US-83 begins a concurrency with US-160, and the highways remain joined until reaching Sublette, the seat of Haskell County. US-83 and US-160 split north of Sublette; US-160 heads west toward Ulysses, and US-83 continues north toward Garden City.
At Garden City, US-50 and US-400 join US-83 for a brief concurrency on a bypass around the east and north sides of the city while US-83 Business follows the former routing through downtown. All three routes cross K-156, also known as Kansas Avenue, in the northwest portion of the city. At the north end of the US-50/US-83 Business route, US-83 splits and heads north toward Scott City, while US-50 and US-400 remain joined through the rest of the state. The highway passes through largely unpopulated areas of Finney County and Scott County before reaching a junction with K-96 in downtown Scott City.
In northern Scott County, K-4 has its origins at US-83, heading east toward Healy, and US-83 traverses through rolling farmlands until reaching Oakley, the seat of Logan County. US-83 reaches US-40 less than a mile west of I-70, and the two highways jog west for a brief multiplex before US-83 splits and crosses I-70.
North of I-70, US-83 intersects US-24 then curves northeast, east of Gem in Thomas County. US-83 continues its northeasterly track through Rexford and Selden. After passing through Selden, US-83 intersects the southern terminus of K-383 and the northern terminus of K-23. From here, US-83 turns north, crosses into Decatur County then continues north and intersects US-36 in Oberlin. Oberlin is the last area of significant population the highway passes in Kansas; the next city is McCook, Nebraska.
In 1926, the highway that first became known as US-83 was established as K-22.[3] Then between 1930 and 1931, US-83 was extended into Kansas along K-22, which was decommissioned.[2] Between July 1938 and 1939, US-183 was altered to follow US-36 east to K-1 in Phillipsburg, which created a short overlap between US-83 and US-183 near Norton.[4][5] Then between 1941 and 1944, US-183 and US-83 were swapped within Nebraska and a small portion into Kansas. US-83 was changed to turn north just northeast of Selden and US-183 was changed to continue north past Phillipsburg, which eliminated the overlap between the two in Norton. The former alignment of US-83 from northeast of Selden to east of Woodruff became US-383, now K-383.[6][7]
In a July 2010 study, US-83 was planned to be reconstructed from Sublette to Scott City and included a diamond interchange to be built at the K-144 intersection.[8]: 40–41 In February 2016, KDOT accepted a bid of $22.3 million (equivalent to $28.3 million in 2024) to convert the junction with K-144 to a diamond interchange as well as reconstruct a 6-mile (9.7 km) section of US-83.[9] On June 26, 2017, K-144 was closed and on June 27, 2017, US-160 was closed from K-190 east to US-83 and K-144.[10] On September 20, 2017, US-160 and K-144 reopened, with only minor work remaining to complete the entire project.[11]
^ abcRand McNally and Company (1931). "Kansas" (Map). Clason's Road Map of Kansas. 1:2,000,000. Denver: Clason Map Company. p. 87 – via Rumsey Collection.
^ abRand McNally and Company (1926). "Kansas" (Map). Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas of the United States, including a Brief Description of the National Parks and Monuments. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. pp. 56–57.
^State Highway Commission of Kansas (1938). Kansas State Highway System(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Topeka: State Highway Commission of Kansas. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
^State Farm Insurance Companies Travel Bureau (1939). "Nebraska" (Map). Rand McNally Road map: Nebraska. 1:1,267,200. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. pp. 58–59. Retrieved July 26, 2020 – via Rumsey Collection.
^State Highway Commission of Kansas (1941). Kansas State Highway System(PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Topeka: State Highway Commission of Kansas. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
^State Farm Insurance Companies Travel Bureau (1944). "Kansas" (Map). State Farm Road map: Kansas. 1:1,235,520. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. Retrieved July 26, 2020 – via Rumsey Collection.
^Kansas Department of Transportation (September 20, 2017). "U.S. 160/K-144 reopen in Haskell County"(PDF). Topeka: Kansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 11, 2021.