K-27 (Kansas highway)

K-27
K-27
	K-27 highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by KDOT
Length	226.241 mi (364.100 km)
History	Designated K-25 in 1926; renumbered to K-27 in 1927
Major junctions
South end	US-56 near Elkhart
	US-160 in Johnson City; US-50 / US-400 in Syracuse; K-96 in Tribune; US-40 in Sharon Springs; I-70 / US-24 in Goodland; US-36 near Saint Francis;
North end	N-27 at Nebraska state line, south of Haigler
Location
Country	United States
State	Kansas
Counties	Morton, Stanton, Hamilton, Greeley, Wallace, Sherman, Cheyenne
Highway system
	Kansas State Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Spurs;

K-27 is an approximately 226-mile-long (364 km) north–south state highway that parallels Kansas' western border with Colorado. It is the westernmost north–south state highway in the state. It begins at U.S. Route 56 (US-56) in Elkhart near the Oklahoma state line and travels through the seven counties that border Colorado until reaching its northern terminus north of St. Francis, where it ends at the Nebraska state line (effectively becoming like-numbered Nebraska Highway 27). Along the way, it intersects several major highways, including US-160 in Johnson City, US-50 and US-400 in Syracuse, US-40 in Sharon Springs, Interstate 70 (I-70) and US-24 in Goodland, and US-36 in Wheeler. The section from US-40 north to Nebraska, is designated as the Land and Sky Scenic Byway. K-27 changes time zones twice, during its trek through Kansas, the only highway in the state to do so.

Before state highways were numbered in Kansas there were auto trails. The section of K-27 from Elkhart to the beginning of the overlap with K-51 was a part of the former Dallas–Canadian–Denver Highway. In Syracuse, the highway crosses the former National Old Trails Road, Old Santa Fe Trail and New Santa Fe Trail and Albert Pike Highway. In Tribune, K-27 crosses the former Kansas–Colorado Boulevard. In Sharon Springs the highway crosses the former Union Pacific Highway. Then further north in Goodland K-27 crosses the former Golden Belt, former Kansas White Way, former Blue Line, and former Pikes Peak Ocean to Ocean Highway. The route that K-27 follows was first designated as a state highway in 1926, as K-25. At that time it ran from the Elkhart, north to the Nebraska border. By 1927, it was renumbered to K-27. In 1955, K-27 was extended from Elkhart, south to the Oklahoma border. Then in 2004, it was realigned to intersect US-56 northeast of Elkhart.

^ Rand 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.
^ Rand McNally and Company (1927). "Kansas" (Map). Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas of the United States and Ontario, Quebece, and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, with a Brief Description of the National Parks and Monuments. 1:1,600,000. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. pp. 54–55. OCLC 2078375 – via Rumsey Collection.
^ Cite error: The named reference PMIS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1926rm-1] Rand 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.

[1927rm-2] Rand McNally and Company (1927). "Kansas" (Map). Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas of the United States and Ontario, Quebece, and the Maritime Provinces of Canada, with a Brief Description of the National Parks and Monuments. 1:1,600,000. Chicago: Rand McNally and Company. pp. 54–55. OCLC 2078375 – via Rumsey Collection.

[PMIS-3] Cite error: The named reference PMIS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3]

[1]

[2]