Interstate 135

"I-135" redirects here. For the isotope of iodine (I-135 or ¹³⁵I), see Iodine-135.

Interstate 135 (I-135) is an approximately 95.7-mile-long (154.0 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway in central and south-central Kansas, United States. I-135, which is signed as north–south, runs between I-35 and the Kansas Turnpike in Wichita north to I-70, U.S. Highway 40 (US-40), and US-81 in Salina. Except for the first 0.46 miles (0.74 km), I-135 overlaps US-81 its entire length. The route also runs through the cities of McPherson, Newton, and Park City.

The highway was designated as Interstate 35W (I-35W) until September 1976, when it was renumbered as I-135 to conform to new AASHTO policies that eliminated most suffixed Interstate Highways. It is currently the longest three-digit "spur", with an odd first digit, in the Interstate System.

Route description

I-135 begins at this exit from the Kansas Turnpike.

File:I-135 end.jpg

the southern end of I-135 from I-135

I-135 begins from the south at exit 42 on the Kansas Turnpike. (The exit is signed as I-135/I-235/US-81 for Wichita and Salina.) US-81 joins I-135 0.5 miles (0.80 km) later at exit 1A (East 47th Street South) and remains concurrent with it for the rest of its length. Less than one mile (1.6 km) from the Kansas Turnpike tollbooth, I-235, a loop around the westside of Wichita, branches off the highway at exit 1C. I-135 continues northward from there, running just east of the Wichita downtown area. It reunites with I-235 at exits 11A and 11B at milepost 11 at the loop's other end.

I-135 leaves Wichita and continues northward to Newton where it turns northwest around milemarker 33. The freeway continues in this direction for 20 miles (32 km), returning to a due north course at McPherson.

The stretch of I-135 in Saline County from the Saline–McPherson county line to the highway's terminus at I-70, is designated as the Ben E. Vidricksen Highway, in honor of a state senator who was active in pushing for the highway's enlargement.

I-135 ends at this interchange with I-70; US-81 continues north.

The route ends on the northwest side of Salina, at its intersection at I-70. The road continues as US-81 north of this interchange.

History

Construction on the Canal Route portion of I-135 (in Wichita, where the Chisholm Creek Canal runs through the median of the highway) was begun in 1971. This portion of the route took eight years to complete with a cost of $32 million (equivalent to $NaN in 2021). It was built through the middle of the city's African-American neighborhood, known as McAdams.

Until September 13, 1976, I-135 was signed as Interstate 35W (I-35W). The Interstate's full length was completed in December 1979.

In 2021, work began to rebuild the northern junction with I-235 in Wichita. A two-lane flyover ramp connecting northbound I-135 to southbound I-235 which replaced the previous one-lane loop ramp opened on May 31, 2023.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Sedgwick	Wichita	0.00– 0.43	0.00– 0.69		I-35 / Kansas Turnpike – Oklahoma City, Kansas City	Southern terminus; Kansas Turnpike toll booth; I-35/Kansas Tpke. exit 42; trumpet interchange
		0.46	0.74	1A	US-81 south (47th Street South)	South end of US-81 overlap; last free exit southbound
		0.81	1.30	1C	I-235 north	Left exit and entrance northbound; I-235 exit 1A southbound (to I-135 north); tri-stack interchange; former US-81 Byp. north
		2.32	3.73	2	Hydraulic Avenue
		3.21	5.17	3A	K-15 south (Southeast Boulevard)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; south end of K-15 overlap
		3.94	6.34	3B	Pawnee Street
		4.93	7.93	4	Harry Street
		5.43	8.74	5A	Lincoln Street
		5.96	9.59	5B	US-54 / US-400 (Kellogg Avenue)	Signed as exit 6A southbound
		6.60– 6.76	10.62– 10.88	6B	1st Street North, 2nd Street North	Signed as exit 6C southbound
		6.98	11.23	7A	Central Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		7.48	12.04	7B	8th Street North, 9th Street North
		8.02	12.91	8	13th Street North
		9.00	14.48	9	21st Street North
		10.57	17.01	10	K-96 east /	Signed as exits 10A (K-96) and 10B (29th St., Hydraulic) northbound; south end of K-96 overlap
		11.78	18.96	11A	I-235 south / K-96 west – Hutchinson	North end of K-96 overlap; I-235 exits 16A-B; I-235 is former US-81 Byp. south
				11B	K-254 east – El Dorado	Left exit and entrance southbound
		13.21	21.26	13	53rd Street North
	Park City	14.23	22.90	14	61st Street North
	Kechi–Grant township line	16.25	26.15	16	77th Street North
	Grant Township	17.23	27.73	17	85th Street North
		19.23	30.95	19	101st Street North
Sedgwick–Harvey county line	Grant–Darlington township line	22.27	35.84	22	125th Street North
Harvey	Darlington Township	25.27	40.67	25	K-196 east – Whitewater, El Dorado
	Newton	28.28	45.51	28	SE 36th Street (CR-576)
		30.11– 30.32	48.46– 48.80	30	US-50 west / K-15 north – Hutchinson	South end of US-50 overlap; north end of K-15 overlap; serves Newton Medical Center; left exit and entrance northbound
		31.34– 31.87	50.44– 51.29	31	First Street, Broadway Street
		32.65	52.55	33	US-50 east – Peabody, Emporia	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; north end of US-50 overlap
		34.78	55.97	34	K-15 – North Newton, Abilene
	Hesston	40.52	65.21	40	Lincoln Boulevard
McPherson	Mound Township	46.10	74.19	46	K-260 west – Moundridge	Counterclockwise terminus of K-260; serves Mercy Hospital and Moundridge Municipal Airfield
		48.68	78.34	48	K-260 east – Moundridge	Clockwise terminus of K-260; serves Mercy Hospital
	Lone Tree–King City township line	54.44	87.61	54	Comanche Road (CR-445) / 18th Avenue (CR-319)
	King City Township	58.39	93.97	58	US-81 Bus. / K-61 – McPherson, Hutchinson
	McPherson	60.51	97.38	60	US-56 / US-81 Bus. – McPherson, Marion
	McPherson Township	62.94	101.29	63	Mohawk Road	Opened 2017
	New Gottland Township	65.93	106.10	65	Pawnee Road (CR-448)
		68.03– 68.60	109.48– 110.40	Rest Area, located in the median; left exits and entrances
	Smoky Hill Township	72.93	117.37	72	Smoky Valley Road (CR-429) – Lindsborg, Roxbury	Former US-81 Bus. north, previously signed as north
Saline	Smoky View Township	77.86	125.30	78	K-4 west (Old Highway 81) – Bridgeport, Lindsborg	South end of K-4 overlap; former US-81 Bus. south, previously signed as south
		81.96	131.90	82	K-4 east (Assaria Road) /	North end of K-4 overlap
	Smolan Township	86.01	138.42	86	K-104 east (Mentor Road) /
	Salina	88.00	141.62	88	Water Well Road
		89.03	143.28	89	Schilling Road
		90.04	144.91	90	Magnolia Road
		92.39	148.69	92	Crawford Street
		93.43	150.36	93	K-140 west (State Street)
		95.74	154.08	95A-B	US-81 north / I-70 / US-40 – Concordia, Topeka, Hays	Northern terminus; north end of US-81 overlap; signed as exits 95A (I-70 east) and 95B (I-70 west); I-70 exits 250A-B; freeway continues north as US-81 (Frank Carlson Memorial Highway); cloverleaf interchange.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Tolled

External links

• Kansas Highway Maps: Current, Historic, KDOT
• I-135 at Kurumi.com
• I-135 at AARoads