U.S. Route 159

U.S. Highway 159 is an auxiliary route of U.S. Highway 59. It currently runs for 85 miles (137 km) from Nortonville, Kansas at U.S. Highway 59 to New Point, Missouri at U.S. Highway 59. The highway permits through traffic on U.S. 59 to bypass the cities of Atchison, Kansas and Saint Joseph, Missouri.

Route description

Kansas

US-159 begins at US-59 in Nortonville. It joins with U.S. Route 73 in Horton. The two highways overlap to the Nebraska border, passing through Hiawatha before leaving the state north of Reserve.

Nebraska

U.S. 159 clips the far southeastern corner of Nebraska. It enters south of Falls City concurrently with U.S. Route 73. In Falls City U.S. 159 turns east. It leaves the state via the Rulo Bridge at the Missouri River in Rulo.

Missouri

Rulo Bridge (US 159) from the Missouri side with the Burlington Northern bridge to the right (north)

US 159 enters northwestern Missouri near Big Lake. It crosses Interstate 29 near Fortescue before ending at US 59 near New Point. Its total length in Missouri is approximately 16 miles (26 km).

History

When the route was commissioned in 1934, U.S. Route 159 only went between Nortonville, Kansas and Horton, Kansas. In 1945, it was extended north to Craig, Missouri via Falls City, Nebraska. After 1975, the route in Missouri was altered to go east from the Fortescue area to what is now its current terminus near New Point, Missouri. The old route which went to Craig is now Route 111.

Future

In March 2009, a new bridge, which will replace the current Rulo Bridge, was approved by Nebraska Department of Roads. It will be located about 650 feet south of the current bridge.

Major intersections

State	County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Kansas	Jefferson	Nortonville	0.0	0.0	US-59 / K-4 Alt. begins	South end of K-4 Alt. overlap
			0.5	0.80	K-4 Alt. south	North end of K-4 Alt. overlap
	Atchison	Center Township	3.6	5.8	K-116 east	South end of K-116 overlap
		Center–Benton township line	4.3	6.9	K-116 west	North end of K-116 overlap
			8.7	14.0	K-9 east	South end of K-9 overlap
		Grasshopper Township	22.7	36.5	K-9 west	North end of K-9 overlap
	Brown	Horton	28.3	45.5	US-73 south / K-20	South end of US 73 overlap
		Hiawatha	40.3	64.9	US-36
			52.3 0.00	84.2 0.00	Kansas–Nebraska state line
Nebraska	Richardson	Falls City	4.11	6.61	US 73 north	North end of US 73 overlap
Missouri River			13.87 17.424	22.32 28.041	Nebraska–Missouri state line (Rulo Bridge)
Missouri	Holt	Big Lake	13.248	21.321	Route 111 north	South end of Route 111 overlap
		Minton Township	7.771	12.506	Route 111 south	North end of Route 111 overlap
		Benton Township	3.242– 3.223	5.217– 5.187	I-29	Exit 79 along I-29
		Hickory Township	0.000	0.000	US 59
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

Browse numbered routes
← K-156	KS	US-160 →
← US 138	NE	I-180 →
← Route 158	MO	US 160 →