page_title: K-4 (Kansas highway)
section_title: Western Kansas
hierarchical_section_title: K-4 (Kansas highway) / Route description / Western Kansas
caption_attribution_description: Kansas State Highway 156 (K-156) at K-4 junction
context_page_description: K-4 is the longest designated state highway in Kansas, at 369.079 miles. It begins north of Scott City at U.S. Route 83 and travels eastward to US-59 near Nortonville in northeast Kansas. A segment of the highway in Saline County overlaps Interstate 135 and US-81, and a section in Topeka runs concurrent with I-70. It also intersects several other major highways, including US-283 in Ransom, US-183 in La Crosse, US-281 in Hoisington, US-77 in Herington, I-470 and US-75 in Topeka, and US-24 northeast of Topeka.
  K-4 was first designated by KDOT in 1927, and at that time ran from K-1 in La Crosse eastward to the Missouri state line by Atchison. By 1932, the highway was extended westward along the former alignment of K-52 to its current western terminus. Then in December 1994, K-4 was truncated to US-59 in Nortonville.
context_section_description: K-4 runs to the north of K-96 between its western terminus and the K-14 junction in Rice County. The route begins in rural Scott County at an intersection with U.S. Route 83. Sixteen miles (26 km) east of here, it passes through the town of Healy. About six miles (9.7 km) further east, it has a two-mile-long (3.2 km) concurrency with K-23. From here, K-4 continues east as it serves the towns of Shields, Utica, Arnold, before reaching Ransom, where it intersects US-283. After passing through Brownell, K-4 serves as the southern terminus of K-147. K-4 then turns southward to bisect McCracken before turning to the east to cross US-183 in La Crosse, the county seat of Rush County.
  From La Crosse, K-4 heads due east, running through Otis as it approaches the Barton County line. It then meets US-281 in a T-intersection and begins an overlap with it. This overlap carries the two routes through to Hoisington, where they split up. K-4 then runs through Redwing and Claflin. East of Claflin, K-4 has a full folded diamond interchange with K-156.  K-4 bypasses Bushton (which can be accessed via K-171) and cuts through Frederick before having a junction with K-14. It then runs just north of Geneseo and along the Rice/Ellsworth County line. The highway then moves fully into Ellsworth County, where it meets the south end of K-141.
caption: K-156 approaching K-4 interchange
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