page_title: Interstate 470 (Kansas)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 470 (Kansas) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Interstates in today's terms I-70 I-470
context_page_description: Interstate 470 is a 13.72-mile loop highway that bypasses the downtown area of Topeka, Kansas. I-470 begins at an interchange with I-70 in western Topeka and heads generally southeast, running concurrent with U.S. Route 75. The concurrency with US-75 ends 5.74 miles later at the Burlingame Road interchange. I-470 becomes part of the Kansas Turnpike at its junction with I-335. From there, the highway heads generally northeast through the southeastern sections of Topeka. After traveling 7.03 miles as the Kansas Turnpike, I-470 reaches its eastern terminus at I-70. The highway has annual average daily traffic values as high as 43,000 west of Gage Boulevard to as low as 10,370 near the eastern terminus. As an Interstate Highway, I-470 is a part of the United States National Highway System. The non-turnpike portions of the highway are maintained by the Kansas Department of Transportation, while the turnpike portion is maintained by the Kansas Turnpike Authority.
  The Kansas Turnpike was opened in the 1950s, comprising the eastern portion of the route.
context_section_description: The section of I-470 that now runs along the Kansas Turnpike was opened in 1956, and was the first part of I-470 to be built. After the founding of the Interstate Highway System that same year, several Interstate freeways were planned through Topeka, including I-70 and I-470. Construction began on I-470 after I-70's completion to Topeka. The segment of the I-470 freeway from the I-70 interchange to the Kansas Turnpike, most of which is concurrent with US-75, was built by Koss Construction Company and was under construction until 1960. On October 21, 1960, the western section of I-470 was dedicated by the state highway department and the Kansas Turnpike Authority and opened to traffic. Since completion of the freeway, the route has not been changed. In 1982, Interstate 470 was dedicated as "Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Highway".
caption: 1955 map showing planned Interstate highways through Topeka
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