Previously designated: US 156 (1956-1981)
Length: 176.314 miles
Southwest Endpoint:US 50B/83B in Garden City
Northeast Endpoint:
US 56 in Larned (1956-1966)
I-70 exit 225 northeast of Ellsworth (1966-present)
Counties Served: Finney, Hodgeman, Pawnee, Barton, Ellsworth
History
US 156 was designated along with US 56 in 1956 from the portion of US 50N that was not designated as part of US 56.
AASHO approved an extension of US 156 at their July 1966 meeting, where it was marked on US 56 to Great Bend and replaced K-45 from Great Bend to Ellsworth, then northeast on a newly constructed highway northeast to I-70.
After the Highway Commission was reformed into the Department of Transportation, KDOT reviewed the US numbered highways in Kansas and determined this route no longer met the criteria of a US numbered highway. KDOT submitted a request to AASHTO to change 156 from a US route to a Kansas numbered route in 1979, which was approved at AASHTO’s October 1979 meeting and implemented by KDOT via an April 1, 1981 resolution.
Junction Guide
| KDOT Milepost | Total Miles | Junction |
|---|---|---|
| 156-28/0.000 | 0.000 | US 50B/US 83B (begin K-156) |
| 156-28/0.701 | 0.701 | Center Street |
| 156-28/1.320 | 1.320 | Campus Drive |
| 156-28/1.936 | 1.936 | East city limits Garden City |
| 156-28/2.051 | 2.051 | US 50/US 83/US 400 |
| 156-28/24.210 23-28/9.977 | 24.210 | West junction K-23 |
| 23-28/3.997 156-28/30.190 | 30.190 | East junction K-23 |
| 156-28/37.165 156-42/0.000 | 37.165 | Finney/Hodgeman county line |
| 156-42/18.154 | 55.319 | West city limits Jetmore |
| 156-42/18.904 | 56.069 | US 283 |
| 156-42/19.628 | 56.792 | East city limits Jetmore |
| 156-42/29.668 | 66.833 | Highway Avenue, Hanston |
| 156-42/38.668 156-73/0.000 | 75.833 | Hodgeman/Pawnee County Line |
| 156-73/2.365 | 78.198 | West city limits Burdett |
| 156-73/2.804 | 78.637 | East city limits Burdett |
| 156-73/9.136 | 84.969 | Rozel |
| 156-73/14.106 | 89.939 | US 183 |
| 156-73/19.373 | 95.206 | Fort Larned |
| 156-73/23.075 | 98.908 | K-264 |
| 156-73/25.143 | 100.976 | West city limits Larned |
| 156-73/25.447 | 101.280 | Carroll |
| 156-73/25.825 | 101.658 | Main |
| 156-73/25.901 56-73/18.196 | 101.734 | West junction US 56 (K-156 joins US 56) |
| 56-73/18.847 | 102.385 | East city limits Larned |
| 56-73/26.228 56-5/0.000 | 109.766 | Pawnee/Barton county line |
| 56-5/0.092 | 109.858 | West city limits Pawnee Rock |
| 56-5/0.675 | 110.441 | East city limits Pawnee Rock |
| 56-5/6.575 | 116.341 | 60th Avenue |
| 56-5/11.175 | 120.941 | 20th Avenue |
| 56-5/12.197 | 121.963 | South city limits Great Bend |
| 56-5/13.038 | 122.804 | West Junction K-96 (K-96 joins US 56/K-156) |
| 56-5/14.815 | 124.581 | US 281 |
| 56-5/16.320 | 126.086 | East city limits Great Bend |
| 56-5/18.610 156-5/18.610 | 128.376 | East junction US 56 (K-156 leaves US 56/K-96) |
| 156-5/33.874 | 143.640 | K-4 |
| 156-5/35.847 156-27/0.000 | 145.613 | Barton/Ellsworth county line |
| 156-27/4.828 | 150.441 | West city limits Holyrood |
| 156-27/5.037 | 150.650 | East city limits Holyrood |
| 156-27/17.709 | 163.322 | K-14 |
| 156-27/18.935 | 164.548 | South city limits Ellsworth |
| 156-27/19.990 | 165.603 | North city limits Ellsworth |
| 156-27/20.004 | 165.617 | K-140 |
| 156-27/25.455 | 171.068 | K-111 |
| 156-27/30.701 | 176.314 | I-70 (end K-156) |
AADT (2019)
| Location | Count | Truck % |
|---|---|---|
| US 50B/US 83B to Center Street | 11,500 | 6.4% |
| Center Street to Campus Drive, Garden City | 15,000 | 4.4% |
| Campus Drive to US 50/US 83/US 400 | 9,310 | 7.3% |
| US 50/US 83/US 400 to MP 3 | 8,600 | 8.4% |
| MP 3 to MP 11 | 2,300 | 21.7% |
| MP 11 to MP 13 | 1,590 | 32.1% |
| MP 13 to west junction K-23 | 1,620 | 22.8% |
| K-23/K-156 concurrency | 1,490 | 35.6% |
| East junction K-23 to MP 33 | 1,230 | 45.5% |
| MP 33 to MP 40 | 1,110 | 39.6% |
| MP 40 to MP 53 | 1,210 | 33.1% |
| MP 53 to US 283 | 1,350 | 28.9% |
| US 283 to MP 62 | 1,740 | 24.1% |
| MP 62 to Hanston | 1,690 | 24.0% |
| Hanston to Burdett | 1,410 | 31.2% |
| At Burdett | 1,360 | 31.6% |
| Burdett to MP 82 | 1,450 | 29.0% |
| MP 82 to Rozel | 1,490 | 30.2% |
| Rozel to US 183 | 1,650 | 26.4% |
| US 183 to MP 98 | 1,680 | 36.9% |
| MP 98 to K-264 | 2,130 | 29.1% |
| K-264 to Larned | 3,080 | 20.1% |
| West city limits Larned to Carroll Avenue | 4,730 | 11.5% |
| Carroll Avenue to US 56, Larned | 7,630 | 7.9% |
| US 56 from US 56/K-156 Junction to ECL Larned | 5,340 | 18.2% |
| Larned to US 56 MP 185 | 4,930 | 19.5% |
| US 56 MP 185 to Pawnee Rock | 4,800 | 21.5% |
| US 56 In Pawnee Rock | 5,440 | 18.9% |
| US 56 from Pawnee Rock to US 56 MP 198 | 4,850 | 21.9% |
| US 56 MP 198 to US 56 MP 202 | 5,250 | 19.0% |
| US 56 from US 56 MP 202 to Great Bend | 4,850 | 19.0% |
| US 56 from WCL Great Bend to W. jct. K-96 | 10,200 | 11.6% |
| US 56 from West Junction K-96 to US 281 | 16,900 | 9.2% |
| US 56 from US 281 to East city limits Great Bend | 12,500 | 14.2% |
| US 56 from Great Bend to US 56/K-96/K-156 jct. | 8,420 | 20.8% |
| US 56/K-96 to MP 132 | 2,880 | 32.6% |
| MP 132 to MP 141 | 3,000 | 30.5% |
| MP 141 to K-4 | 3,470 | 24.5% |
| K-4 to Holyrood | 3,070 | 22.3% |
| In Holyrood | 3,800 | 16.7% |
| Holyrood to MP 157 | 2,810 | 23.0% |
| MP 157 to K-14 | 3,070 | 20.7% |
| K-14 to Ellsworth | 3,890 | 18.5% |
| SCL Ellsworth to 8th Street | 4,270 | 16.6% |
| 8th Street to K-140 | 6,010 | 12.6% |
| K-140 to K-111 | 3,050 | 25.6% |
| K-111 to I-70 | 3,010 | 28.9% |