K-156 begins at
US-50 Bus. and
US-83 Bus. in
Garden City and runs in a generally northeast direction to
I-70 and
US-40 northeast of
Ellsworth. K-156 is signed as east–west its entire length. According to 2018 traffic counts conducted by the
Kansas Department of Transportation,
on average, traffic varied from 1,080 vehicles per day slightly east of the
Finney–
Hodgeman county line to 14,500 vehicles per day in
Great Bend, slightly west of
US-281. The second highest volume of traffic was 11,500 vehicles per day, at the western terminus. The section of K-156 from the western end of the overlap with
US-56 to its eastern terminus is included in the
National Highway System. K-156 also connects to the National Highway System at its junction with
US-50,
US-83 and
US-400 in Garden City. All but of K-156's alignment is maintained by KDOT. The first from the western terminus eastward is maintained by Garden City. The entire section of K-156 in Larned and the entire section of K-156 through Great Bend are maintained by the cities.
Finney and Hodgeman counties The route begins in Garden City, on Kansas Avenue at the junction with US-50 Business and US-83 Business (Main Street). The highway continues over Kansas Avenue then turns northeast at a junction with Campus Drive. K-156 then intersects US-50, US-83 and US-400 via a
diamond interchange and then continues to follows Kansas Avenue in a northeast direction out of the city. It then curves east at East 6 Mile Road, then intersects Mennonite Road later. From here, the highway continues east for about through rural farmlands before intersecting
K-23, passing by Concannon State Fishing Lake and crossing Pawnee River along the way. Here K-156 begins a overlap with K-23. At the end of the overlap K-23 turns south toward
Cimarron, as K-156 continues east. K-156 then passes through
Kalvesta, then curves to the northeast as it crosses into Hodgeman County. About into the county, K-156 curves back to the east, then crosses Sand Creek later. Roughly further east the highway curves northeast for about then curves back east. The highway continues another then enters
Jetmore. In Jetmore it intersects
US-283, also known as Main Street. As it exits the city it travels a short distance then curves to the northeast at
Bosse. The roadway then curves more to the northeast and passes to the north of
Hanston. As it passes by Hanston, K-156 curves east briefly then back northeast as it begins to parallel a
Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad track. About later, the highway passes through
Gray. It continues past Gray for another then enters into
Pawnee County.
Pawnee County As it enters the county it continues to parallel a Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad track and the
Pawnee River. After about K-156 curves east, passes to the north of Rucker Airport, then enters the southern section of
Burdett as Broadway Avenue. It exits the city and continues east, crosses Sawmill Creek, then reaches an intersection with Pawnee Street and 280th Avenue just south of
Rozel. About past Rozel it crosses a railroad track. From here the highway continues east through rural farmlands to
US-183, crossing the Pawnee River and Cocklebur Creek along the way. It continues east for about before intersecting
K-264, passing
Fort Larned National Historic Site along the way. K-264 heads south to
Larned State Hospital, and K-156 continues east toward
Larned. It enters Larned becoming Edwards Street then becomes 14th Street at an intersection with State Street. It continues along 14th Street and soon intersects its implied parent US-56, at Broadway Street. Here the two highways begin to overlap as they continue east. The two routes curve northeast as they exit the city and begin to parallel a Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad track. The highways then cross Ash Creek and enters
Barton County later.
Barton and Ellsworth counties As K-156 enters the county it enters the city of
Pawnee Rock. It continues northeast and soon passes
Dundee. As it exits Dundee it passes to the south of Great Bend Municipal Airport. K-156 and US-56 then curve north and enter
Great Bend as South Patton Road. The highways turn east at 10th Street then soon intersects and begins to overlap with
K-96. The three roads continue east along 10th Street for to an intersection with
US-281 (Main Street), crossing a Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad track along the way. After the three highways cross US-281, they leave Great Bend and later, K-156 splits from US-56 and K-96, heading northeast from there. K-156 passes to the east of Cheyenne Bottoms Reservoir, crosses a Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad, then intersects
K-4 at a
folded diamond interchange east of
Claflin. After an interchange with K-4, the highway enters
Ellsworth County later. The highway enters the county and continues northeast before entering
Holyrood. As it exits the city, it continues through rural farm lands transitioning into grasslands, and soon intersects
K-14 south of
Ellsworth. At that junction, K-156 begins carrying a concurrency with
K-14 Truck route. The two routes then cross the
Smoky Hill River and a
Union Pacific Railroad track then enter Ellsworth. Inside the city the two highways curve north at an intersection with 8th Street. The highway passes Memorial Cemetery and soon intersects
K-140, known as East 15th Street westbound and Avenue J eastbound. Here, K-14 Truck splits from K-156 and follows K-140 westbound, and K-156 continues north. The highway soon exits the city and continues north for about then curves northeast and crosses Oak Creek. K-156 then reaches a junction with
K-111, crossing Spring Creek and East Spring Creek along the way. Past K-111, the landscape around the highway begins to transition to rolling hills covered by grasslands. K-156 then crosses and begins to parallel East Elkhorn Creek. It continues north along the creek for a few miles before reaching its northern terminus at exit 225 of
I-70 and
US-40 at a diamond interchange. ==History==