Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–south highway spanning in
Oklahoma. The southern terminus for US 169 is Memorial Drive. The highway connects
Tulsa, Oklahoma to the south with the
Kansas state border to the north at
South Coffeyville, Oklahoma. US 169 travels through
Tulsa,
Rogers, and
Nowata counties. US 169 has undergone several widening projects that have brought US 169 to
freeway and
expressway standards. The highway is two lanes between
Talala, Oklahoma and
South Coffeyville except for a short four-lane portion north of
Nowata, Oklahoma and ending at
State Highway 28. An Alternate US 169 passes through
Nowata following the original path of US 169. The alternate route begins at the intersection of Choctaw Avenue and reconnects with US 169 south of
Nowata at its intersection with Maple Street. In January 2005,
Oklahoma Department of Transportation began a $16.8 million widening project on a mile-long stretch of US 169 (officially named 'Pearl Harbor Memorial Expressway', although this name is rarely used by Tulsans) from
Interstate 244 (I-244) to
I-44. The project widened the highway from four to six lanes, adding one lane in each direction. The project was completed in April 2006. This stretch of US 169 is traveled by approximately 106,000 vehicles per day.
Kansas US 169 enters the state at Coffeyville as a four-lane road, and is a four-lane highway for about till the edge of the Coffeyville Industrial Park. A segment runs around
Chanute is a
freeway with fully controlled access with center concrete barrier, with two lanes in each direction. US 169 runs concurrently with
US 59 and
K-31 starting about south of
Garnett and diverges northeast again immediately south of Garnett. The intersection immediately south of Garnett used to be a "braided" intersection with Stop and Yield signs. It was identified as a high crash location in 2001, and was rebuilt as a roundabout that opened in April 2006. The Kansas Department of Transportation is rebuilding or planning to rebuild several other rural intersections as roundabouts for increased safety. In
Garnett, 6th Avenue (from US 169 to US 59 is also known as Business US 169. Going south, it veers off from US 169 about a mile and a half north of the US 169/US 59/K-31 roundabout intersection and travels west and south on 6th Avenue from US 169 to US 59/K-31 (Maple St.) before turning south onto US 59/K-31 and running concurrently with them, ending at the US 169/US 59/K-31 roundabout intersection. At
Osawatomie the road becomes a full freeway; as well as, running concurrent with
K-7. In southern
Johnson County 169 becomes an
expressway until its junction with
I-35 in Olathe. From this point to the Missouri state line, US 169 alternates between freeways and surface streets. It follows I-35 to Shawnee Mission Parkway in Overland Park, then travels east to Rainbow Boulevard. US 169 then follows surface streets to its junction with
I-70 near downtown
Kansas City. US 169 and I-70 enter Missouri together just after crossing the Kansas River.
Missouri US 169 exits I-70 shortly after both roads enter Missouri via the
Lewis and Clark Viaduct. It crosses the Missouri River by the
Buck O'Neil Bridge and serves
Kansas City Downtown Airport. Northbound, US 169 becomes a freeway at 5th Street south of the Missouri River, however southbound it ceases being a freeway north of the airport. An at-grade private driveway exists just south of the intersection with
Route 9 as well as for airport access. At the northern end of the city, an intersection was reconstructed at NE 108th Street in November 2013. US 169 is a freeway through I-435. This segment is also known as
Arrowhead Trafficway, although this road neither passes nor approaches
Arrowhead Stadium. US 169 is a four-lane rural expressway until it reaches
Smithville, where it reverts to a two-lane rural highway. In St. Joseph, it forms most of the Belt Highway, a major commercial strip on the eastern edge of town, paralleling just inside I-29. US 169 angles northeastward out of St. Joseph, passing through many rural communities before exiting Missouri north of
Grant City. US 169 intersects
I-29 three times in Missouri: once in Gladstone, and twice in St. Joseph.
Iowa US 169 enters Iowa just south of
Redding. It intersects
I-80 near
De Soto. US 169 becomes an
expressway at
US 20, south of
Fort Dodge. At
Iowa Highway 7 on the northwest side of Fort Dodge it reverts to a two-lane highway again. US 169 passes through Humboldt and
Algona before it leaves Iowa north of
Lakota.
Minnesota US 169 is a major north–south highway in Minnesota. It enters the state at
Elmore. Shortly after, it junctions with
I-90 at
Blue Earth. It passes
Mankato, crossing the
Minnesota River. Between Mankato and the
Twin Cities, US 169 is largely a rural highway. Before entering
Le Sueur, US 169 crosses the Minnesota River again. At
Shakopee, US 169 becomes a
freeway, crossing the Minnesota River for a third time. The freeway ends in
Champlin. US 169 crosses the
Mississippi River at
Anoka and follows concurrently with
US 10 to
Elk River, where US 169 splits off northbound through central Minnesota. The rest of the route in Minnesota is largely rural. The route passes the western side of
Mille Lacs Lake. It terminates at
US 53 in
Virginia, in the
Iron Range. ==History==