US-24 enters the state from
Colorado concurrent with
I-70 southwest of
Kanorado. For its first , the route runs concurrently with the Interstate, passing
Goodland and
Brewster. This is despite the fact that former alignment remains intact, albeit largely as a
local road. The exception to this rule is a
business route through downtown Goodland. South-southwest of
Levant, US-24 splits from the Interstate and begins heading northeastward before eastward and into
Colby. The route passes through the northern side of town, intersecting
K-25 before continuing east. Toward the
Thomas–
Sheridan county line, US-24 intersects
US-83 in an extremely rural setting southeast of the town of
Gem. The route continues through Sheridan,
Graham, and
Rooks counties, passing through the towns of
Hoxie,
Hill City, and
Stockton and intersecting
K-23,
US-283,
K-18, and
US-183. US-24 also passes by several other smaller communities, such as
Menlo and
Morland, connecting to those towns via secondary
state highways. Additionally, the route passes around the northern edge of the
Webster Reservoir in western Rooks County. In
Osborne, the highway joins
US-281 and begins heading northward. South of
Portis, US-24 leaves US-281 and returns to an eastward trajectory, picking up a concurrency with
K-9 in the process. The route passes through
Downs and
Cawker City, around
Waconda Lake, and into
Beloit. In Beloit, it junctions
K-14, before K-9 splits toward the east as US-24 begins a southeastward run to
Glasco, where it returns to an eastward trajectory. East of that town, the route crosses
US-81 in another rural setting. US-24 continues through
Clay County and
Clay Center and into
Riley County. Shortly after
Leonardville, US-24 takes a sharp rightward turn before intersecting
US-77 on the north side of
Riley, returning to an eastward direction and running concurrently. The routes split shortly thereafter as US-24 begins heading southeast toward
Manhattan. The route passes around the city to the northeast and east sides, before splitting away from town at
K-177 heading into
Pottawatomie County and crossing the
Big Blue River. US-24 runs across the southern edge of the county parallel to the
Kansas River, passing through
Wamego,
Belvue, and
St. Marys. Entering
Shawnee, US-24 begins heading southeastward toward
Topeka via
Rossville and
Silver Lake. US-24 passes across the northern end of Topeka as a hybrid
limited-access road, with four interchanges in and around the city, including ones with
US-75 and
K-4, with a short concurrency between interchanges with the last route. US-24 continues eastward, paralleling the Kansas River through
Jefferson County, passing through Grantville and Perry, then picking up a concurrency with
US-59 north of
Williamstown. The routes then turn south toward
Lawrence, with US-24 splitting to the east and gaining a concurrency with
US-40 on the north side of the city as US-59 and US-40 west head south toward downtown. US-24/US-40 heads northeast toward
Tonganoxie, where it turns east once again. On the
Kansas City–
Bonner Springs city line, the two routes intersect
US-73 and
K-7 at a
cloverleaf interchange, where US-24/US-40 joins US-73/K-7 southward toward
I-70 and Bonner Springs. At I-70, US-24 and US-40 join the Interstate Highway eastward, while US-73 ends and K-7 continues southward into the core of Bonner Springs. US-24 continues with I-70 into Kansas City and across the Kansas River into
Kansas City, Missouri. ==History==