U.S. Route 281
U.S. Route 281 | |
|---|---|
 US 281 highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Auxiliary route of US 81 | |
| Length | 1,875 mi[1] (3,018 km) |
| Existed | 1931[2]–present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |
|
| |
| North end |   ND 3 / PTH 10 at the U.S.–Canada border |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota |
| Highway system | |
U.S. Route 281 (US 281) is a north–south
The highway's northern terminus is at the
The original Military Telegraph Road was incorporated into the US-281 route.[4]
US 281 is a "child" of US 81. As a result of decommissioning portions of the parent route that have been superseded by concurrent Interstate Highways, the length of US 281 is 672 miles (1,081 km) greater than that of its parent.[citation needed] US 281 no longer connects to its "parent", US 81.[citation needed]
Route description
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
Texas
US 281, beginning at the west, or the lower Rio Grande Valley, at an intersection with Business US 77 and
North of San Antonio, US 281 continues through central and north-central Texas, passing through many towns, including Stephenville, Mineral Wells and Jacksboro before reaching Wichita Falls, where the highway begins a concurrency with I-44 north across the Red River into Oklahoma.
Oklahoma
US 281 enters the state of Oklahoma at the Red River bridge north of
Through the Lawton/Fort Sill metropolitan area, US 281 again overlaps a toll-free section of I-44, while the former US 281 alignment through the city of Lawton is designated as Business US 281 between I-44 exits 34 and 39B. About eight miles (13 km) north of downtown Lawton, US 281 departs from I-44 to continue north through the cities of Apache,
Through central and northern Oklahoma, US 281 then proceeds through the cities of Geary, Watonga, Seiling, Waynoka and Alva. The highway crosses the Kansas state line about 14 miles (23 km) north of Alva at Hardtner, Kansas.
Kansas
Passing largely through sparsely populated areas of central Kansas, US 281 enters the state at Hardtner in Barber County and passes through Medicine Lodge, Pratt, St. John and Great Bend, the only city along the route in Kansas which has more than 7,000 people. Along its venture through southern Kansas, US 281 intersects several major east–west routes: first US 54 and US 400, which heads east to Wichita and west to Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal; US 50, which veers east to Hutchinson and west to Garden City; and US 56, heading to Dodge City westbound and Overland Park eastbound.
Following a four-mile (6 km) concurrency with K-4 near Hoisington, the highway intersects I-70 at Russell before joining K-18 near Paradise for an eight-mile (13 km) concurrency.
The two highways split at Luray, and US 281 turns north into Osborne County, passing through the town of Osborne before joining US 24 and K-9 for another concurrency. US 281 joins US 36 at Smith Center, turning east before the two highways split; US 281 turns north for its final stretch in the state, passing through Lebanon. All sections of US 281 in Kansas are two-lane. The last stretches of the highway overlaid with bricks, through downtown Pratt and Hoisington, were recently resurfaced with concrete.
Nebraska
US 281 enters Nebraska south of Red Cloud and meets US 136 there. It continues north to Hastings and meets US 6 and US 34. Between Hastings and Grand Island, US 281 overlaps US 34 and is designated as the Tom Osborne Expressway after the former Nebraska Cornhuskers football coach and U.S. Representative, who is a native of Hastings.
At Grand Island, US 281 intersects I-80, loses US 34 and intersects US 30. US 281 continues north of Grand Island to St. Libory as American Legion Memorial Highway. From there northward, US 281 is a two-lane undivided highway passing mostly through unpopulated areas, with the exception of the regional trade center O'Neill, where it junctions US 20 and US 275. US 281 exits the state north of Spencer.
South Dakota
US 281 enters South Dakota in Gregory County. Just north of the South Dakota-Nebraska border, it is cosigned with US 18. It crosses the Missouri River at Fort Randall Dam. Just south of Armour, US 18 leaves the US 281 alignment. North of Armour, US 281 makes a short jaunt west on South Dakota Highway 44, then continues north. US 281 and I-90 intersect at Plankinton. On both sides of Wolsey, US 14 is cosigned with US 281 for a stretch of seven miles (11 km) - from 3 miles south of Wolsey to 4 miles north of town. US 281 becomes an expressway at South Dakota Highway 20. This expressway continues through Aberdeen to a point near Westport. South Dakota Highway 10 is cosigned with US 281 for three miles (4.8 km) near Barnard. It exits the state north of Frederick.
US 281 was recently realigned in the city of Aberdeen. A bypass was built that travels on the west side of Aberdeen, and the US 281 designation was moved onto that new roadway. It runs north from US 12 and connects with the old alignment south of 24th Avenue Northeast.
The South Dakota section of US 281, with the exception of concurrencies with US 18 and US 14, is defined at South Dakota Codified Laws § 31-4-229.[8]
North Dakota
In North Dakota, US 281 is a major north–south artery. It enters south of
Future
US 281 will be upgraded between US 59 in George West in Texas to I-2 in Pharr to become I-69C, a spur of I-69. An 18-mile (29 km) segment exists running from Business US 281 in Edinburg to I-2 in Pharr.[citation needed]
US 281 between Grand Island and St. Paul in Nebraska is planned to be a four-lane expressway for its entire length. Currently, some sections are still two lanes, with stubs and grading in place for expansion to four lanes in these areas.[9]
Major intersections
- Texas
Bus. US 77 / SH 48 in Brownsville
I-2 / I-69C / US 83 in Pharr. I-69C/US 281 travels concurrently to Edinburg. They will travel concurrently to George West
Future I-69W / US 59 / Future I-69C in George West
I-37 north of Three Rivers. The highways travel concurrently to southeast of Pleasanton.
I-410 in San Antonio. The highways travel concurrently through San Antonio.- I-37 / I-410 in San Antonio. I-37/US 281 travels concurrently through San Antonio.
I-10 / US 87 / US 90 in San Antonio
I-35 / I-37 in San Antonio- I-410 in San Antonio
US 290 south-southeast of Johnson City. The highways travel concurrently to Johnson City.
US 183 / US 190 in Lampasas. The highways travel concurrently through Lampasas.
US 84 in Evant
US 67 in Stephenville
US 377 in Stephenville
I-20 south-southeast of Brazos
US 180 in Mineral Wells
US 380 south-southeast of Jacksboro. The highways travel concurrently to Jacksboro.
US 82 / US 287 in Wichita Falls. The highways travel concurrently through Wichita Falls.
US 82 / US 277 in Wichita Falls. US 277/US 281 travels concurrently to east of Medicine Park, Oklahoma.
I-44 in Wichita Falls. The highways travel concurrently to west-southwest of Randlett, Oklahoma.- Oklahoma
I-44 / US 70 west-southwest of Randlett. US 70/US 281 travels concurrently to Randlett.- I-44 in Walters
- I-44 northwest of Geronimo. The highways travel concurrently to east of Medicine Park.
US 62 in Lawton. The highways travel concurrently to Anadarko.
I-40 in Hinton
US 270 in Geary. The highways travel concurrently to Seiling.
US 60 in Seiling. The highways travel concurrently to Chester.
US 412 south of Waynoka
US 64 in Alva. The highways travel concurrently through Alva.- Kansas
US 160 west-southwest of Medicine Lodge. The highways travel concurrently to Medicine Lodge.
US 54 / US 400 in Pratt
US 50 south of St. John
US 56 in Great Bend
I-70 / US 40 south of Russell
US 24 in Osborne. The highways travel concurrently to south of Portis.
US 36 in Smith Center. The highways travel concurrently to south of Lebanon.- Nebraska
US 136 in Red Cloud
US 6 / US 34 in Hastings. US 6/US 281 travels concurrently through Hastings. US 34/US 281 travels concurrently to Grand Island.
I-80 south of Grand Island
N-2 in Grand Island. The highways travel concurrently from the junction of US 34/US 281 to the north end of Grand Island.
US 20 / US 275 in O'Neill. US 20/US 281 travels concurrently through O'Neill.- South Dakota
US 18 east-southeast of Fairfax. The highways travel concurrently to south of Armour.
I-90 southeast of Plankinton
US 14 south-southeast of Wolsey. The highways travel concurrently to north-northwest of Wolsey.
US 212 in Redfield. The highways travel concurrently through Redfield.
US 12 in Aberdeen- North Dakota
I-94 / US 52 in Jamestown. I-94/US 281 travels concurrently through Jamestown. US 52/US 281 travels concurrently to Carrington.
US 2 west-northwest of Churchs Ferry. The highways travel concurrently to west of Churchs Ferry.
ND 3 / PTH 10 at the Canada–United States border north-northeast of Dunseith
Bypass
U.S. Highway 281 Alternate | |
|---|---|
| Location | Great Bend, Kansas |
| Length | 1.4 mi (2.3 km) |
| Existed | c. 1955–c. 1983 |
U.S. Route 281 Alternate was a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) long
Route description
281 Bypass begins its journey near the intersection of 10th (
The bypass travels mostly to the northwest until near Park and Frey Streets. Then, it steers towards the north-northwest.[citation needed]
After intersecting with 22nd Street, 281 Bypass starts to curve to the west until it intersects with 24th Street. It remains unsigned on 24th Street until its northwestern terminus with its parent route on Main Street (US-281).[citation needed] The northwestern terminus of U.S. Highway 281 Bypass is directly adjacent to Brit Spaugh Park in Great Bend.[11]
See also
Related routes
References
- ^ "U.S. Route Number Database". Transportation.org. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ "Highway Renumbered". The Bismarck Tribune. July 24, 1931. p. 7. Retrieved December 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "U.S. Route Number Database". Transportation.org. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-7385-1943-2.
- ^ Transportation Planning and Programming Division (2018). Texas County Mapbook (PDF) (Map) (2018 ed.). 1:72,224. Texas Department of Transportation. p. 2265. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
- ^ Driscoll, Patrick (January 16, 2006). "Now there's a name for it". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on February 23, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
- ^ Driscoll, Patrick (June 10, 2008). "U.S. 281/Loop 410 interchange ramps are complete". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
- ^ "SDLRC - Codified Law 31-4-229". sdlegislature.gov.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ISBN 978-0-528-00771-2.
- ^ Google (June 8, 2009). "U.S. Highway 281 Bypass" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 8, 2009.
External links
| Browse numbered routes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
←  US 283 | ||||
←  KS | →  US-283 | |||
←  US 283 | ||||
←  SD 296 | ||||
