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In the state of Kansas, Interstate 35 runs mainly in a southwest to northeast direction across Kansas. It enters at the Oklahoma border into Sumner County as part of the Kansas Turnpike. It then continues north to Wichita before turning northeast. It serves the communites of Andover, El Dorado, and Cassoday before crossing the Flint Hills. At Emporia, I-35 leaves the Turnpike and heads east on its own alignment to Ottawa before turning northeast toward the Kansas suburbs of the Kansas City Metro Area.

The section of I-35 that is part of the Kansas Turnpike is the only tolled section of I-35.

Route Description
See also: Kansas Turnpike

Interstate 35 enters the state of Kansas from Kay County, Oklahoma into Sumner County. It is immediately signed as part of the Kansas Turnpike, but the southern terminal of the tolled portion does not begin until after the first interchange with US-166 in South Haven. For the first forty-two miles, I-35 generally follows a course due north.

At the South Wichita exit (#42) with Interstate 135, Interstate 235 and US-81, I-35/KTA makes a sharp curve toward the northeast and runs parallel to the southeastern city limits of Wichita. It has four interchanges in Wichita before leaving the city.

Northeast of Wichita, I-35/KTA passes by the communities of Andover, El Dorado, and Cassoday. After passsing by the Cassoday exit with K-177, I-35/KTA goes thirty-five miles without an interchange as it passes through the Flint Hills of Chase County.

At Emporia, I-35 separates from the Turnpike and heads east on its own alignment through Emporia. The Turnpike continues to the northeast bound for Topeka signed as Interstate 335, a 50-mile spur route of I-35. I-35 heads due east through the heart of Emporia. At the eastern edge of town, I-35 begins a long concurrency with US-50 that will not end until meeting Interstate 435 in Lenexa.

I-35/US-50 heads east across east-central Kansas, passing through some of the smaller communities of the area. At BETO Junction, it meets US-75. The junction is known as BETO junction because heading in any direction from this town takes a motorist to an important Kansas town (south to Burlington, west to Emporia, north to Topeka and east to Ottawa). It also has a brief wrong-way concurrency with K-31 in extreme southeastern Osage County.

Once the highway enters Franklin County, it turns in a more northeasterly direction. It passes around the southern and eastern sides of Ottawa, and US-59 joins the highway for a five-mile concurrency before leaving at Exit 188 toward Lawrence on a newly built freeway that was fully opened in October 2012.

I-35/US-50 continues northeastward into the Kansas suburbs of the Kansas City Metro Area; and as it passes through Johnson and Wyandotte counties, it shares concurrencies with other area highways, such as US-56, US-169 and US-69. Its concurrency with US-50 ends in Lenexa at the junction with the I-435 beltway, when US-50 heads east duplexed with I-435. In Overland Park, it forms the southern terminus of another child route, the I-635 bypass. It also passes by other major Kansas City streets, such as the 18th Street Expressway and the 7th Street Trafficway.

I-35 exits Kansas into Missouri after the Eaton Street exit, before heading toward the financial district of Downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

History
The portion of I-35 that forms the Kansas Turnpike predates the Interstate system. It was constructed from 1954-1956 and was opened in the fall of 1956. When the Interstate System was established in 1957, the Turnpike was grandfathered into the Interstate system, and the section of the Turnpike from the Oklahoma state line to Emporia was signed as I-35.

AASHTO approved the route for I-35 in 1957. The Kansas portion of I-35 was completed in its entirety in 1974 when the portion of I-35 in Emporia was completed.