K-51 is a west-east state highway in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Kansas. K-51 begins at the Coloradostate line as a continuation of County Road M and travels eastward and ends at U.S. Route 83 near Liberal. Along the way, it overlaps US-56 from Rolla to Hugoton. It travels through portions of Morton, Stevens, and Sewardcounties. K-51 was first designated as a state highway in 1927, and at that time ran from K-12 north of Rolla to K-27 in Richfield. Then by 1937, K-51 was realigned to its modern day routing, as K-51 replaced the former K-12 from K-27 in Richfield to US-83 by Liberal and was extended further west to the Colorado border. K-51 origninally overlapped US-270, then in a May 18, 1981 resolution, the US-270 designation was removed.
Route description
K-51 begins at the Colorado state line, acting as a continuation of County Road M. The highway travels due east through fields. K-51 then turns north onto K-27, forming a 10 mile long concurrency. K-27 leaves at Richfield. K-51 runs eastward for a few miles before heading south towards Rolla. In Rolla, US-56 is met, and K-51 turns east onto US-56, crossing into Stevens County. Both routes then pick up northbound K-25, with all three routes heading into Hugoton. In the city itself, US-56 and K-25 turn north, leaving K-51 to head east on its own. The route goes eastward, entering Seward County. K-51 comes to an end north of Liberal at US-83. The Kansas Department of Transportation tracks the traffic levels on its highways, and in 2018, they determined that on average the traffic varied from 110 vehicles near the western terminus to 2320 vehicles just west of the city of Hugoton. K-51 is not included in the National Highway System, a system of highways important to the nation's defense, economy, and mobility. K-51 does connect to the National Highway System at its junction with US-83.
K-51 was first designated as a state highway in 1927. At that time it ran from K-12 north of Rolla to K-27 in Richfield. Then by 1931, K-51 was replaced with an extension of K-12. Then between 1936 and February 1937, K-51 replaced the former K-12, from K-27 in Richfield to US-83 by Liberal. Also in a July 1, 1937 resolution, K-51 was extended further west to the Colorado border where it continued at Colorado Route 21. Between February 1937 and January 1938, US-270 was extended into Kansas, and overlapped K-51 from the eastern end of the overlap with K-25 to US-83. In a January 4, 1939 resolution, K-51 was to be realigned where it crosses the Cimarron River to eliminate two sharp curves. Until 1981, the portion of K-51 between Hugoton and US-83 was shared with a previous alignment of US-270. Then in a May 18, 1981 resolution, the US-270 designation was removed.
