Johnson County, Kansas - Transportation and Infrastructure

Transportation and Infrastructure

Johnson County has a grid network through most of the county with a road every mile. The grid has facilitated rapid growth and easy access. Interstate 435 runs through much of the county, and serves as a developmental "border" in the along the northbound–southbound portion. The westbound–eastbound part of I-435 divides the county into a northern and southern section. The northern section is older, while the southern portion is the fastest-growing area in Johnson County, as well as containing a massive volume of new homes.

The Johnson County street grid begins at around Johnson Drive (near 55th Street), and is a continuation of the adjacent Kansas City, Missouri street grid. The grid continues to about 175th Street, with most suburban development ending around 159th Street.

Another principal highways running through the area is Interstate 35, which runs diagonally through the county, entering it near Downtown Kansas City, Missouri and continuing through Olathe and Gardner. Outside the county, it eventually leads to Duluth, Minnesota in the north and the US–Mexico border in the south. U.S. 69 also serves Johnson County, entering from Wyandotte County at the south end of Interstate 635. Much of U.S. 69 within the county is freeway; this freeway eventually heads south and connects to Fort Scott and the rest of southeast Kansas.