Route 66 in Kansas

The first Kansas road laws were enacted in 1855 at a meeting of the free-state assembly in Topeka, Kansas. One of these allowed for the establishment of territorial roads. Beyond designating these routes, however, territorial government took little responsibility. The law stipulated that no territorial funds could be applied to pay for territorial roads. The general road law gave authority for establishing roads to "the tribunal transacting county business," which could approve or deny petitions by twelve householders for opening new roads. While the commissioners were given the power to "lay out, alter, or discontinue any road," they could do nothing until they had received a petition.

Road overseers, appointed in each district by the county commissioners, would supervise construction and maintenance by work crews made up of male residents 16 to 45, each of whom were legally obligated to the district for one month of road work. The law also established the first body of standards and specifications for construction by requiring that wetlands and streams be bridged, so long as no bridge cost more than $50. Roadways could be no less than twenty feet in width and no more than forty feet wide. Provisions for road construction enacted by the territorial legislatures became the basis for the states' road laws in its constitution when Kansas was admitted to statehood on January 29, 1861. The constitution sealed the state treasury against road construction by providing that "the state shall never be a party to carrying on any works of internal improvements." These laws remained the system by which Kansans acquired their highways until the next century. From 1875 to 1900 few state roads were established and little change was made in the laws or system of management, except that the township was made the unit instead of the county.

In 1909, The Kansas Legislature created the Office of County Engineer and authorized the Board of County Commissioners of each county to appoint a county engineer to supervise county road and bridge work. Also in 1909 the extension service of Kansas State Agricultural College, which later became Kansas State University, appointed
W.S. Gearhart as Extension Highway Engineer to advise the county engineers on road matters. In 1911, The Legislature created the Office of State Highway Engineer to serve the counties, and Gearhart was designated as State Engineer, in which position he served until April, 1919. The Kansas Legislature also created a road classification system consisting of state, county, mail, and township roads. State roads were defined by the Legislature; county roads were designated by county commissioners; free delivery mail routes were roads not designated as state or county roads; and township roads were designated as all other public highways within a township. County and state roads were maintained at the expense of the county; mail route and township roads were maintained by township overseers.

The State Highway Commission was created in 1917 and consisted of three members: the governor, who was the ex officio chairman; and two members appointed by him or her from districts defined by law. They served four-year terms. The commission was repealed in 1925 and was recreated consisting of three members appointed by the governor from named districts for four-year terms. The commission from their own membership selected the chairman. In 1927, the membership of the commission was increased to six and the commission appointed a director on the recommendation of the governor, serving at his or her pleasure. Provision was made in the 1929 Laws for the Commission to establish rules and regulations governing the transaction of their business. In August of 1975, the State Highway Commission of Kansas became the Kansas Department of Transportation.

In 1920, faced with the loss of federal funds because of the lack of state control, Kansas voters passed a "good roads" amendment allowing state aid to counties for roads. The counties and townships still controlled the road system, an arrangement that violated federal law. In 1928, $2 million per year of federal aid for Kansas roads was stopped because the state would not fund a state highway system. In that year, Governor Ben Paulen borrowed money from Topeka banks to pay for the State Highway Commission and called a special session of the legislature to propose a constitutional amendment removing all obstacles to establishing a statewide highway network. In 1929, after passage of the amendment, Kansas joined the other 47 states and the state began building and maintaining a system of cross-state highways.

The road that was to become U.S. Highway 66 in 1926 was paved by Cherokee County in 1922 to 1923.

References:
1. Milestones - A History of the Kansas Highway Commission & The Department of Transportation; by Sherry Lamb Schirmer and Dr. Theodore A. Wilson, December 1986.
2. History of the Kansas Extension Service from 1868 to 1964, Compiled by Earl H. Teagarden.
3. History of the Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science; by Julius Terass Willard,Sc.D., Kansas State College Press, Manhattan, Kansas, 1940.