County Roads

[Wilma]

Janet was part of the committee to rename the county roads for the enhanced 911 service.  The reason they are named as they are was to make it easier for the emergency services to find a location.  Starting in the southwest part of the county the numbered roads run north and south.  Thus, Road 9 is nine miles east of the west boundary.  The east-west roads were named in alphabetical order starting in the south.  Thus, Cresco Cemetery Road, as I always knew it, became Rock Road since it is one mile north of Quail Road.  Some one looking for a certain address could locate it just by knowing that the higher the number, the further east it is or the higher the alphabet, the further north it is.  One exception I know of is the road dividing Elk and Greenwood counties.  It is call ElK-Greenwood County Line Rd. or something like that.  Another is that the road sign at the Cresco Cemetery also has a sign that says Cresco Rd, along with the Rock Rd.  They also tried to keep the names of the roads relevant to Elk County.  I don't know many of the roads, but Turkey sticks in my mind.  Guess where it is.

[Tobina+1]

Would also be nice if the Platt Directory (rural roads directory) would show level of road maintenance.  Road 9 does go a mile North of Limestone just East of our house... but I wouldn't recommend anyone taking that road and expect to get past the creek.  I watched the FedEx guy try not too long ago... and then have to back UP the hill with all the slick rocks.  I thought I might have to call Chuck to get the tractor to pull him back up!

Here's a story (to show that all counties in KS are dealing with issues)... my grandma lives in rural Southeast Rawlins county.  Well, her 911 address in Rawlins county is different than her mailing address from Oberlin (Decatur county).  Apparently when Decatur County did their 911 addresses, they did them for all mail routes, even if they were in another county.  The other kicker is that she's probably halfway between getting ambulance service from both Atwood and Oberlin... so I suppose she'll have to give the address depending on which town they come from?!  Yikes!

[Anmar]

The last time i was out that way, it's been about 2 years now, my magellan worked fine and didn't seem to have any errors.  But then i wasn't in Howard for very long.

[W. Gray]

Flintauqua

That map is dated 2007 and is the latest KDOT Elk County map and still does not have the roads labeled properly.

For instance, the old Busby road is labeled RS229. Nothing indicates it is Limestone Road. My favorite, Junebug Road is not shown.

As I seem to recall, the east-west roads were renamed by the committee and the KDOT map from Greenwood County south to Howard does not seem to list any of them.

There did appear to be some names on a couple roads just north of Longton.

[flintauqua]

Waldo,

As I said they are hard to read.  Blow it up to 125% or higher and you will find that the roads are labeled across the top and down the left side, just as I had done on the Directory Map (I used a much larger font).  They did label the few that veer off of the section lines, but not all of them, ie the road on the half mile line going south from Moline for one mile (past Bill and Deanna Cannon's).  Yes the old FAS system of numbering is still on the map, they just added the 911 road names to the previous map.

Charles

[W. Gray]

I now see them.

My comments:  That is ridiculous. The names are not even on the map they are off to the side in what would be Cowley or Butler County.

Maybe the 20?? version will actually have the roads labeled.

[W. Gray]

Charles,

What is the FAS numbering system?

Additionally, do you know if there was actually ever a Busby Road?

Or, did everyone call it that because the road went to Busby?

[flintauqua]

Federal Aid Secondary.  Federal Aid Primary is the Interstate and U.S Highway System, along with most (but not all) state numbered routes.  From Wiki:

"The Federal-aid secondary highway system (FAS system) consists of the principal secondary and feeder routes including farm-to-market roads, rural mail and public school bus routes, local rural roads, county and township roads, roads of the county, road class, and their urban extensions. These roads are chosen by the state highway departments and appropriate local road officials cooperatively, subject to approval by the Bureau of Public Roads."

With the last federal highway construction bill, they changed things a bit, but it doesn't really matter because its been a decade or more since the county got any state or federal funding to maintain the FAS system.

As far as roads having local names, they were never official.  Busby Road, Wolf Trail, River Road, Garvin Road, Five Mile Road are all roads that I would know by name, but others wouldn't have a clue.  For example, Five Mile Road.  People in Moline would know this means go five miles west from Moline on US 160, turn south if you want to go to Hewins or Cedar Vale.  I rather doubt that people in Grenola called this road "Five Mile".  They probably called it Round Mound Road or Hewins Road, same with people living in CQ county.  Today this is Road 8.

Growing up I was instructed on how to get to a specific field or pasture based on landmarks, some of which were nothing more than a crossroads where someone "used to live".  For example if I were at Merle's Station in Moline and I was supposed to go to the "Criger Bottoms" I would:

Go north over Goss Hill turn west at the Cemetary and go past the Rhudy, the Feedlot, and Braces Pond; turn north at Star Schoolhouse then go west one mile from where Boyer used to live, turn north, go past Slick Vincen's; keep going north past Brown's corner and straight through Perkin's Curve, down the hill and then across to the Criger Pasture T; turn east go around the house in the hill, cross the River, and turn left into the first field entrance.

I know where I've been, can anyone tell me what roads I traveled?

[frawin]

Waldo, I get a book every year titled "Elk County Kansas Rural Directory", it has all of the Road names and numbers, land ownership is listed on the maps,it is laid out in Townships, it is a great reference for finding where people live. You can buy one at the Elk County Title /Abstract office at Howard.

[W. Gray]

All Right.....

Thank you. Will do.