Wichita sits where the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers meet in south-central Kansas, and its roads are laid out on a mostly flat grid. Kellogg, the US 54/400 freeway, cuts east-west through the middle of the city and is the main commuter route. I-135 runs north-south through town toward Newton and Salina, and I-235 loops around the west and north sides. The Kansas Turnpike carries I-35 along the east and south edges toward Oklahoma City and Kansas City, and K-96 forms a beltway across the north and east sides.
Inside the city, Rock Road, Webb Road and Greenwich Road carry east-side traffic, West Street and Maize Road serve the west side, and 21st Street, 13th Street and Central Avenue are major east-west corridors. Kellogg backs up at rush hour, especially near the I-135 interchange, and the long east and west retail strips crawl on weekends. Most neighborhoods have driveways and attached garages, and the flat grid makes it easy for a mechanic to reach almost any address quickly. A large floodway, known locally as the Big Ditch, curves around the west side and shapes how roads cross that part of town.
Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport sits on the west side, and McConnell Air Force Base is on the southeast side. Wichita Transit runs buses across the city, but most people drive. The city's aircraft manufacturing plants draw large shift workforces, so plant parking lots are frequent service locations, especially in the cold and the heat. The river trails and the Keeper of the Plains area downtown draw crowds on summer evenings, so riverfront parking fills quickly.