Interstate 44 in Oklahoma

Interstate 44 marker

Interstate 44
Route information
Maintained by ODOT & Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
Length: 328.53 mi[1] (528.72 km)
Existed: 1956 – present
Major junctions
West end: I-44 / US 277 / US 281 at the Texas state line
  I240 in Oklahoma City
I40 in Oklahoma City
I235 in Oklahoma City
I35 in Oklahoma City
I244 in Tulsa
East end: I-44 at the Missouri state line
Highway system
SH-43SH-44

Interstate 44 runs diagonally through the U.S. state of Oklahoma, spanning from the Texas state line near Wichita Falls to the Missouri border near Joplin. It connects three of Oklahoma's largest cities, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Lawton. Most of I-44 in Oklahoma is a toll road. In southwestern Oklahoma, I-44 is the H.E. Bailey Turnpike and follows a northsouth direction. From Oklahoma City to Tulsa, I-44 follows the Turner Turnpike As I-44 leaves Tulsa it becomes the Will Rogers Turnpike to the Missouri border. In the Lawton, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa metro areas, I-44 is toll-free.

I-44 is paralleled by former US-66 (now mostly SH-66) from Oklahoma City to the Missouri state line.

Route description

I-44 westbound as it enters Oklahoma near Joplin, MO.

I-44 crosses the Red River near Burkburnett, Texas. It is a freeway until Exit 5, which is the last free exit before the start of the southern section of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike. At Exit 30, the tolls end and I-44 becomes a freeway again through Lawton and Fort Sill until Exit 46. The northern section of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike carries I-44 north, serving Chickasha, before ending at U.S. Highway 62 (Exit 107) in Newcastle.

From Newcastle, I-44 heads north through rural parts of Oklahoma City before serving as the western terminus of Interstate 240. It then indirectly serves Will Rogers World Airport by connecting to S.W. 59th St. (which becomes S.W. 54th St before reaching the airport) and SH-152, the Airport Road freeway. I-44 meets Interstate 40 west of downtown, at an interchange sometimes referred to as the Amarillo Junction. I-44 then passes west of the state fairgrounds and continues north to provide access to Bethany and Warr Acres. It then turns more eastbound to meet Interstate 35, which it overlaps to the Turner Turnpike interchange.

I-44 then follows the Turner Turnpike to Sapulpa, where it becomes a freeway after meeting OK 66. I-44 bypasses downtown Tulsa; Interstate 244 serves the downtown areas. After meeting the Creek Turnpike again on the east side of the city, I-44 becomes a turnpike once again, gaining the Will Rogers Turnpike designation.

The Will Rogers Turnpike section serves many northeast Oklahoma towns, including Claremore, Vinita (where it passes under the world's largest McDonald's), and Miami. After passing Miami, I-44 crosses the state line into Missouri, about 600 feet south of the Kansas-Missouri-Oklahoma tripoint.

History

I-44 was designated through Oklahoma to replace the section of US-66 running from Oklahoma City to Joplin, Missouri. I-44 covered the already-existing Turner Turnpike and Will Rogers Turnpike, with a western terminus at I-35 in Oklahoma City, the current western terminus of the Turner Turnpike.

I-44 was assigned to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike in 1982, when I-44 was assigned to the west and north legs of I-240 (then a semi-beltway around Oklahoma City) and the H.E. Bailey Turnpike as part of Oklahoma's "Diamond Jubilee" celebrations.[2] Before I-44 was assigned to it, the freeway connector to the north end of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike was named the Will Rogers Expressway.[3] The freeway section through Lawton was the Pioneer Expressway.[3]

Westbound I-44 northeast of Tulsa was affected by a sinkhole found on June 2, 2010. According to the local news, the sinkhole measured 12 feet wide and 24 feet long. Traffic was only affected for a short period of time and the roadway has since been reopened.

Southeast of Catoosa, I-44 was redesigned to have an interchange with the eastern expansion of the Creek Turnpike. A 1.5 mile stretch of the original roadbed remains, however it is unused and is not maintained by ODOT or any of the surrounding cities. In 2012, the only bridge over the abandoned stretch, Pine Street, was removed and replaced with a grade crossing.

Interstate 440

Interstate 440
Location: Oklahoma City

The designation I-440 had been given to a stretch of Interstate Highway from I-240 to US-66. It was a part of Grand Boulevard that had been built in compliace with Interstate standards. In 1982, as part of Oklahoma's "Diamond Jubilee", I-44's western terminus was moved from the I-35/I-44 junction to the Texas/Oklahoma state-line via the Belle Isle Freeway (connecting I-440 with I-35); I-440, the H.E. Bailey Turnpike; and the turnpike connector road on the eastern edge of Lawton, Oklahoma. The I-440 number was dropped at the time, but it might return again sometime in the future.

Exit list

CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
Red River0.000.00 I-44 west / US 277 south / US 281 south continues into Texas
Cotton 1.131.821 SH-36 Grandfield
 5.659.095 US-70 (US-277 north/US-281 north) RandlettEastern terminus of US-277/US-281 concurrency
  H.E. Bailey Turnpike begins
Walters20.6533.2320 SH-5 (US-277/US-281) WaltersWalters toll plaza is located at this interchange
Comanche 30 SH-36 west (US-277 south/US-281 south) Geronimo, Faxon, FrederickWestern terminus of US-277/US-281 concurrency
Lawton33
US-281 Bus. north (11th Street)
36A SH-7 east (Lee Boulevard) DuncanSigned as exits 36A (east) and 36B (west) westbound
37Gore Boulevard
39B
US-281 Bus. south Lawton
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
39ACache Road Lawton Business DistrictSigned as exit 38 eastbound
LawtonFort Sill line40A US-62 west (Rogers Lane) Cache, AltusSigned as exits 40A (east) and 40B (west) westbound
Fort Sill40CGate 2Exit closed
41Key Gate
 45 SH-49 Carnegie, Medicine Park
 46 US-62 east / US-277 north / US-281 north Elgin, Apache, AnadarkoEastbound exit and westbound entrance, eastern terminus of US-62/US-277/US-281 concurrency
Elgin53 US-277 Fletcher, Elgin, Sterling
 62Fletcher, Cyril, SterlingWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Caddo
No major junctions
Grady Chickasha toll plaza
Chickasha80 US-81 (US-277) Duncan, Chickasha
83 US-62 (US-277) Chickasha, Anadarko
 Newcastle toll plaza
 99A H.E. Bailey Turnpike Spur Blanchard, Norman
 99B SH-4 Yukon, Mustang, Tuttle
McClain  H.E. Bailey Turnpike ends
Newcastle107 US-62 west / US-277 south Newcastle, BlanchardWestern terminus of US-62 concurrency
108 SH-37 west Minco, TuttleWestern terminus of SH-37 concurrency
108AFrontage RoadWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
ClevelandOklahoma City109SW 149th Street
110 SH-37 east (SW 134th Street) MooreEastern terminus of SH-37 concurrency
111SW 119th Street
112SW 104th Street
Oklahoma113SW 89th Street
114SW 74th Street
115 I240 east / US-62 east / SH-3 east Dallas, Fort SmithEastern terminus of US-62 concurrency, western terminus of SH-3 concurrency, no exit number westbound; I-240 exit 1A
116ASW 59th Street
116B SH-152 west (Airport Road)
117ASW 44th StreetSigned as exit 117B westbound
118SW 29th Street
119SW 15th Street
120 I40 Amarillo, Fort SmithSigned as exits 120A (west) and 120B (east); I-40 exits 147A-B
121NW 10th Street Fair ParkSigned as exits 121A (east) and 121B (west)
122NW 23rd Street
123ANW 36th StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
SH-3 west / SH-74 north (Lake Hefner Parkway)East end of SH-3 overlap
123B SH-66 west Warr Acres, BethanyWestern terminus of SH-66 concurrency
124N. May Avenue
125AN. Penn AvenueFull name is "Pennsylvania"
125BClassen Boulevard
125CNorthwest ExpresswayEastbound exit is via exit 125A
126Western Avenue
127 I235 / US-77 (Broadway Extension) Downtown Oklahoma City, EdmondSigned as exits 127A (south) and 127B (north) eastbound
128ALincoln Boulevard  State Capitol
128BKelley Avenue
129M.L. King Avenue
130 I35 west to I40 Oklahoma City, DallasWestern terminus of I-35 concurrency, no exit number westbound
134Wilshire BoulevardUsing Interstate 35 mileposts
135Britton Road
136Hefner Road
137NE 122nd Street
I35 north / SH-66 east TulsaEastern terminus of I-35/SH-66 concurrency
138B Kilpatrick TurnpikeNo exit number westbound
Turner Turnpike begins
146Luther, JonesEastbound exit and westbound entrance currently open. Westbound exit and eastbound entrance currently under construction.
LincolnWellston158 SH-66 Wellston
Chandler166 SH-18 Chandler, Cushing
Stroud179 US-377 / SH-99 Stroud, Drumright
Creek Stroud Toll Plaza
 196 SH-48 (SH-66) Bristow, Lake Keystone
 211 SH-33 / SH-66 Drumright, Kellyville
Sapulpa215 SH-97 Sapulpa, Sand Springs
218A SH-66 SapulpaEastbound exit and westbound entrance
Turner Turnpike ends
218B Creek Turnpike eastEastbound exit and westbound entrance
Tulsa221A57th W. AvenueWestbound exit only
221B SH-66 west Bristow, SapulpaWestbound exit and eastbound entrance, west end of SH-66 overlap
222A49th W. Avenue
222B55th PlaceEastbound exit only
222C56th StreetWestbound exit only
223A I244 east Downtown TulsaI-244 exit 1A
223B51st StreetVia Gilcrease Expressway), signed as exit 1B eastbound; exit no. corresponds to I-244
Tulsa223C33rd W. Avenue
224 US-75 Okmulgee, Bartlesville
Union Avenue
Elwood Avenue
Union Avenue and Elwood Avenue access via collector-distributor road eastbound, Union Avenue access via collector-distributor road westbound
225Elwood AvenueEastbound exit is part of exit 224
226ARiverside Drive
226BPeoria Avenue
227Lewis Avenue
22851st Street, Harvard Avenue
229Yale Avenue
23041st Street, Sheridan Road
231 US-64 / SH-51 to US-169 Muskogee, Broken Arrow, Downtown Tulsa
232E. 31st Street, Memorial DriveEastbound exit is part of exit 231
233E. 21st StreetSigned as exit 233B westbound
234A US-169 Owasso, Broken ArrowNo eastbound exit to US-169 south
234BGarnett RoadEastbound exit and westbound entrance
235E. 11th Street
236129th E. Avenue
236B I244 west / US-412 west Sand Springs, EnidWestbound exit and eastbound entrance; west end of US-412 overlap
RogersTulsaCatoosa line238161st E. Avenue
Catoosa240 SH-167 north (193rd E. Avenue)
241 SH-66 east Claremore, CatoosaNo eastbound entrance; east end of SH-66 overlap; no exit number westbound
 33A US-412 east Chouteau, Siloam SpringsEast end of US-412 overlap; no exit number eastbound
  Creek Turnpike west Oklahoma City
  Will Rogers Turnpike begins
 35E. Pine StreetWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
 248 SH-266 west Port of Catoosa, Claremore
 255 SH-20 Pryor, Claremore
Mayes 269 SH-28 Chelsea, South Grand Lake, AdairEastbound exit and westbound entrance
CraigBig Cabin283 US-69 Big Cabin
 Vinita toll plaza
 289 US-60 (US-69) to SH-66 Vinita
Ottawa 302 US-59 / US-60 (US-69) Fairland, Grove, Afton
 313 SH-10 Miami
Oklahoma–Missouri state line328.53528.72 Will Rogers Turnpike ends
I-44 east continues into Missouri
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Route map: Bing / Google

  1. Stuve, Eric. "Interstate Highways at OKHighways.com". OKHighways. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  2. "I-240 Section Changing to I-44". The Daily Oklahoman. 1982-10-09.
  3. 1 2 Highway Map of Oklahoma (Map) (1966 ed.). Cartography by Diversified Map Co. Skelly Oil Company. § 11C.
Interstate 44
Previous state:
Texas
Oklahoma Next state:
Missouri
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