U.S. Route 62 in Oklahoma

U.S. Route 62 marker

U.S. Route 62

US-62 on a map of Oklahoma, highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length: 402.48 mi[1] (647.73 km)
Major junctions
West end: US 62 at the Texas state line
  US-283 in Altus
US-183 in Snyder
I44 / US-277 / US-281 in Lawton
US-81 in Chickasha
I240 / I35 / I40 in Oklahoma City
US-177 in Lincoln County
US-377 in Prague
US-75 / US-266 in Henryetta
US-64 / US-69 in Muskogee
US-59 in Westville
East end: US 62 at the Arkansas state line
Highway system
US-60SH-63

In Oklahoma, U.S. Highway 62 runs diagonally across the state, from the Texas state line in far southwestern Oklahoma to the Arkansas state line near Fayetteville. US-62 spends a total of 402.48 miles (647.73 km)[1] in the Sooner State. The highway passes through fifteen of Oklahoma's counties. Along the way the route serves two of Oklahoma's largest cities, Lawton and Oklahoma City, as well as many regionally important cities, like Altus, Chickasha, Muskogee, and Tahlequah. Despite this, US-62 has no lettered spur routes like many other U.S. routes in Oklahoma do.

US-62 has been part of the Oklahoma highway network since 1930. With the advent of the Interstate system, the portion of its route through Oklahoma City was revised several times to adapt to the presence of the new freeways. The present-day route of US-62 includes concurrencies with I-44, I-240, I-35, and I-40.

Route description

Southwestern Oklahoma

US-62 enters Oklahoma in Harmon County, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Hollis.[2] It then passes through that town, the county seat, where it serves as the southern terminus of State Highway 30. US-62 meets the northern terminus of SH-5 in Gould. The highway passes through unincorporated McQueen 4 miles (6.4 km)[2] and then enters Jackson County. Just east of Duke, the route crosses SH-34. Nine miles (14.5 km) later, US-62 becomes a multilane highway and begins a concurrency with SH-6. The two highways travel together into Altus, where they intersect US-283. SH-6 follows US-283 northward out of town, while US-62 heads east towards Headrick. US-62 runs just north of that town before crossing the North Fork of the Red River onto the KiowaTillman County line.[2]

US-62 continues eastward, sending US-62 BUS north to Snyder, which was the original US-62 alignment in the area. The county line then turns south of US-62, and the route has an interchange with US-183. US-62 heads farther east, meeting the other end of US-62 BUS 3 miles (4.8 km)[3] later. US-62 serves as the southern terminus of the northern State Highway 54 3 miles (4.8 km) east of this.[3] The road then enters Comanche County, where it serves as the southern border of Fort Sill. It serves as the southern terminus of another Oklahoma state highway, SH-115, near Cache. A few miles of the highway east of SH-115 is freeway-grade. Continuing east, US-62 becomes an expressway, Rogers Lane, that serves the north side of Lawton (along with several Ft. Sill gates). In eastern Lawton, the highway has an interchange with Interstate 44 and begins a concurrency with it (joining at Exit 40B), along with US-277 and US-281.[2]

I-44/US-62/277/281 head northward through Fort Sill. At Exit 45, the freeway serves as the eastern terminus of State Highway 49. The three U.S. routes split off at Exit 46, with I-44 continuing onto the northern section of the H. E. Bailey Turnpike. US-277 splits off to the east 5 miles (8.0 km) later.[3] US-62/281 then meet SH-19 in Apache. SH-9 begins overlapping the two U.S. routes 10 miles (16 km) north of Apache. The three routes continue into Anadarko, where State Highway 8 briefly joins the concurrency. US-283 and SH-8 split off to the north, while US-62/SH-9 head out of town to the east.[2]

Central Oklahoma

US-62 signage in Harrah

US-62/SH-9 cross into Grady County just west of Verden. At the western limits of Chickasha, US-81 joins the concurrency. In downtown Chickasha, US-81 splits off to the south, and US-277 once again joins with US-62. In far eastern Chickasha, the routes have an interchange with I-44 (the H.E. Bailey Turnpike). US-62/277/SH-9 serve as the southern terminus of SH-92 and the western terminus of SH-39. The three highways then angle northeast towards Blanchard, where they are briefly joined by State Highway 76. Northeast of Blanchard, they are carried by an expressway. SH-9 splits off at a diamond interchange that also serves as the eastern terminus of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike Spur. The two U.S. routes continue north into Newcastle, running through town on a five-lane (two lanes in each direction plus center turn lane) alignment. On the northern rim of Newcastle, the two routes encounter I-44 once again, at the northern terminus of the Bailey Turnpike. US-62 joins eastbound I-44 toward Oklahoma City, while US-277 terminates at the interchange.[2]

I-44/US-62 pick up State Highway 37 at Exit 107, and the three highways cross the Canadian River into Cleveland County and Oklahoma City. SH-37 then splits off at Exit 110. Just north of the Oklahoma County line, I-44 has an interchange at the western terminus of Interstate 240 at Exit 115, and US-62 follows it east to Exit 4B, where it begins to concur with I-35/US-77. I-35/US-62/77 head northward to the Fort Smith Junction. US-77 splits off to join with Interstate 235, while I-35/US-77 join with eastbound I-40/US-270. I-35/US-62 split off to the north after just over a mile. US-62 leaves I-35 at Exit 130, turning east onto N.E. 23rd St., an at-grade street[2]

US-62 serves some of Oklahoma City's eastern suburbs, including far northern Midwest City, far southern Spencer, Nicoma Park, and Choctaw. In eastern Harrah, the route meets the west terminus of State Highway 270. The highway then crosses into far southern Lincoln County, where it crosses SH-120 at Midway. US-62 runs through two more unincorporated communities, Fowler and Jacktown; the latter is the site of the US-62/US-177 junction. US-62 enters Meeker 6 miles (9.7 km)[2] later, where it meets up with SH-18. 12 miles (19 km)[2] further east, in Prague, it encounters US-377/SH-99.[2]

Green Country

U.S. Highway 62 just east of Okmulgee

US-62 enters eastern Oklahoma's Green Country as it crosses into Okfuskee County west of Paden. It begins to turn southeast, intersecting State Highway 48 west of Castle, before joining once again with I-40 near Okemah, at Exit 221. US-75 also joins the interstate, 10 miles (16 km) farther east at Exit 231. The two U.S. routes split off at Exit 240B, where they continue the mainline of the Indian Nation Turnpike, which terminates at I-40. The two U.S. routes serve eastern Henryetta, and west of Dewar, they are the western terminus of U.S. Highway 266. In Okmulgee, US-62 turns east while US-75 continues north toward the Tulsa area. US-62 heads through Morris, where it intersects SH-52. The highway then has a 9-mile (14 km)[2] overlap with SH-72, after which it begins a concurrency with US-64.

US-62 and US-69 in Muskogee

US-62/64 split up in Muskogee, where US-62 briefly shares pavement with US-69. On the east side of town, it has an interchange with the Muskogee Turnpike/SH-165 freeway. Near Ft. Gibson, US-62 begins to concur with State Highway 10, and the two routes stay joined through Tahlequah. US-62 starts to overlap State Highway 51 in Tahlequah as well; the two highways split up near Eldon. The route enters Adair County near Proctor. It intersects with US-59 in Westville before US-62 crosses the state line into Arkansas.[2]

History

When US-62 first appeared on the state highway map in 1930, it had the same basic routing as it did today.[4][5] In 1930, most of the highway was of gravel or earthen construction. The only portions of the highway that were paved were from Chickasha to Tabler, from Newcastle to Oklahoma City and Meeker, from Okemah to Morris, and from just south of the US-64 junction to Fort Gibson.[5] By 1948, the entire stretch of US-62 through Oklahoma had been paved.[6]

Oklahoma City routing

On 1950-03-06, US-62 was rerouted through Oklahoma City.[7] US-62 followed Newcastle Boulevard into the city and turned eastbound onto S.E. 29th Street, which it followed to Robinson Avenue. It then turned north onto Robinson, which was also US-77, towards downtown. Through downtown, US-62 followed Robinson, while US-77 paralleled it one block to the east on Broadway. At N.E. 23rd Street, US-62 turned east, concurring with US-270, US-66 CITY, and the second State Highway 1. US-77 also ran along 23rd Street from Broadway to Lincoln Boulevard, where it split off to the north, along with US-66 CITY. US-62/270/SH-1 then continued along 23rd Street to Spencer.[8]

US-62 was realigned once again on April 6, 1955.[7]

US-62 was realigned for a third time on September 4, 1961. This routing was only meant to be temporary, following Agnew, Exchange, and Reno Avenues to downtown.[7] This change was followed up by the September 4, 1963[7] rerouting, which put US-62 onto its present-day routing (though I-240 did not exist yet, and I-44 still ended at I-35).[9]

Junction list

CountyLocationmi[10][11][12][13]kmExitDestinationsNotes
Texas–Oklahoma state line0.00.0 US 62 continues west into Texas
HarmonHollis5.08.0 SH-30Southern terminus of SH-30
Gould13.321.4 SH-5Northern terminus of SH-5
JacksonDuke25.440.9 SH-34
 33.954.6 SH-6Western terminus of SH-6 concurrency
Altus38.962.6 US-283 / SH-6Eastern terminus of SH-6 concurrency
Kiowa 56.390.6
US-62 Bus.
Snyder59.996.4 US-183Diamond interchange
 63.2101.7
US-62 Bus.
 65.8105.9 SH-54Southern terminus of SH-54
ComancheCache78.8126.8 SH-115Diamond interchange, southern terminus of SH-115
 83.9135.0DeyoDiamond interchange
Lawton86.1138.6Quanah Parker TrailwayInterchange
91.4147.1Sheridan RoadParclo interchange
92.4148.7Fort Sill BoulevardParclo interchange
93.4150.3 I44 / US-277 / US-281Interchange (I-44 exit 40A), southern terminus of I-44/US-277/US-281 concurrency
Fort Sill95.0152.941Key Gate
 98.7158.845 SH-49 Carnegie, Medicine Park
 99.5160.1 I44 / H.E. Bailey TurnpikeInterchange (I-44 exit 46), northern terminus of I-44 concurrency
Richards Spur103.8167.0 US-277Northern terminus of US-277 concurrency
CaddoApache112.6181.2 SH-19Western terminus of SH-19 concurrency
113.2182.2 SH-19Eastern terminus of SH-19 concurrency
 123.2198.3 SH-9Western terminus of SH-9 concurrency
Anadarko131.6211.8 US-281 / SH-8Northern terminus of US-281 concurrency, western terminus of SH-8 concurrency
132.2212.8 SH-8Eastern terminus of SH-8 concurrency
GradyChickasha148.0238.2 US-81Western terminus of US-81 concurrency
149.7240.9 US-81 / US-277Eastern terminus of US-81 concurrency, western terminus of US-277 concurrency
151.3243.5 I44 / H.E. Bailey TurnpikeDiamond interchange
 153.0246.2 SH-92Southern terminus of SH-92
Tabler156.5251.9 SH-39Western terminus of SH-39
McClainBlanchard167.3269.2 SH-76Western terminus of SH-76 concurrency
168.3270.9 SH-76Eastern terminus of SH-76 concurrency
Newcastle173.0278.4 SH-9 / H.E. Bailey Turnpike Norman spurDiamond interchange, eastern terminus of SH-9 concurrency
177.4285.5 SH-130Eastern terminus of SH-130
179.7289.2 I44Northern terminus of US-277, southern terminus of I-44 concurrency
180.6290.6108 SH-37 west Minco, TuttleWestern terminus of SH-37 concurrency
181.1291.5108AFrontage RoadWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
ClevelandOklahoma City182.4293.5109SW 149th Street
183.4295.2110 SH-37 east (SW 134th Street) MooreEastern terminus of SH-37 concurrency
184.5296.9111SW 119th Street
185.6298.7112SW 104th Street
Oklahoma186.6300.3113SW 89th Street
187.5301.8114SW 74th Street
187.7302.1115 I44 / I240 / SH-3Northern terminus of I-44 concurrency, western terminus of I-240/SH-3 concurrency, I-240 exit 1A
188.3303.01BS. May Avenue
189.3304.61CS. Penn AvenueFull name is "Pennsylvania"
190.3306.32AS. Western Avenue
191.3307.92BS. Walker Avenue
191.6308.43AS. Santa Fe AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
192.2309.33BShields Boulevard, Santa Fe AvenueEastbound signed as "S. Shields Boulevard" only
192.9310.44 I35 / I240 / US-77 / SH-3Eastern terminus of I-240/SH-3 concurrency, southern terminus of I-35/US-77 concurrency
193.6311.6122ASE 66th StreetNo northbound entrance
194.1312.4122BSE 59th Street
194.7313.3123ASE 51st StreetNo northbound entrance
195.2314.1123BSE 44th StreetNo southbound entrance
195.7314.9124AGrand Boulevard
196.3315.9124BSE 29th Street, SE 25th StreetSigned as exit 125A southbound
197.2317.4125BSE 15th StreetSigned as exit 125D southbound
197.9318.5126 I235 north (US-77 north) / I40 west (US-270 west) Edmond, State Capitol, Oklahoma Health Center, AmarilloWestern terminus of I-40/US-270 concurrency, northern terminus of US-77 concurrency
198.9Eastern Avenue, M.L. King AvenueSouthbound exit is via exit 128, no northbound entrance
199.2320.6128 I40 east / US-270 east Ft. SmithEastern terminus of I-40/US-270 concurrency
200.4322.5129NE 10th Street
201.2323.8 I35I-35 exit 130, northern terminus of I-35 concurrency
Harrah218.4351.5 SH-270Western terminus of SH-270
LincolnMidway223.0358.9 SH-102
Jacktown228.4367.6 US-177
Meeker234.4377.2 SH-18
Prague246.5396.7 US-377 / SH-99
Okfuskee 264.4425.5 SH-48
Okemah270.2434.8 SH-27 / SH-56Northern terminus of SH-27, northern terminus of SH-27 concurrency, northern terminus of SH-56 concurrency
270.5435.3 SH-56Southern terminus of SH-56 concurrency
271.1436.3 I40 / SH-27Southern terminus of SH-27 concurrency, western terminus of I-40 concurrency (I-40 exit 221)
 277.2446.1227Clearview Road
 281.7453.4231 US-75 south – Wetumka, WeleetkaWestern terminus of US-75 concurrency
OkmulgeeHenryetta281.7453.4237
I40 Bus. east / US-62 Bus. / US-75 Bus. Henryetta
281.7453.4240A Indian Nation Turnpike McAlester, Dallas
281.7453.4 I40 / US-75 / I40 Bus.Eastern terminus of I-40 concurrency (I-40 exit 240B), southern terminus of US-75/I-40 Bus. concurrency
287.7463.0
I40 Bus. / US-62 Bus. / US-75 Bus.
290.3467.2 US-266Western terminus of US-266
Okmulgee303.2488.0 US-75Northern terminus of US-75 concurrency
304.9490.7
SH-56 Loop
Eastern terminus of SH-56 LOOP
Morris308.9497.1 SH-52
Muskogee 320.2515.3 SH-72Southern terminus of SH-72 concurrency
 329.5530.3 US-64 / SH-16 / SH-72Northern terminus of SH-72 concurrency, Western terminus of US-64 concurrency, Western terminus of SH-16 concurrency
 334.5538.3 SH-162Southern terminus of SH-162
Muskogee343.3552.5
US-64 / US-69 / US-62 Bus. / US-64 Bus.
Eastern terminus of US-64 concurrency, southern terminus of US-69 concurrency
344.3554.1 US-69Northern terminus of US-69 concurrency
347.8559.7 SH-16Eastern terminus of SH-16 concurrency
349.5562.5 SH-165Interchange
 352.0566.5 SH-10Western terminus of SH-10 concurrency
Ft. Gibson355.3571.8 SH-80Southern terminus of SH-80
CherokeePark Hill372.3599.2 SH-82Southern terminus of SH-82 concurrency
Tahlequah372.3599.2 SH-51Western terminus of SH-51 concurrency
374.6602.9 SH-82Northern terminus of SH-82 concurrency
376.5605.9 SH-10Northern terminus of SH-10 concurrency
Eldon382.4615.4 SH-51Eastern terminus of SH-51 concurrency
AdairWestville395.4636.3 US-59
Oklahoma–Arkansas state line398.3641.0 US 62 continues east into Arkansas
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to U.S. Route 62.
  1. 1 2 Oklahoma Department of Transportation. "State Highway System: Log of U.S. Highway 62" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 2007 Centennial State Map (Map). Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
  3. 1 2 3 Official State Map (Map) (2008 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
  4. Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (March 1, 1930 ed.). Oklahoma State Highway Department. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
  5. 1 2 Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (1931 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  6. Map of Oklahoma's State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (1948 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Planning & Research Division. "Memorial Dedication & Revision History - US-62". Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  8. Highways of Oklahoma (back side, Oklahoma City inset) (PDF) (Map) (1954 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
  9. Highway Map of Oklahoma (Map) (1966 ed.). Cartography by Diversified Map Co. Skelly Oil Company. § 11C.
  10. Google (2012-10-05). "U.S. Route 62 in Oklahoma" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 2012-10-05.
  11. Google (October 6, 2012). "U.S. Route 62 in Oklahoma" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  12. Google (October 7, 2012). "U.S. Route 62 in Oklahoma" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  13. Google (October 8, 2012). "U.S. Route 62 in Oklahoma" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 8, 2012.

External links

U.S. Route 62
Previous state:
Texas
Oklahoma Next state:
Arkansas
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