Indian Nation Turnpike
  Indian Nation Turnpike | |
|---|---|
 The Indian Nation Turnpike highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by Oklahoma Turnpike Authority | |
| Length | 105.2 mi (169.3 km) |
| Existed | 1966–present |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |   US 70 / US 271 near Hugo |
| North end |    I-40 / US 62 / US 75 in Henryetta |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Oklahoma |
| Counties | Choctaw, Pushmataha, Atoka, Pittsburg, McIntosh, Okmulgee |
| Highway system | |
| |
The Indian Nation Turnpike, also designated State Highway 375 (SH-375), is a controlled-access toll road in southeastern Oklahoma, United States, running between Hugo and Henryetta, a distance of 105.2 miles (169.3 km). It is the longest tollway in the state.
Route description
[edit]The Indian Nation Turnpike is built to parkway-like design standards, omitting a center barrier and left-hand shoulders for a slightly mounded grassy median that is flush with the edge of the left lane in each direction. However, the median is slowly being upgraded to a cable barrier with left shoulders bordering it. The turnpike's speed limit is 80 mph (130 km/h) from I-40 south to north of US-270/OK-1, and from there to the southern terminus it is 75 mph (120 km/h).
Law enforcement along the Indian Nation Turnpike is provided by Oklahoma Highway Patrol Troop XC, a special troop assigned to the turnpike.[1]
The only service plaza along the entire turnpike is located just north of the US 69 exit near McAlester. Service plazas formerly existed near the Antlers and OK-9 exits before the one near McAlester opened.
History
[edit]The route is one continuous four-lane limited access highway, but consists of two separately constructed sections. The 41.1-mile (66.1 km) northern section, which opened in 1966, is the portion between I-40/US 62/US 75 near Henryetta and US 69 south of McAlester. The southern extension opened in 1970, and is the 64.1-mile (103.2 km) segment from the US 69 junction to US 70/271 in Hugo.[2]
On December 2, 2014, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority approved funds to reconstruct the Eufaula interchange, demolishing the Eufaula service plaza and relocating the toll plaza to where the service plaza once stood.[3] The interchange previously had the highest accident rate of all Oklahoma's turnpikes. The funds also went towards demolishing the Antlers service plaza. A new service plaza opened north of the McAlester interchange on December 19, 2014, containing a McDonald's.[4]
The Indian Nation Turnpike originally bore no numbered designation. On August 2, 2021, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission unanimously approved a motion to apply the SH-375 designation to the turnpike. ODOT Director Tim Gatz stated in the Transportation Commission meeting that the numbering addition was primarily to aid in navigation using digital mapping and routing applications.[5]
Tolls
[edit]There are three mainline toll plazas, one just north of the OK-9/Eufaula exit, one just south of the US 69 exit near McAlester, and one within the Antlers exit. The toll plaza at the Eufaula exit has two high-speed Pikepass lanes, with one in each direction. These lanes do not have access to OK-9. To access the OK-9 exit from the southbound lanes, motorists must exit into the cash lanes and then exit the cash lanes before the mainline tollbooths (conversely motorists using the northbound turnpike entrance from OK-9 must merge with the cash lanes before merging back with the Pikepass lanes).
A two-axle vehicle pays $7.75 ($6.20 with Pikepass and other compatible systems) to drive the full length of the turnpike.[6]
Exit list
[edit]| County | Location | mi[7] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choctaw | Hugo | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 |   US 70 west / US 271 north – Hugo | Last free exit northbound; southbound continuation |
| Pushmataha | Antlers | 16.0 | 25.7 | 16 |   SH-3 / SH-7 – Antlers, Atoka | Toll Plaza under bridge prior to exit in both directions |
| 16.4 | 26.4 | Antlers Service Plaza (demolished 2014) | ||||
| Atoka | Daisy | 38.4 | 61.8 | 38 |  SH-43 – Atoka, Daisy, Stringtown | |
| Pittsburg | Blanco | 55.0 | 88.5 | 55 |  SH-63 – Kiowa, Hartshorne | Future interchange |
| McAlester | 63.2 | 101.7 | McAlester Toll Plaza | |||
| 63.3 | 101.9 | 63 |  US 69 – McAlester, Eufaula, Muskogee, Atoka, Durant | Signed as exits 63B (south) and 63A (north) southbound | ||
| 66.8 | 107.5 | McAlester Service Plaza (opened 2014) | ||||
| 69.9 | 112.5 | 70 |   US 270 / SH-1 – McAlester, Calvin | |||
| | 73 | 117 | 73 | Tannehil Road | Future interchange | |
| | 82.0 | 132.0 | 82 | Canadian, Indianola | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; future full interchange | |
| McIntosh | | 92.8 | 149.3 | 92 |  SH-9 – Dustin, Eufaula | Mainline toll plaza located just after exit in both directions |
| | 92.9 | 149.5 | Eufaula Service Plaza (demolished 2014) | |||
| Okmulgee | Henryetta | 104.4 | 168.0 | 104A |  I-40 east – Fort Smith | Last free exit southbound; I-40 exit 240A |
| 104.7 | 168.5 | 104B |   I-40 west / US 62 west / US 75 south – Oklahoma City | Turnpike ends; northbound continuation as US 62/75 | ||
| 105.2 | 169.3 | E. Main St. | Freeway ends | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Oklahoma Highway Patrol". Retrieved April 5, 2008.
- ^ "History". Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
- ^ "Indian Nation Turnpike getting $23 million in upgrades". December 3, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ "New McAlester Travel Plaza opens on turnpike". December 19, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
- ^ Oklahoma Transportation Commission (August 2, 2021). "ODOT Commission Meeting". Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ "PIKEPASS: Toll Rates". Retrieved April 19, 2018.
- ^ "Overview map of Indian Nation Turnpike Distances Between Interchanges" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved January 5, 2011.