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Interstate 35 in Oklahoma

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This article is about the section of Interstate 35 in Oklahoma. For the entire route, see Interstate 35.
Interstate 35 marker
Interstate 35
Map
I-35 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length235.96 mi (379.74 km)
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
South end I-35 / US 77 at the Texas State Line
Major intersections
North end
 I-35 Toll / Kansas Turnpike at the Kansas State Line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOklahoma
CountiesLove, Carter, Murray, Garvin, McClain, Cleveland, Oklahoma, Logan, Payne, Noble, Kay
Highway system
  • Oklahoma State Highway System
← SH-34→ SH-35

Interstate 35 (I-35), in the US State of Oklahoma, runs from the Red River at the Texas border to the Kansas state line near Braman for a length of 236 miles (380 km).[1] I-35 has one auxiliary route in the state, I-235, in the inner city of Oklahoma City. A second auxiliary route, I-335, is the designation for the Kickapoo Turnpike, although it will not meet I-35 until the southern extension of the turnpike to a junction with I-35 in Purcell is built. Excluding the Panhandle, I-35 forms the informal bisector for central Oklahoma, and along with US 81/US 283 in western Oklahoma and US 69/US 75 in the eastern portion, it provides one of the main north-south corridors through the state.

Route description

[edit]
The Oklahoma welcome sign entering the state from Kansas

I-35 enters Oklahoma with U.S. Highway 77 (US-77) on a bridge over the Red River in Love County, south of Thackerville. US-77 splits off at exit 1 (Red River Road) but parallels the Interstate for its entire length in Oklahoma.[2] I-35 maintains a near–due north–south course through Love and Carter counties. I-35 provides four exits to Ardmore. After leaving Ardmore, it has a brief concurrency with State Highway 53 (SH-53) and enters Murray County and the Arbuckle Mountains.[2] I-35 then passes through Garvin County and the county seat of Pauls Valley. North of exit 79 (SH-145), I-35 enters McClain County.[2] There, it passes through Purcell and Goldsby.

SH-9 joins the Interstate crossing over the Canadian River into Cleveland County, after which it splits off again. It then serves as a major urban Interstate in Norman and Moore. Between Norman and Moore, US-77 joins the Interstate again. It then enters Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County near milepost 120.[2] Near downtown, I-35 splits off the mainline (which becomes I-235/US-77) and runs concurrent with I-40 for one mile (1.6 km) before splitting off to the north again.[2] I-44 then joins I-35 between mileposts 133 and 137.[2] In Edmond, US-77 joins the Interstate yet again.

I-35 in Goldsby, Oklahoma, at milemarker 102

At milepost 146, I-35 enters Logan County. It serves Guthrie at exit 153 (South Division Street), where US-77 splits off, and at exit 157 (SH-33/East Noble Avenue).[2] The Interstate then crosses the Cimarron River into Payne County and enters Noble County shortly thereafter. It provides two exits to Perry and serves as the western terminus of the Cimarron Turnpike (US-412). After providing access to Tonkawa and Blackwell in Kay County, it crosses into Kansas, becoming the Kansas Turnpike.

History

[edit]

Some sections of I-35 in Oklahoma City were already built in 1953 before the Interstate System was created.[3] Following the passage of the Federal Highway Act of 1956 that created the Interstate Highway System, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) approved the location of the future Interstate north of Oklahoma City to the Kansas state line on a route previously surveyed by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for a proposed toll road. As a free road, the first five miles (8.0 km) of that section of I-35 were opened to traffic in 1958 from US-177 near Braman north to the Kansas border, where it continued as the Kansas Turnpike. This was followed by completion of the entire route from Oklahoma City northward to Braman by 1963 in several phases, including Edmond to Guthrie in 1960, Guthrie to Perry in 1961, Perry to Blackwell in 1962, and Blackwell to Braman in early 1963.[citation needed]

To the south of Oklahoma City, I-35 was completed through Norman south to Purcell in June 1959. In Moore, it opened in two parts: the northern half, connecting Moore to Oklahoma City, opened in January 1960. The southern half, linking it to Norman, was opened to traffic in June 1967.[4] The Moore–Norman segment was originally a four-lane section of US-77 built in 1951 that did not meet full Interstate Highway standards and included several at-grade intersections within the City of Moore, including some with traffic signals, and upgraded accordingly to include grade separations to bring up to full Interstate Highway standards and frontage roads to serve local traffic needs. Also not up to full Interstate Highway standards prior to 1967 was a section in the vicinity of Lindsey Street in the southern portion of Norman where another at-grade intersection still existed which dated back to the original highway's construction in the early 1950s—this was also brought up to full Interstate Highway standards in 1967 with the construction of interchanges on I-35 at Lindsey and a short distance to the south for the future SH-9 bypass that would be built around the southside of Norman in the early 1970s.[citation needed]

Further south, I-35 was completed from Marietta south to the Red River bridge in 1963, at which point a nearly 90-mile (140 km) gap of uncompleted Interstate would exist between Purcell and Marietta until the late 1960s with traffic continuing to be routed over paralleling US-77. This was in large part due to efforts of the towns of Wynnewood, Paoli, and Wayne fighting to keep I-35 as close as possible to US-77. This was successful due to a threat from Governor Henry Bellmon to build a toll road rather than I-35, and legislation preventing state funds for the Interstate from being spent if it were more than one mile (1.6 km) from the U.S. Highway.[5]

The uncompleted gap of I-35 in Southern Oklahoma was narrowed in 1967 and 1968 when two sections were completed from US-70/SH-199 in Ardmore south to SH-32 in Marietta. In 1969, the section of Interstate bypassing Ardmore was completed north from US-70 two miles (3.2 km) to SH-142, and, the following year, 1970, brought the completion of I-35 from SH-7 near Davis south to Ardmore, at long last bypassing the winding section of US-77 through the Arbuckle Mountains. This stretch through the Arbuckles was particularly expensive and difficult to construct, taking almost two years and requiring the blasting and removal of 4 million cubic yards (3.1×10^6 m3) of rock.[6] A few months later, in January 1971, I-35 was finally completed across the State of Oklahoma, when the remaining portions of the Interstate from Purcell to SH-7 near Davis were opened to traffic.[3]

In 2008, ODOT announced plans to widen two miles (3.2 km) of I-35 through Norman, from the Main Street interchange (exit 109) to the McCall Bridge over the Canadian River.[7] Controversy surrounding the project arose when early drafts eliminated the SH-74A/Lindsey Street interchange (exit 108B), due to its proximity to the SH-9 interchange (exit 108A). A public meeting held in Norman attracted 300 attendees, many bearing "Don't Close Lindsey" signs. Attendees cited the impact on local businesses and those attending University of Oklahoma football games as grounds for opposing the closure of the interchange. A former OU economics professor estimated the interchange's closure would cost Norman $100 million over the course of 15 years.[8]

At the meeting, four proposals were displayed, only one of which displayed no access from Lindsey Street. A second proposal would preserve access to Lindsey Street but require the seizure of a newly built Chevrolet dealership near the interchange. The third proposal would instead send the ramps around the dealership, and the fourth, the highest-cost alternate, would use bridges to prevent Lindsey Street and SH-9 traffic from conflicting. ODOT said their design standards did not require consideration of OU football traffic, because they only considered the 30th highest traffic percentile. One ODOT engineer was quoted as saying, "Otherwise, we'd have to 10-lane everything in Norman."[8] In early 2011, a solution was unveiled that would retain access to Lindsey Street and reconstruct the interchange without displacing the dealership.[9]

In 2014, ODOT completed reconstruction of the Main Street interchange as a single-point urban interchange (SPUI) and widening of I-35 to just south of Main Street. In March 2015, ODOT began a two-year, $71 million project to reconstruct the Lindsey Street interchange as a SPUI, reconstruct the SH-9 interchange, and complete widening of I-35 to six lanes to the Canadian River.[10] It was completed and opened in October 2017.[11]

In August 2018, construction began for a new bridge for Southwest 34th Street over I-35 in Moore. The road had previously been unconnected due to sections on either side of I-35 ending at the frontage roads for the interstate. During the project, I-35 was briefly shut down after construction debris was blown off the bridge and onto the roadway on April 13, 2019.[12] The overpass was not damaged; the debris blown off it was scaffolding and plywood.[13] The bridge was completed and opened on November 21, 2019.[14]

It was announced in February 2022 that the speed limit of the freeway would become 65 miles per hour (105 km/h) from 89th Street in Oklahoma City to just south of the SH-9 interchange in Norman. This change will make the speed limit consistent in the area, where it previously was not (some of the area had 70 mph [110 km/h] speed limits).[15] All of the new signs were installed by the end of March.[citation needed]

Future

[edit]

ODOT began a redesign process for the I-35/I-240 interchange in southeast Oklahoma City in 1998. It is currently a four-leaf cloverleaf interchange that has deemed to be outdated and the improvements will change it to a multi-level interchange with dedicated interstate ramps, turnaround lanes, and service roads for improved city street access in six phases. Phase 1 began in early summer 2016 and was completed in May 2017 while phase 1A construction began in mid-June 2017 and was completed in summer 2018. Construction on phase 1B began on June 5, 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2025.[16][17]

The I-35 and SH-9 West interchange in Goldsby is also expected to be reconfigured into a Diverging diamond interchange. The new design is expected to "accommodate large volumes of turning traffic by shifting traffic to the left side of a divided roadway through a series of coordinated signals for safer and more efficient left turns."[18]

Naming

[edit]
  • Through the Arbuckle Mountains, I-35 is designated as the Honey Creek Pass.
  • The bridge over the Canadian River is the S.K. McCall Memorial Bridge.
  • In Moore, I-35 is the Helen Cole Memorial Highway. The bridge over NE 27th Street is the Airman Kamenski D. Watson Memorial Bridge
  • In Edmond, I-35 is the Shannon Miller Parkway.

Exit list

[edit]
CountyLocationmikmExitDestinationsNotes
LoveRed River0.000.00

 I-35 south / US 77 south – Fort Worth, Dallas		Continuation into Texas
Thackerville1.111.791
 US 77 north		Northern end of US-77 concurrency
3.215.173Winstar Boulevard
5.238.425 SH-153 – Thackerville
Marietta15.3024.6215 SH-32 – Marietta, Ryan
​21.4134.4621Oswalt Road
Love–Carter
county line		Overbrook24.4539.3524 SH-77S (western spur) – Lake Murray State Park
CarterArdmore29.2046.9929
 US 70 east – Madill, Ardmore		Southern end of US-70 concurrency
31.6750.9731
 US 70 west – Ardmore, Waurika, Lone Grove		Northern end of US-70 concurrency; signed as exits 31A (east) and 31B (west)
32.7152.643212th Street
33.7254.2733 SH-142 – Ardmore
Springer40.8065.6640
 SH-53 east – Springer, Gene Autry		Southern end of SH-53 concurrency
42.8568.9642
 SH-53 west – Comanche		Northern end of SH-53 concurrency
MurrayDavis47.5676.5447 US 77 – Turner Falls Area
51.3282.5951
55.8389.8555 SH-7 – Davis, Duncan, Sulphur
Garvin​60.6197.5460Ruppe Road
Wynnewood64.27103.4364
 SH-17A east – Wynnewood
66.29106.6866 SH-29 – Wynnewood, Elmore City
​70.36113.2370Airline Road
Pauls Valley72.90117.3272 SH-19 – Pauls Valley, Maysville
​74.75120.3074Kimberlin Road
Paoli79.55128.0279
 SH-145 east – Paoli
McClainWayne86.17138.6886 SH-59 – Wayne, Payne
Purcell91.10146.6191
 SH-74 to SH-39 – Purcell, Lexington		Serves Purcell Amtrak Station
95.37153.4895
 To US 77 – Purcell, Lexington		No southbound entrance; signed only as "Purcell" northbound
Washington98.36158.3098Johnson Road
Goldsby101.64163.57101Ladd Road
104.78168.63104
 SH-74 south – Goldsby, Washington
107.04172.26106
 SH-9 west – Chickasha		Southern end of SH-9 concurrency
ClevelandNorman108.39174.44108A
 SH-9 east – Tecumseh		Northern end of SH-9 concurrency
108.82175.13108BLindsey StreetServes University of Oklahoma. Former SH-74A.
109.86176.80109Main StreetServes University of Oklahoma
110.88178.44110Robinson Street / Interstate DriveSigned as exits 110A (west) and 110B (east) southbound for Robinson Street only
112.87181.65112Tecumseh Road
114.21183.80113
 US 77 south – Norman		Southbound exit and northbound entrance; Southern end of US-77 concurrency
114.92184.95114Indian Hills Road
Moore116.94188.20116S. 19th Street
117.89189.73117 SH-37 (S. 4th Street) / Main Street / N. 5th StreetSigned only for SH-37 (S. 4th Street) southbound
118.95191.43118N. 12th Street / Main Street / N. 5th StreetSigned only for N. 12th Street northbound
119.56192.41119AShields BoulevardNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
119.96193.06119BN. 27th Street
Oklahoma City120.93194.62120SE 89th Street/SE 82nd StreetOnly SE 89th Street listed Southbound
Oklahoma121.42195.41121ASE 82nd StreetSouthbound exit ramp closed in mid-2017, Currently Northbound Entrance to I-240 C/D lanes [17]
121.92196.21121B
 I-240 / US 62 west / SH-3 – Lawton, Ft. Smith		I-240 exits 4A-B; southern end of US-62 concurrency
122.42197.02122ASE 66th Street
122.94197.85122BSE 59th Street
123.49198.74123ASE 51st StreetNo northbound entrance
123.99199.54123BSE 44th StreetNo southbound entrance
124.51200.38124AGrand Boulevard
125.01–
125.27		201.18–
201.60		124BSE 29th Street / SE 25th StreetSigned as exit 125A southbound
126.03202.83125BSE 15th StreetSigned as exit 125D southbound
126.93204.27—
 I-235 north (US-77 north) – Oklahoma Health Center, State Capitol, Edmond		Northern end of US-77 concurrency; southern terminus of I-235
—
 I-40 / US 270 west – Amarillo		Southern end of I-40/US-270 concurrency; southbound exit and northbound entrance; northbound access via I-235 exit 1B
126
 I-235 / US 77 north – Oklahoma Health Center, State Capitol, Edmond		Southbound exit only, I-235 exit 1A
127.77205.63127Eastern Avenue, Martin Luther King AvenueSouthbound exit is via exit 128
128.38206.61128

 I-40 east / US 270 east – Ft. Smith		Northern end of I-40/US-270 concurrency
129.19207.91129NE 10th Street
130.19209.52130
 US 62 east (NE 23rd Street)		Northern end of US-62 concurrency
131.24211.21131NE 36th Street
132.25212.84132ANE 50th Street
133.26214.46132BNE 63rd StreetNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
133.49214.83133
 I-44 west (SH-66 west) – Lawton, Wichita Falls		Southern end of I-44/SH-66 concurrency; I-44 east exit 130
134.30216.13134Wilshire Boulevard
135.33217.79135Britton Road
136.47219.63136Hefner Road
137.60221.45137NE 122nd Street
138.05222.17138A
 I-44 / Turner Turnpike east – Tulsa		Northern end of I-44 concurrency
138B
 I-344 / Kilpatrick Turnpike west
138.43222.78138CSooner RoadSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
Edmond138.70223.22138DMemorial Road
139.70224.83139SE 33rd Street
140.70226.43140SE 15th Street
141.67228.00141

 US 77 south / SH-66 east (2nd Street) – Edmond, Tulsa		Northern end of SH-66 concurrency, southern end of US-77 concurrency
142.73229.70142Danforth RoadNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
​143.77231.38143Covell Road
​146.76236.19146Waterloo Road
Logan​151.80244.30151Seward Road
Guthrie153.30246.71153
 US 77 north – Guthrie		Northern end of US-77 concurrency
157.75253.87157 SH-33 – Guthrie, Perkins, Cushing
Payne​170.68274.68170Mulhall Road
​174.68281.12174 SH-51 – Stillwater, Hennessey
Noble​180.87291.08180Orlando Road
Perry185.91299.19185 US 77 – Perry, Covington
186.92300.82186
 US 64 east (Fir Street) – Perry		Southern end of US-64 concurrency
​193.94312.12193Airport RoadNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
​194.56313.11194

 US 64 west / US 412 / Cimarron Turnpike east – Tulsa, Enid		Northern end of US-64 concurrency; signed as exits 194A (east) and 194B (west); US-412/Cimarron Tpke. exits 1A-B
​204.06328.40203 SH-15 – Billings, Marland
KayTonkawa212.09341.33211Fountain Road
215.10346.17214 US 60 – Tonkawa, Ponca City
​219.11352.62218Hubbard Road
Blackwell223.12359.08222 SH-11 – Blackwell, Medford
Braman231.19372.06230Braman Road
​232.18373.66231 US 177 – Braman
​236.19380.11

 I-35 north / Kansas Turnpike north – Wichita		Continuation into Kansas
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Stuve, Eric. "Interstate Highways". OKHighways. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oklahoma Department of Transportation (2009). Official State Map (PDF) (Map) (2009–10 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  3. ^ a b Cockerell, Penny (June 29, 2006). "50 Years: As the intersection of Interstates 35, 40, and 44, Oklahoma is at America's crossroads". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 2A.
  4. ^ Medley, Robert (June 29, 2006). "Higways [sic] continue to drive economy". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 1D.
  5. ^ McNichol, Dan (2006). The Roads that Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System. New York: Sterling. ISBN 1-4027-3468-9.[page needed]
  6. ^ Farmer, Ann (June 9, 1972). "Old Mountain Area Becomes A New Discovery". The Greenville Herald Banner. Associated Press. p. 12.
  7. ^ "Norman residents plead with Oklahoma state road officials". NewsOK.com.
  8. ^ a b Cole-Frowe, Carol (September 19, 2008). "Fired up: Residents fight for Lindsey Street interchange". The Norman Transcript. p. A1.
  9. ^ "Interstate 35 design plan for Norman widening project unveiled". NewsOK.com.
  10. ^ "Work to begin on I-35 widening project in Norman". NewsOK.com.
  11. ^ "I-35/SH-9/Lindsey Street Project". Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  12. ^ Staff, Transcript. "I-35 reopens following bridge debris cleanup". Norman Transcript. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  13. ^ Santos, Suzelle (April 14, 2019). "I-35 in Moore reopens after debris falls off bridge". KOCO-TV. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  14. ^ Eubank, Mckenna (November 21, 2019). "Overpass to open over I-35 in Moore". KOKH-TV. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  15. ^ Oklahoma Department of Transportation [@OKDOT] (February 14, 2022). "CLEVELAND/MCCLAIN CO: Be alert to new 65 mph speed limit signs going up on north and southbound I-35 between S.E. 89th St. in Oklahoma City and SH-9 West near Goldsby beginning Monday. This change makes the speed limit consistent through Moore and Norman" (Tweet). Retrieved February 18, 2022 – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Jones, Alyse (January 14, 2023). "Oklahoma approves major upgrades to busy metro interchange". KOCO. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "I-35/I-240 Interchange improvements". Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  18. ^ "ODOT selects new interchange design for I-35 and SH-9 West in McClain County". Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
[edit]
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Interstate 35
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