HE Bailey Turnpike
| HE Bailey Turnpike | |||
| Get started | Randlett | ||
| End | Oklahoma City | ||
| Length | 94 mi | ||
| Length | 151 km | ||
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According to Biotionary, the HE Bailey Turnpike is a turnpike in the US state of Oklahoma and is part of Interstate 44. The toll road connects Wichita Falls with Lawton and Oklahoma City. Two stretches of I-44 south of Oklahoma City are covered by the HE Bailey Turnpike, punctuated by a toll-free section through the town of Lawton. The toll road is 151 kilometers long in total.
Travel directions
The toll road begins at Randlett, 5 miles north of the Texas border . Interstate 44 is toll-free south of Randlett. The highway has 2×2 lanes and leads north over the prairies, after which the toll section is interrupted after 45 kilometers by a toll-free section through the town of Lawton. This toll-free section is 21 kilometers long. After that, the toll road begins again, then heads northeast, with Chickasha being the main town on the route. At Bridge Creek there is a branch from the turnpike towards Norman. The toll road then terminates just south of Oklahoma City, where toll – free Interstate 44 continues through Oklahoma City toward Tulsa.
History
A toll road was planned between Oklahoma City and Lawton in the early 1950s. The existing routes at the time were State Routes, which were narrow and ineligible for federal funding, making an upgrade affordable only in the form of a toll road. Funding for the turnpike was completed in 1961, and the northern section between Oklahoma City and Lawton opened to traffic on March 1, 1964. A little later, on April 23, 1964, the southern portion of the turnpike road opened from Lawton to the Texas border. In 1982, I-44 was extended through Oklahoma City, and continued over the HE Bailey Turnpike to Wichita Falls, Texas. The turnpike is named after HE Bailey, an Oklahoma City city manager between 1941 and 1944 and later the director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
Toll
The HE Bailey Turnpike is a toll road, operated by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. The tolls are very low as everywhere in Oklahoma. Tolls can also be paid with the Pikepass.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 6,500 to 7,000 vehicles travel on the southern portion of the toll road between Randlett and Lawton, 11,000 vehicles between Lawton and Chickasha, and 20,000 vehicles until the OK-9 junction south of Oklahoma City. The Bailey Spur handles 7,000 vehicles per day.
Indian Nation Turnpike
| Indian Nation Turnpike | |||
| Get started | Hugo | ||
| End | Henryetta | ||
| Length | 105 mi | ||
| Length | 169 km | ||
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The Indian Nation Turnpike is a turnpike or toll road in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The highway connects the southeastern city of Hugo to Interstate 40, just south of Tulsa. The highway is 169 kilometers long.
Travel directions
The highway begins in Hugo, a regional town of 5,500 residents, just north of the Texas border. From here, US 271 heads south to Paris, Texas. It also crosses US 70, which runs from Durant to DeQueen in Arkansas. The highway has 2×2 lanes over its entire length. It passes through the foothills of Ouachita Mountains, and the road has a number of slopes. This area is fairly wooded, unlike the rest of Oklahoma, which is quite barren, especially in the western part of the state. Discounts are sparing. At McAlester you cross the US 69, which runs from Durant to Muskogee. McAlester has 18,000 inhabitants and is the largest town on the route of the Indian Nation Turnpike. A little further on, one crosses the Canadian River, one of the three larger rivers in Oklahoma. The highway ends at Interstate 40, which runs from Oklahoma City to Little Rock in Arkansas. US 62 continues straight here as a four lane highway to Tulsa.
History
The Indian Nation Turnpike has been designed with parkway characteristics in mind, and has a grass median strip. On January 1, 1966, the northern section opened for 40 miles between I-40 and US 69 south of McAlester. On August 21, 1970, the southern section was opened for 101 kilometers further to Hugo.
Toll
The Indian Nation Turnpike is a toll road, operated by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. As everywhere in Oklahoma, tolls are very low. The toll can also be paid with the Pikepass.
Traffic intensities
Daily 7,800 to 8,500 vehicles drive between Henryetta and McAlester and 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles on the southern section between McAlester and Hugo. This makes the Indian Nation Turnpike one of the quietest highways in Oklahoma.
