User:Scott5114/I-44

Interstate 44
Route information
Length	633.79 mi (1,019.99 km)
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	US 277 / US 281 / US 287 in Wichita Falls, TX
Major intersections	I-40 in Oklahoma City, OK I-35 in Oklahoma City, OK US 71 near Joplin, MO
East end	I-55 in St. Louis, MO
Location
Country	United States
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future

Interstate 44 (I-44) is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its western terminus is in Wichita Falls, Texas at concurrency with US 277, US 281 and US 287; its eastern terminus is in St. Louis at Interstate 55 (the Federal Highway Administration considers its end to be at the Missouri–Illinois state line [1] ). Interstate 44 is one of five interstates built to bypass U.S. Route 66; this highway covers the section between St. Louis and Oklahoma City. Virtually the entire length of the Interstate east of Springfield, Missouri was once US 66 which was upgraded from two to four lanes between 1949 and 1955. The section of I-44 west of Springfield was built further south than US 66 in order to connect Missouri's section with the already completed Will Rogers Turnpike, which Oklahoma wished to carry their part of I-44.

Interstate 44 is referenced in the song "Convoy" by C.W. McCall.

Route description

Lengths

	mi	km
TX	15	24
OK	329	530
MO	290	467
Total	634	1021

Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs
Wichita Falls, Texas Lawton, Oklahoma Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Tulsa, Oklahoma Joplin, Missouri Springfield, Missouri Rolla, Missouri St. Louis, Missouri

Texas

I-44 begins near exit 1 in Wichita Falls concurrent with US 277, US 281 and US 287. US 281 and US 287 continue to the south while US 277 leaves the concurrency at exit 1, which also provides access to US 82. I-44 heads north through Wichita Falls to an interchange with US 287 and Spur 325. US 287 leaves the concurrency as a freeway to the west while Spur 325 leaves the interchange towards the northeast providing access to Sheppard Air Force Base and Wichita Falls Municipal Airport. I-44 continues to the north as it leaves the Wichita Falls city limits at Bacon Switch Road. The freeway enters the Burkburnett city limits south of an interchange at FM 3429. Heading north through the city, I-44 has interchanges with SH 240 and Spur 383. After passing Spur 383, I-44 begins to head towards the northeast before its final interchange in Texas at Loop 267. I-44 leaves the state of Texas at its crossing of the Red River and enters Oklahoma.

Oklahoma

I-44 in Oklahoma City

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 the Creek Turnpike. 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.

Missouri

I-44/55/64/70 on one freeway sign in downtown St. Louis

Interstate 44 enters Missouri in Newton County, at the eastern terminus of the Will Rogers Turnpike, at a point near the corner of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. A marker is erected at the point, which can be visited on State Line Road after exiting at US-166. I-44 misses the state of Kansas by less than 200 yards (180 m). The first interchange in Missouri is the eastern terminus of both U.S. Route 166 and U.S. Route 400. The road then runs through southern Joplin and begins a concurrency with US 71 at Exit 11 just after entering Jasper County. The freeway turns to a more eastern heading (the old US 166 alignment), and then US 71 splits off to the north at Exit 18.

I-44 then enters Lawrence County. Near Mount Vernon, the highway curves to the northeast. The section of road to Halltown is a completely new road, not bypassing any previous highways. At Halltown, the road curves back to due east, beginning to follow the general pathway of old U.S. Route 66 (which it will do all the way to downtown St. Louis). The highway then runs around the western and northern sides of Springfield, serving as the western terminus of the James River Freeway, as well as crossing both Route 13 and US 65. The interstate continues northeast, bypassing Lebanon.

In Pulaski County, I-44 enters the Mark Twain National Forest, leaving it to provide access to Waynesville, St. Robert, and Fort Leonard Wood before entering the forest again. The freeway leaves the forest in Phelps County west of Rolla. I-44 then runs through Rolla, where it meets US 63. It continues its northeast course, passing near St. James, Cuba, Bourbon, Sullivan, and Saint Clair.

I-44 then runs north of Pacific before moving into St. Louis County. I-44 then bisects Eureka before serving as the southern boundary of Route 66 State Park (the former site of Times Beach, known for the dioxin contamination and subsequent demolition and Superfund cleanup). I-44 then runs through unincorporated territory before entering Fenton and having an interchange with Interstate 270 in Sunset Hills. I-44 then runs through Crestwood, Kirkwood, Oakland, Webster Groves, and Shrewsbury before entering the city of St. Louis. I-44 runs on a due east course through St. Louis before ending at Interstate 55.

History

As U.S. 66 was being bypassed by I-44, the Route 66 Association requested the designation Interstate 66 for what is now I-44 from St. Louis to Oklahoma City. AASHTO rejected the request.

I-44 was originally signed in 1958 as an Interstate designation of the Turner Turnpike, linking Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and the Will Rogers Turnpike linking Tulsa and the Missouri state line southwest of Joplin. Also signed as I-44 was the US 66 bypass in Tulsa that linked that city with the two turnpikes, and the continued four-lane highway from the Missouri border to an interchange with US 71 south of Joplin, which was previously designated as US 166. From 1958 to 1982, the eastern terminus of I-44 was at I-35 in Oklahoma City, the current eastern 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. 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. The freeway section through Lawton was the Pioneer Expressway. The new section was also a violation of the Interstate numbering grid, as it extended south of I-40. (The "44" number indicated that it should lie north of I-40 for its entire length.)

During the historic 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak, an F5 tornado hit Interstate 44. This particular tornado had the fastest tornado wind speeds on record. The interstate was severely damaged where the tornado crossed it. In the end, this tornado was blamed for 36 deaths.

A section of I-44 was moved slightly north between Powellville, Missouri and Doolittle. The old road is highly visible for eastbound traffic near Powellville. As of April 2006, the rocks carved away for the new roadbed have virtually no lichen, reflecting that this construction occurred rather recently.

Auxiliary routes

• Tulsa, Oklahoma - I-244, I-444 (unsigned)
• St. Louis, Missouri - I-244 decommissioned in 1974, today signed as I-270.

Business routes

Main article: Business routes of Interstate 44.

All business loops of Interstate 44 are located in Missouri. They serve Joplin, Sarcoxie, Mount Vernon, Springfield, Lebanon, Waynesville-St. Robert, Rolla, and Pacific. A business spur links I-44 with Fort Leonard Wood.

Alternate I-44

At some places, an "Alternate I-44" is posted. One such ran between Rolla and Springfield via US-60 and US-63 and another ran via US-63 and US-50 between Rolla and Union. These were done to provide traffic relief during road work. The latter of these alternate routes detoured traffic around three hour delays due to road work near Cuba.

Exit list

Texas

County	Location	#	Destinations	Notes
Wichita	Wichita Falls		US 281 south / US 287 south – Jacksboro, Fort Worth	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		1	US 82 west / US 277 south – Lubbock, Abilene	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		1A	Bus. US 277 south	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		1B	Scotland Park	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		1C	Texas Travel Info Center
		1D	Bus. US 287
		2	Maurine Street
		3A	US 287 north – Vernon, Amarillo	East end of US 287 concurrency
		3B	Spur 325 – Sheppard AFB
		3C	FM 890 – Wichita Falls Municipal Airport
		4	City Loop Street	Eastbound exit and entrance
		4	Frontage Road	Westbound exit only
		5	Access Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		5A	FM 3492 (Missile Road) – Sheppard AFB
		6	Bacon Switch Road
		7	East Road
	Burkburnett	11	FM 3429 (Daniels Road)
		12	SH 240 – Burkburnett
		13	Spur 383 (Glendale Street)
		14	Loop 267 (East Third Street) to SH 240 west – Burkburnett

Oklahoma

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Cotton			1	SH-36 – Grandfield
			5	US 70 (US-277 north/US-281 north) – Randlett	East end of US-277/US-281 overlap
	Walters		20	SH-5 (US-277/US-281) – Frederick, Walters	Toll plaza is located at this interchange
Comanche			30	SH-36 west (US-277 south/US-281 south) – Geronimo, Faxon, Frederick	West end of US-277/US-281 overlap
	Lawton		33	US 281 Bus. north (11th Street)
			36A	SH-7 east (Lee Boulevard) – Duncan	Signed as exits 36A (east) and 36B (west) westbound
			37	Gore Boulevard
			39B	US 281 Bus. south – Lawton	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			39A	Cache Road – Lawton Business District	Former US-62 west
			40A	US 62 west (Rogers Lane) – Cache, Altus	Signed as exits 40A (east) and 40B (west) westbound
	Fort Sill
			40C	Gate 2	closed
			41	Fort Sill Key Gate
			45	SH-49 – Carnegie, Medicine Park
			46	US 62 east / US 277 north / US 281 north – Elgin, Apache, Anadarko	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of US-62/US-277/US-281 overlap
			53	US 277 – Fletcher, Elgin, Sterling
			62	Fletcher, Cyril, Sterling
Grady	Toll plaza
	Chickasha		80	US 81 (US-277) – Duncan, Chickasha
			83	US 62 (US-277) – Chickasha, Anadarko
	Toll plaza
				H. E. Bailey Spur – Blanchard, Norman
				SH-4 – Yukon, Mustang, Tuttle
McClain	Newcastle		107	US 62 west / US 277 south – Newcastle, Blanchard	West end of US-62 overlap
			108	SH-37 west – Minco, Tuttle	West end of SH-37 overlap
			108A	Frontage Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Cleveland	Oklahoma City		109	Southwest 149th Street
			110	SH-37 east (Southwest 134th Street) – Moore	East end of SH-37 overlap
			111	Southwest 119th Street
			112	Southwest 104th Street
Oklahoma			113	Southwest 89th Street
			114	Southwest 74th Street
			115	I-240 east / US 62 east / SH-3 east – Dallas, Fort Smith	East end of US-62 overlap; west end of SH-3 overlap; no exit number westbound
			116A	Southwest 59th Street
			116B	SH-152 west (Airport Road)
			117A	Southwest 44th Street	Signed as exit 117B westbound
			118	Southwest 29th Street	Former SH-152
			119	Southwest 15th Street
			120	I-40 – Amarillo, Fort Smith	Signed as exits 120A (west) and 120B (east)
			121	Northwest 10th Street – Fair Park	Signed as exits 121A (east) and 121B (west)
			122	Northwest 23rd Street
			123A	Northwest 36th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				SH-3 west / SH-74 north (Grand Boulevard)	East end of SH-3 overlap
			123B	SH-66 west – Warr Acres, Bethany	West end of SH-66 overlap
			124	North May Avenue
			125A	North Penn Avenue
			125B	Classen Boulevard
			125C	SH-3A (Northwest Expressway)	Eastbound exit is via exit 125A
			126	Western Avenue
			127	I-235 / US 77 (Broadway Extension) – Edmond
			128A	Lincoln Boulevard – State Capitol
			128B	Kelley Avenue
			129	M.L. King Avenue
			130	I-35 west to I-40 – Oklahoma City, Dallas	West end of I-35 overlap; no exit number westbound
			134	Wilshire Boulevard
			135	Britton Road
			136	Hefner Road
			137	Northeast 122nd Street
				I-35 north / SH-66 east – Tulsa, Wichita	East end of I-35/SH-66 overlap
			138B	Kilpatrick Turnpike	No exit number westbound
				Sooner Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Lincoln	Wellston		158	SH-66 – Wellston
	Chandler		166	SH-18 – Chandler, Cushing
	Stroud		179	SH-99 (US-377) – Stroud, Drumright
Creek	Toll plaza
	Bristow		196	SH-48 (SH-66) – Bristow, Lake Keystone
			211	SH-33 – Drumright, Kellyville
	Sapulpa		215	SH-97 – Sapulpa, Sand Springs
			218	Creek Turnpike east	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Tulsa			221A	57th West Avenue	Westbound exit only
			221B	SH-66 west – Bristow, Sapulpa	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; west end of SH-66 overlap
			222A	49th West Avenue
			222C	56th Street	Westbound exit only
			222B	55th Place	Eastbound exit only
			223A	I-244 east – Downtown Tulsa
			223B	51st Street (via Gilcrease Expressway)	Signed as exit 1B eastbound
	Tulsa		223C	33rd West Avenue
			224	Union Avenue
			224	US 75 – Okmulgee, Bartlesville
			225	Elwood Avenue	Eastbound exit is part of exit 224
			226A	Riverside Drive
			226B	Peoria Avenue
			227	Lewis Avenue
			228	Harvard Avenue
			229	Yale Avenue – Saint Francis Hospital
			230	41st Street, Sheridan Road
			231	US 64 / SH-51 – Muskogee, Broken Arrow, Sand Springs
			232	East 31st Street, Memorial Drive	Eastbound exit is part of exit 231
			233	East 21st Street	Signed as exit 233B westbound
			234A	US 169 – Owasso, Broken Arrow	No eastbound exit to US-169 south
			234B	Garnett Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			235	East 11th Street
			236	129th East Avenue
			236B	I-244 west / US 412 west – Sand Springs, Enid	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; west end of US-412 overlap
Rogers			238	161st East Avenue
			240	SH-167 north (193rd East Avenue)
			241	SH-66 east – Claremore, Catoosa	No eastbound entrance; east end of SH-66 overlap; no exit number westbound
			33A	US 412 east – Chouteau, Siloam Springs	East end of US-412 overlap; no exit number eastbound
				Creek Turnpike west – Oklahoma City
			35	East Pine Street	Westbound 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, Adair	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Craig	Big Cabin		283	US 69 – Big Cabin
	Toll plaza
	Vinita		289	US 60 (US-69) to SH-66 – Vinita
Ottawa			302	US 59 / US 60 (US-69) – Fairland, Grove, Afton
	Miami		313	SH-10 – Miami

Missouri

{mileposts}}

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Newton			1	US 166 west / US 400 west – Galena, Baxter Springs
			4	Route 43 south – Seneca, Joplin	West end of Route 43 overlap
	Joplin		6	I-44 BL east / Route 43 north / Route 86 – Racine, Joplin	East end of Route 43 overlap
			8	US 71 Bus. (Range Line Road)	Signed as exits 8A (south) and 8B (north)
Jasper			11A	US 71 south – Neosho, Fort Smith	West end of US 71 overlap
			11B	Route 249 north – Joplin
			15	I-44 BL west / Route 66 west – Duenweg	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Fidelity		18A	Route 59 south – Diamond
			18B	US 71 north – Carthage, Kansas City	East end of US 71 overlap
			22	County Road No. 100
			26	I-44 BL east / Route 37 – Sarcoxie, Reeds
			29	I-44 BL west / Route U – Sarcoxie, La Russell
Lawrence			33	County Road No. 1010
			38	Route 97 – Pierce City, Stotts City	Eastbound exit to Route 97 south is via exit 33
			44	I-44 BL east / Route H – Mount Vernon, Monett
	Mount Vernon		46	I-44 BL west / Route 39 / Route 265 – Mount Vernon, Aurora
			49	Route 174 east – Chesapeake, Mount Vernon
			57	Route 96 – Avilla	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			58	Route O / Route Z – Halltown
			61	Route K / Route PP
Greene			67	Route N / Route T – Republic, Bois D'Arc
			69	Route 360 east (James River Freeway) to US 60
			70	Route B / Route MM
			72	I-44 BL east / Route 266 (Chestnut Expressway)
	Springfield		75	US 160 (West Bypass) – Willard
			77	Route 13 (Kansas Expressway) – Bolivar
			80A	I-44 BL west (Glenstone Avenue)
			80B	Route H – Pleasant Hope
			82	US 65 – Branson, Sedalia	Signed as exits 82A (south) and 82B (north)
			84	Route 744
	Strafford		88	Route 125 – Strafford, Fair Grove
Webster			96	Route B – Northview
	Marshfield		100	Route 38 / Route W – Marshfield
			107	Sampson Road, Sparkle Brook Road
Laclede	Conway		113	Route J / Route Y – Conway
	Phillipsburg		118	Route A / Route C – Phillipsburg
			123	County Road
	Lebanon		127	I-44 BL east (Elm Street) / Morgan Road
			129	Route 5 / Route 32 (Jefferson Avenue) to Route 64 – Hartville
			130	I-44 BL west (Elm Street) / Route MM – Lebanon
			135	Route F – Sleeper
			140	Route N / Route T – Stoutland
Pulaski			145	Route 133 / Route AB – Richland
			150	Route 7 / Route P – Richland, Laquey
			153	Route 17 – Buckhorn
	Waynesville		156	I-44 BL east / Route H – Waynesville, Fort Leonard Wood
	St. Robert		159	I-44 BL – St. Robert, Waynesville
			161	I-44 BL west / Route Y – St. Robert, Fort Leonard Wood
			163	Route 28 – Dixon
			169	Route J
Phelps			172	Route D – Jerome, Dixon	No westbound access
			176	Sugar Tree Road
	Doolittle		179	Route C / Route T – Newburg, Doolittle
	Rolla		184	I-44 BL east to US 63 south – Rolla
			185	Route E – Rolla
			186	I-44 BL west / US 63 / Route 72 – Rolla, Jefferson City
			189	Route V (Hy Point Industrial Park Drive)
	St. James		195	Route 8 / Route 68 – St. James
Crawford			203	Route F / Route ZZ
	Cuba		208	Route 19 – Cuba, Owensville
			210	Route UU
			214	Route H – Leasburg
	Bourbon		218	Route C / Route J / Route N – Bourbon
Franklin	Sullivan		225	Route 185 north / Route D – Sullivan-Potosi
			226	Route 185 south – Sullivan
			230	Route W / Route JJ – Stanton
	St. Clair		239	Route 30 / Route AB / Route WW – St. Clair
			240	Route 47 – St. Clair, Union
			242	Route AH
			247	US 50 west / Route O / Route AT – Union, Jefferson City	West end of US 50 overlap
			251	Route 100 west – Washington
			253	I-44 BL east / Route 100 east – Gray Summit
	Pacific		257	I-44 BL – Pacific
St. Louis	Eureka		261	I-44 BL west / Six Flags Road – Allenton
			264	Route 109 – Eureka
			265	Williams Road	Eastbound exit and entrance
			266	Lewis Road
			269	Beaumont Antire Road
			272	Route 141 – Fenton, Valley Park
	Fenton		274A	Bowles Avenue	Signed as exit 274 westbound
			274B	Mraz Lane	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			275	North Highway Drive, Soccer Park Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Sunset Hills		276	I-270 – Memphis, Chicago
			277A	Route 366 east (Watson Road)	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			277B	US 50 east / US 61 / US 67 (Lindbergh Boulevard)	East end of US 50 overlap
	Kirkwood
			278	Big Bend Road
	Crestwood
	Webster Groves		279	Berry Road	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			280	Elm Avenue
			282	Murdoch Avenue, Laclede Station Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	Shrewsbury		283	Shrewsbury Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
City of St. Louis			284A	Jamieson Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			284B	Arsenal Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			286	Southwest Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
			286	Hampton Avenue
			287A	Kingshighway
			287B	Vandeventer Avenue
			288	Grand Boulevard, Louisiana Avenue
			289	Jefferson Avenue
			290A	I-55 south – Memphis	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
			290B	18th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; former Route 755
			290C	12th Street, Gravois Avenue (Route 30)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
				I-55 north – Downtown St. Louis, Illinois	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance