State Highway 4, abbreviated as SH-4 or OK-4, is a designation for two distinct highways maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. One of them serves as an important route through the suburbs west of Oklahoma City, while the other connects US-259 to the Arkansas state line west of Cove, Arkansas. SH-4 has no lettered spur routes.
State Highway 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 OK 4 mainline in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ODOT OTA | ||||
| History | 1941–present (western SH-4)[1] 1963–present (eastern SH-4)[2] | |||
| Section 1 | ||||
| Length | 37.3 mi (60.0 km) | |||
| South end |    US 62 / US 277 / SH-9 south of Newcastle | |||
| North end | Edmond Road / NW 178th Street in Piedmont | |||
| Section 2 | ||||
| Length | 12.01 mi[3] (19.33 km) | |||
| West end |  US 259 in Smithville | |||
| East end |  AR 4 at the Arkansas state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Oklahoma | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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The two SH-4s were never connected. The Central Oklahoma highway was established in 1941 and gradually extended to its present extent between then and 2003. The Eastern Oklahoma highway was originally numbered SH-21, and was renumbered to SH-4 in 1963.
Route description edit
Central Oklahoma edit
The western Highway 4 is 37.3 miles (60.0 km) long.[citation needed] It begins at the eastern terminus of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike Spur south of Newcastle, Oklahoma. Beyond the western terminus of the tolled spur, SH-4 turns northward as a two-lane road until it reaches SH-37, where it expands to four lanes. Seven miles (11 km) later, it joins with SH-152 in the town of Mustang.[4] One mile (1.6 km) later, SH-4 continues northward along Mustang Road toward Interstate 40 and Yukon.[4]
After crossing I-40, SH-4 becomes a two-lane road once again until entering Yukon, at which point it becomes a four-lane road again. It meets SH-66, once Route 66, in Yukon. Seven miles (11 km) later, it meets the Northwest Expressway (SH-3).[4] It lasts for just three miles (4.8 km) longer until ending at Edmond Road in Piedmont.[4]
Just after crossing SH-3, there is a standard distance sign listing Piedmont and "END OF ROUTE", giving the distance to the terminus of SH-4. This is a relative rarity on Oklahoma highways.
Eastern Oklahoma edit
The eastern Highway 4 is 12.01 miles (19.33 km) long.[3] It begins at US-259 and goes generally east–west, passing through the unincorporated communities of Smithville and Watson. After crossing the Arkansas state line, it becomes Highway 4.
History edit
Central Oklahoma edit
The western SH-4 was assigned in 1941 to a previously unnumbered roadway between U.S. Highway 66 in Yukon and Piedmont.[1][5] A continuation of SH-4 east to North May Avenue in Oklahoma City along Ranchwood Boulevard and NW 10th Street had been designated as a farm-to-market road four years earlier.[6][7] In 1954, SH-4 was extended eastward along the farm-to-market road to a terminus at State Highway 3 and State Highway 74 (May Avenue) southwest of downtown Oklahoma City.[8][9]
SH-4 remained unchanged until 1979 when it was truncated to its former southern terminus at US-66 in Yukon.[10] The route was then extended to Mustang in 1982, following Ranchwood Boulevard and Mustang Road south to a new terminus at State Highway 152.[11] Construction on a southward extension of SH-4 to State Highway 37 near Tuttle began in 2001[12] and was completed a year later, as was a new segment between SH-37 and the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (Interstate 44).[13] SH-4 was originally signed only as far south as SH-37; the designation was extended south to I-44 in early 2003.
On August 9, 2021, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission voted to approve the addition of the State Highway 4 designation to the H.E. Bailey Spur.
Eastern Oklahoma edit
What is now the eastern SH-4 became part of State Highway 21 in 1927 when SH-21 was rerouted north of Bethel to follow modern U.S. Highway 259 and SH-4 to the Arkansas state line.[14][15] The SH-21 designation was removed in 1963 and replaced with SH-4 from Smithville east to the state line near Watson. Only minor realignments, such as the straightening of the roadway near Smithville and the replacement of a historic truss bridge by a modern span have occurred since.[2]
Junction list edit
Central Oklahoma edit
| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McClain | | US 62 / US 277 / SH-9 | Southern terminus | ||||
| See H. E. Bailey Norman Spur | |||||||
| Grady | | 0.00 | 0.00 | H.E. Bailey Spur – Blanchard, Norman | Tolled | ||
| |  I-44 (H.E. Bailey Turnpike) – Oklahoma City, Chickasha, Lawton | ||||||
| | CR 1226 west | Last free junction southbound | |||||
| Tuttle | 4.0 | 6.4 |  SH-37 | ||||
| Canadian | Mustang | 9.6 | 15.4 |   SH-152 east | Southern terminus of SH-152 concurrency | ||
| 10.6 | 17.1 |  SH-152 west | Northern terminus of SH-152 concurrency | ||||
| Oklahoma City | 16.1 | 25.9 |   I-40 / US 270 – Amarillo, Oklahoma City | I-40 EB exit 138A, WB exit 139 | |||
| Yukon | 19.2 | 30.9 |  SH-66 east (Main Street east) | Southern terminus of SH-66 concurrency | |||
| 19.5 | 31.4 | SH-66 west (Main Street west) | Northern terminus of SH-66 concurrency; Main St. is former US 66 | ||||
| Oklahoma City | 26.2 | 42.2 |  SH-3 (Northwest Expressway) | ||||
| Piedmont | 29.5 | 47.5 | NW 178th Street / Edmond Road | Northern terminus; road continues as Piedmont Road | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||||
Eastern Oklahoma edit
The entire route is in McCurtain County. [16]
| Location[16] | mi[3] | km | Destinations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithville | 0.00 | 0.00 | US 259 | Western terminus | |
| | 12.01 | 19.33 | AR 4 east | Continuation into Arkansas | |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References edit
- ^ a b Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1941. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ a b Oklahoma (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1963. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ a b c Oklahoma Department of Transportation (n.d.). Control Section Maps: McCurtain County (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ^ a b c d Official State Map (PDF) (Map) (2009–10 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
- ^ Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1940. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System and Landing Fields (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1936. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1937. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Highways of Oklahoma (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1954. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Highways of Oklahoma (back side) (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1954. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Official State Map (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 1979. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Official State Map (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 1982. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Official State Map (PDF) (Map) (2001-2002 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ The Road Atlas - Large Scale - United States (Map). Rand McNally. 2002. p. 168. § G13.
- ^ Oklahoma State Highway System (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1926. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Oklahoma State Highway System (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways. 1927. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ^ Geography Division (2016). "Oklahoma Governmental Unit Reference Map". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 27, 2017.