The Cimarron Turnpike is a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

in north-central

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. The route travels , from an interchange with Interstate 35 (I-35) north of

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

, to Westport, just west of

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

. The route also consists of a spur which runs from the mainline southwest to an interchange with U.S. Route 177 (US-177) north of Stillwater. The entirety of the Cimarron Turnpike is concurrent with US-412 except for the Stillwater spur. At either end of the Turnpike, US-412 begins (or ends, depending on direction) a concurrency with US-64. The Cimarron Turnpike opened to traffic in 1975. The US-412 designation was applied to the Cimarron Turnpike in 1988.

Route description

The Cimarron Turnpike, carrying US-412, passes through Noble, Payne, and

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska ...

Counties. The highway heads east from I-35 to its first interchange, Exit 3, which provides access to

US-77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the Mexican border, wh ...

. The first mainline toll plaza is just west of Exit 15, a cloverleaf interchange with no straight-line ramps (forcing all traffic getting on or off to pass through the toll plaza) connecting the turnpike to US-177. East of the US-177 interchange, the highway curves to the south, crossing

Black Bear Creek Black Bear Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 31, 2011 creek in northern Oklahoma. Black Bear Creek drains an area of

. US-412 then meets US-64 once again, interchanging with it at Exit 23 east of

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

. The turnpike then turns back east, with a spur route (accessible only from the westbound turnpike) branching off to the southwest toward Stillwater. The Lone Chimney service plaza, a twenty-four-hour concession area, is located in the median of the turnpike east of the interchange with the spur. South of

lies an interchange (Exit 37) with SH-18. Just south of Hallett, a second mainline toll plaza sits just west of the SH-99 interchange; again, this interchange is a cloverleaf interchange with only loop ramps. The turnpike's final exit is Exit 60, a partial interchange with SH-48 southeast of

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. The missing movements are provided by US-64, the northern terminus of SH-48, which merges with US-412 as the Cimarron Turnpike ends. The two routes continue east as the Keystone Expressway, a freeway that connects the turnpike to downtown

History

The Cimarron Turnpike opened to traffic on May 16, 1975, and cost $74 million to construct. On February 1, 1988, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission unanimously approved an extension of US-412 from its original western terminus at

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to Woodward, overlapping the Cimarron Turnpike.

Tolls

, passengers of two-axle vehicles (such as cars and motorcycles) pay a total of $7.45 to travel the entire length of the Cimarron Turnpike. Tolls vary based on the entrance and exit used. The turnpike accepts OTA's

Pikepass Oklahoma has an extensive turnpike system, maintained by the state government through the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. All of Oklahoma's turnpikes are controlled-access highways. The majority have at least four lanes, though the Chickasaw Turnpi ...

transponder system as an alternative to PlatePay payment. Pikepass customers receive discounted toll rates; the Pikepass rate for the full length of the Cimarron is $3.30. As of August 30, 2022, the SH 99 toll plaza at exit 48 has been converted to cashless tolling with PikePass or PlatePay as options. The rest of the turnpike (including the Spur) has been converted to PlatePay as of December 15, 2022. Toll revenues from the Cimarron Turnpike are not necessarily used to maintain it. Under a practice known as cross-pledging, all OTA toll revenue is pledged against the sum of OTA's indebtedness, including bonds financing the state's other turnpikes.

Services

Law enforcement along the Cimarron Turnpike is provided by

Oklahoma Highway Patrol The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) is a major state law enforcement agency of the government of Oklahoma. A division of the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, the OHP has traffic enforcement jurisdiction throughout the state. OHP was legislat ...

Troop YA, a special troop assigned to the turnpike.

Exit list

State Highway 312

State Highway 312 is an spur from the Cimarron Turnpike that splits from the main turnpike at exit 27. There is one main lane toll plaza near Perkins Road that costs anywhere between $0.45 (for 2-axle vehicles with a

) to $2.50 (6-axle vehicles without a Pikepass). The spur's western terminus is at a

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...

with US-177 in northern Stillwater, near

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. There is an incomplete access exit at Perkins Road (signed as exit 21A) and the spur starts to travel through rural areas of northern

Payne County Payne County is located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,350. Its county seat is Stillwater. The county was created in 1890 as part of Oklahoma Territory and is named for Capt. David L. Payne, a lead ...

before ending at the main turnpike. The spur was built in 1981 at the cost of $4.5 million. The spur was built as a way for westbound traffic to get to Stillwater and the main campus of Oklahoma State University. Conversely, eastbound traffic uses the spur for faster access to Tulsa from Stillwater. SH-312 originally bore no numbered designation. On August 2, 2021, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission unanimously approved a motion to apply the SH-312 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.

References

External links

Cimarron Turnpike Toll/Fares Chart - Oklahoma Turnpike Authority
{{Oklahoma Turnpikes Toll roads in Oklahoma Transport infrastructure completed in 1975 Transportation in Noble County, Oklahoma Transportation in Pawnee County, Oklahoma Transportation in Payne County, Oklahoma U.S. Route 412