Interstate 44 (I-44) in the US state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

has a short, but regionally important, stretch connecting

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. According ...

with

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 ...

. Its entire length runs concurrently with U.S. Highway 277 (US 277) and US 281. I-44 provides access to downtown Wichita Falls and

Sheppard Air Force Base Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Educati ...

. I-44 is known as Central Freeway in Wichita Falls and Red River Expressway in Burkburnett.

Route description

I-44 begins near exit 1 in

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 State Highway Spur 325 (Spur 325). US 287 leaves the concurrency as a freeway to the west while Spur 325 leaves the interchange toward the northeast, providing access to

and

Wichita Falls Municipal Airport Wichita Falls Regional Airport is a public and military use airport six miles north of Wichita Falls in Wichita County, Texas. Its runways and taxiways are shared with Sheppard Air Force Base; most operations are military, but American Eagle fl ...

. 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 Farm to Market Road 3429 (FM 3429). Heading north through the city, I-44 has an interchange with State Highway 240 (SH 240). After passing SH 240, I-44 begins to head toward the northeast before its final interchange in Texas at East 3rd Street. I-44 leaves the state of Texas at its crossing of the Red River and enters

History

I-44 was signed south from

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

past

I-40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...

, along the

H. E. Bailey Turnpike The H. E. Bailey Turnpike is an toll road in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The route, opened on April 23, 1964, is a four-lane limited access highway that connects Oklahoma City to Lawton in its northern section and ...

, in 1982. This expanded the Interstate by some to Texas. This additional signage included the Red River Expressway in Burkburnett and the Central Freeway in Wichita Falls, to 8th Street (being concurrent with US 277/US 281/US 287). For many years, the freeway ended here, forcing traffic to exit onto the service roads. In the early 2000s, the Central Freeway was extended through the downtown area, connecting directly to the Central East Freeway via the

Lloyd Ruby Lloyd Ruby (January 12, 1928 – March 23, 2009) was an American racecar driver who raced in the USAC Championship Car series for 20 years, achieving 7 victories and 88 top-ten finishes. He also had success in endurance racing, winning the 24 Hour ...

Overpass.

Exit list

Notes

References

{{state detail page browse, type=I, route=44, state=Texas, stateafter=Oklahoma

44 Transportation in Wichita County, Texas