U.S. Route 70 (abbreviated US-70) is a transcontinental
U.S. highway extending from
Globe, Arizona
Globe ( apw, Bésh Baa Gowąh "Place of Metal") is a city in Gila County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,249. The city is the county seat of Gila County. Globe was founded c. 1875 as a mining ca ...
to
Atlantic, North Carolina
Atlantic is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in eastern Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 543. It is situated along Core Sound, located in what was known to early ...
. Along the way, of its route passes through the state of
Oklahoma. Entering the state south of
Davidson, the highway serves Oklahoma's southern tier before exiting the state east of
Broken Bow. It serves the cities of
Ardmore,
Durant,
Hugo
Hugo or HUGO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese
* Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback
* Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...
, and
Idabel, as well as
Tillman,
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
,
Jefferson,
Carter
Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to:
Geography United States
* Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Carter, Montana, a census-designated place
* Carter ...
,
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
,
Bryan,
Choctaw, and
McCurtain counties.
US-70 was first established in Oklahoma in 1926. The highway's initial path (which entered the state in Cotton County, further east than it does today) included several deviations from the present-day route, serving
Walters and following a more northerly course between Ardmore and
Madill. US-70 did not enter Tillman County until 1945. The modern route between Ardmore and Madill was not established until 1984 when it received the US-70 designation.
Route description
US-70 enters Oklahoma in
Tillman County, crossing the
Red River from Texas,
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with
US-183. The two routes head north into
Davidson, where they split; US-183 continues north toward the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Frederick Frederick may refer to:
People
* Frederick (given name), the name
Nobility
Anhalt-Harzgerode
*Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670)
Austria
* Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198
* Frederick ...
, while US-70 turns due east. It leaves Davidson, passing south of the
Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area. Approximately east of Davidson, the highway serves as the southern terminus of
State Highway 54 (SH-54), which connects US-70 to
Hollister. Continuing east from the SH-54 junction, US-70 next enters
Grandfield, where it begins a concurrency with
SH-36. The two highways proceed east from this junction, leaving Tillman County, US-70 having traveled for within its boundaries.
US-70/SH-36 pass into
Cotton County, heading southeast along the southern limit of
Devol, which is served by SH-70B, a spur from US-70. US-70 and SH-36 turn back to the east, coming to a junction about east of Devol, where SH-36 splits away to the south. US-70 then comes to an interchange with
Interstate 44
Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in Wichita Fal ...
(I-44).
This interchange, I-44 exit 5, is the southern terminus of the
H. E. Bailey Turnpike.
US-277 and
US-281 exit the Interstate at this point, forming a triple concurrency with US-70 as it continues east toward
Randlett.
There, the three routes serve as the southern terminus of SH-70C. At the southeast corner of the Randlett limits, US-277/US-281 turn north, while US-70 continues on its due east course. At
Taylor
Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to:
People
* Taylor (surname)
** List of people with surname Taylor
* Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah
* Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron
* Justice Taylor (disambiguation)
Pl ...
, east of Randlett, US-70 meets
SH-5B at its southern terminus. Further to the east, US-70 serves as the southern terminus of another state highway,
SH-65. US-70 then exits Cotton County.
The next county US-70 enters in Oklahoma is
Jefferson County. The highway enters the county seat,
Waurika, about east of the Cotton–Jefferson county line. On the southwestern outskirts of town, the route is the northern terminus of
SH-79, which connects US-70 to
SH-79 in Texas. US-70 runs along the southern edge of Waurika, coming to the eastern terminus of
SH-5 and intersecting
US-81. Leaving town, it proceeds due east across unincorporated Jefferson County for about . The highway then cuts through
Cornish and
Ringling, intersecting
SH-89 in the latter town. US-70 passes into
Carter County east of Ringling.
US-70 heads due east on an arrow-straight route for the next across Carter County.
About east of the county line, the highway passes through unincorporated
Zaneis,
where it widens to a four-lane divided highway.
South of
Healdton, it is joined by
SH-76, which follows US-70 for approximately before splitting away to the south in
Wilson. To the east, US-70 junctions with SH-70A, which heads south to link to SH-76 in downtown Wilson. US-70 then passes through
Lone Grove before entering
Ardmore. It meets
I-35 at a cloverleaf interchange (exit 31) on the city's west side. Here, eastbound US-70 joins southbound I-35, while
SH-199 toward downtown Ardmore begins straight ahead. US-70 exits from the interstate at exit 29, turning back to the east and intersecting with
US-77. US-70 passes north of
Lake Murray, cutting across the northern reaches of Lake Murray State Park and intersecting the main lake access road,
SH-77S, twice. East of the lake, the highway leaves Carter County.
After leaving Carter County, US-70 enters the smallest of Oklahoma's 77 counties,
Marshall County. After crossing the county line, the highway heads due east for , passing through
Oakland and then entering the county seat,
Madill. On the north side of the city, US-70 approaches a T intersection with
US-177 and SH-199; this is the southern terminus of US-177. US-70 turns south, forming a concurrency with SH-199. The two highways head toward downtown Madill, where SH-199 splits off. At the same intersection, US-377/
SH-99 join US-70 as it continues south through Madill, splitting away on the south edge of town. US-70 turns southeast, forming the northern terminus of SH-70F before reaching
Kingston. There, US-70 intersects several highways at their termini—
SH-32, SH-70B (a spur to
Lake Texoma
Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th largest US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District. Lake Texoma is formed by Denison Dam on the Red River in Bryan County, Oklaho ...
), and SH-70A (a spur to
New Woodville and
McBride).
US-70 curves back to the east in Kingston, entering Lake Texoma State Park east of town and crossing the
Washita River
The Washita River () is a river in the states of Texas and Oklahoma in the United States. The river is long and terminates at its confluence with the Red River, which is now part of Lake Texoma () on the TexasOklahoma border.
Geography
The ...
arm of the lake, which forms the eastern boundary of Marshall County.
Upon reaching the lakeshore, US-70 touches down on
Bryan County soil. US-70 heads east, passing along the southern edge of
Mead, then enters the city of
Durant, the county seat. On the west side of town, it intersects US-70 Bypass, a partial bypass freeway around the western and southern sides of the city. It then has an interchange with the
US-69/
US-75
U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canada–United States border, Canadian border, wh ...
freeway before heading into downtown Durant. There, it has brief concurrencies with
US-69 BUS and
SH-78. US-70 then heads east out of town. In
Bokchito, it is the eastern terminus of
SH-22. US-70 then proceeds to
Bennington, where it intersects SH-70E at its eastern terminus. US-70 heads northeast out of Bennington, then turns back to a due east course to enter
Choctaw County.
![OK-209 from US-70](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/OK-209_from_US-70.jpg)
The first town US-70 serves in Choctaw County is
Boswell, where it junctions with
SH-109 at that highway's western terminus. US-70 then bisects unincorporated
Unger Unger may refer to:
* Unger (Bishop of Poland) (died 1012), bishop of Poznań starting in 1000
* Unger, West Virginia
* Unger Island, a small, ice-free island of Antarctica
People
* Unger (Bishop of Poland) (died 1012), bishop of Poznań
* Andrew ...
and
Jasper
Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...
, as well as the town of
Soper. East of Soper, the route forms a concurrency with
US-271. The two highways come to an interchange with the
Indian Nation Turnpike
The Indian Nation Turnpike, also designated State Highway 375 (SH-375), is a toll road in southeastern Oklahoma, United States, running between Hugo and Henryetta, Oklahoma, a distance of . It is the longest tollway in the state.
Route descrip ...
on the western outskirts of the county seat,
Hugo
Hugo or HUGO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese
* Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback
* Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on ...
. This interchange is the southern terminus of the turnpike; US-70 and US-271 merge onto the freeway continuing south from the turnpike, while
US-70 BUS and
US-271 BUS continue east into town. US-70 and US-271 follow the bypass around the southwestern quadrant of town. On the southern edge of Hugo, the highways intersect US-271 BUS at its other terminus; here, US-271 splits away from US-70 and heads south.
This marks the end of the freeway; US-70 continues east as a four-lane divided highway with at-grade intersections. US-70 meets the eastern terminus of US-70 BUS on the eastern outskirts of Hugo.
At the eastern limit of town, US-70 meets
SH-93 at its southern terminus. The highway then leaves Hugo, passing through unincorporated
Fallon and entering
Sawyer
*A sawyer (occupation) is someone who saws wood.
*Sawyer, a fallen tree stuck on the bottom of a river, where it constitutes a danger to boating.
Places in the United States
Communities
*Sawyer, Kansas
*Sawyer, Kentucky
* Sawyer, Michigan
* Saw ...
, where it forms the southern terminus of
SH-147. Just to the east of Sawyer is
Fort Towson
Fort Towson was a frontier outpost for Frontier Army Quartermasters along the Permanent Indian Frontier located about two miles (3 km) northeast of the present community of Fort Towson, Oklahoma. Located on Gates Creek near the confluence ...
. There, US-70 serves as the eastern terminus of SH-109 and the northern terminus of
SH-209. The highway continues east, serving unincorporated
Swink, before leaves Choctaw County.
The easternmost county US-70 serves in Oklahoma is
McCurtain County
McCurtain County is in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,151. Its county seat is Idabel. It was formed at statehood from part of the earlier Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory ...
. The road heads southeast, passing through
Valliant, before intersecting
SH-98 west of
Millerton. East of SH-98, US-70 bisects Millerton, then continues southeast through
Garvin. It then reaches the county seat,
Idabel; here,
US-70 BYP heads along the west and southwest sides of the city, while mainline US-70 continues east across the northern reaches of the Idabel city limits. In the northeast corner of town, US-70 intersects
US-259/
SH-3
The Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King (company designation S-61) is an American twin-engined anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter designed and built by Sikorsky Aircraft. A landmark design, it was one of the first ASW rotorcraft to use turboshaft engi ...
, turning north to form a concurrency with them (with eastbound US-70 and westbound SH-3 overlapping to form a
wrong-way concurrency
A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. When two roadways share the same right-of-way, it is sometimes called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concurr ...
). The highways proceed to
Broken Bow, where they go their separate ways; SH-3 turns west, US-259 continues north, and US-70 turns east.
US-70 reaches the state line west of
DeQueen, Arkansas
De Queen ( ) is a city and the county seat of Sevier County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 6,629 at the 2010 census.
The placename is the anglicization of the family name of the Dutch merchant and railway financier, Jan de Goeij ...
; after crossing the line, it passes into
Sevier County, Arkansas
Sevier County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,058. The county seat is De Queen. Sevier County is Arkansas's 16th county, formed on October 17, 1828, and named for Ambrose Sevie ...
.
History
US-70 was originally designated in Oklahoma on December 7, 1926, as part of the initial slate of U.S. highways established through the state.
US-70 initially entered Oklahoma east of
Burkburnett, Texas
Burkburnett is a city in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas metropolitan statistical area. Its population was 10,811 at the 2010 census. The community newspaper, the ''Burkburnett Informer/Star,'' is publ ...
, proceeded northeast to Randlett, then continued north to an intersection with SH-5 near
Emerson, where it turned east, passing through
Walters. From Walters, it continued due east into
Stephens County to
Comanche along present-day
SH-53; in Comanche, it turned south along US-81, running through
Addington before meeting the present-day US-70 route in Waurika. From Waurika, US-70 followed its present-day route to Ardmore. US-70 continued east from Ardmore along present-day SH-199 and US-177, passing through
Dickson and
Mannsville before reuniting with the present-day route in Madill. East of Madill, US-70 followed the same basic pathway that it does today.
In 1936, US-70 was realigned in Cotton and Jefferson counties. A section of
SH-32 between Randlett and Waurika was also designated as US-70. The old alignment from west of Randlett, through Emerson and Walters, to Comanche, was given the additional designation of U.S. Route 70N on September 1, 1936. East of Comanche, US-70N followed SH-53 through
Loco
Loco or El Loco may refer to:
Places United States
* Loco, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Loco, Oklahoma, a village
* Loco, Texas, an unincorporated community
* Loco Mountain (Labinero, Montana), a mountain peak of the Crazy Mountains ...
to an intersection with SH-76 south of
Fox; US-70N turned south along SH-76, passing through Healdton and ending at the US-70 junction south of town.
This route was relatively short-lived, however; it appeared on the April 1937 official state map but was absent from the April 1938 map.
On March 3, 1945, US-70's extent through Oklahoma was greatly expanded. On this date, the highway was realigned between
Oklaunion, Texas and Randlett; rather than entering Oklahoma near Burkburnett, the US-70 turned north along US-183 in Oklaunion, entering Oklahoma between there and Davidson, before turning east and proceeding along SH-32 to Randlett. SH-32 would remain designated along US-70 between Randlett and Waurika until September 6, 1966.
Between 1945 and 1951, US-70, SH-32, and SH-36's course between Grandfield and Randlett was more indirect than its modern path, including several right-angle turns. This was remedied on September 10, 1951, with the three highways being shifted to a path following a straighter southeasterly course between the two towns.
During the 1980s, US-70 saw several substantial realignments. On July 14, 1981, the highway was rerouted to bypass Hugo; the old route through town became US-70 BUS. Three years later, on July 7, 1984, US-70 was shifted to its present-day alignment between Ardmore and Madill. After these realignments, the highway followed the same basic path that it does today, with no major changes after 1984.
Spurs
SH-70A
SH-70A (7 mi) is a spur connecting
Kingston, Oklahoma to
Woodville,
McBride, and
Lake Texoma
Lake Texoma is one of the largest reservoirs in the United States, the 12th largest US Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) lake, and the largest in USACE Tulsa District. Lake Texoma is formed by Denison Dam on the Red River in Bryan County, Oklaho ...
.
SH-70A in Wilson
SH-70A (0.9 mi) is also an eastern bypass of
Wilson.
SH-70B
SH-70B (6 mi) connects Kingston and Lake Texoma.
SH-70C
SH-70C is a spur into Randlett.
SH-70D
SH-70D is a spur to
Devol
SH-70E
SH-70E runs parallel to US-70 starting at
SH-78 and traveling east, looping north to connect to its parent route near
Bennington.
SH-70F
SH-70F connects
Madill to US-70 two miles (3 km) west of Kingston.
SH-209
State Highway 209 is a short state highway in
Choctaw County, Oklahoma
Choctaw County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,205. Its county seat is Hugo.
Formerly part of the Choctaw Nation in Indian Territory, this county was reorganized and redefined ...
. It runs for
from
Raymond Gary State Park
Raymond Gary State Park is an Oklahoma state park located in southeast Oklahoma. The park borders Raymond Gary Lake, which covers and offers opportunities for fishing, boating, swimming, and camping.
Park facilities include a fishing dock (h ...
to US-70. It has no lettered spur routes.
Junction list
References
{{state detail page browse, type=US, route=70, statebefore=Texas, state=Oklahoma, stateafter=Arkansas
70
Oklahoma
Transportation in Tillman County, Oklahoma
Transportation in Cotton County, Oklahoma
Transportation in Jefferson County, Oklahoma
Transportation in Carter County, Oklahoma
Transportation in Marshall County, Oklahoma
Transportation in Bryan County, Oklahoma
Transportation in Choctaw County, Oklahoma
Transportation in McCurtain County, Oklahoma