Interstate 35 (I-35), in the US State of Oklahoma, runs from the Red River at the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

border to the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

state line near Braman for a length of .Stuve, Eric
Interstate Highways
''OKHighways''. 27 February 2007. I-35 has one spur route in the state, I-235 in the inner city of

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 ...

Route description

I-35 enters Oklahoma with U.S. Highway 77 (US-77) on a bridge over the Red River in Love County, south of Thackerville. US-77 splits off at exit 1 (Red River Road) but parallels the Interstate for its entire length in Oklahoma. I-35 maintains a near–due north–south course through Love and

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 ...

counties. I-35 provides four exits to Ardmore. After leaving Ardmore, it has a brief concurrency with State Highway 53 (SH-53) and enters Murray County and the Arbuckle Mountains. I-35 then passes through Garvin County and the county seat of

Pauls Valley Pauls Valley is a city in and the county seat of Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 5,992 at the 2020 census, a decline of 3.2 percent from the figure of 6,187 in 2010. It was settled by and named for Smith Paul, a North ...

. North of exit 79 ( SH-145), I-35 enters McClain County. There, it passes through

Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest Eng ...

and Goldsby. SH-9 joins the Interstate crossing over the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Cleveland County, after which it splits off again. It then serves as a major urban Interstate in Norman and Moore. Between Norman and Moore, US-77 joins the Interstate again. It then enters

and Oklahoma County near milepost 120. Near downtown, I-35 splits off the mainline (which becomes I-235/US-77) and runs concurrent with

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 ...

for before splitting off to the north again.

I-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 ...

then joins I-35 between mileposts 133 and 137. In Edmond, US-77 joins the Interstate yet again. At milepost 146, I-35 enters

Logan County Logan County is the name of ten current counties and one former county in the United States: * Logan County, Arkansas * Logan County, Colorado * Logan County, Idaho (1889–1895) * Logan County, Illinois * Logan County, Kansas * Logan County, ...

. It serves Guthrie at exit 153 (South Division Street), where US-77 splits off, and at exit 157 ( SH-33/East Noble Avenue). The Interstate then crosses the Cimarron River into Payne County and enters Noble County shortly thereafter. It provides two exits to

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 ...

and serves as the western terminus of the

Cimarron Turnpike The Cimarron Turnpike is a toll road in north-central Oklahoma. The route travels , from an interchange with Interstate 35 (I-35) north of Perry, to Westport, just west of Tulsa. The route also consists of a spur which runs from the mai ...

( US-412). After providing access to

Tonkawa The Tonkawa are a Native American tribe indigenous to present-day Oklahoma. Their Tonkawa language, now extinct, is a linguistic isolate. Today, Tonkawa people are enrolled in the federally recognized Tonkawa Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. ...

and Blackwell in Kay County, it crosses into Kansas, becoming the

Kansas Turnpike The Kansas Turnpike is a , freeway-standard toll road that lies entirely within the US state of Kansas. It runs in a general southwest–northeast direction from the Oklahoma border to Kansas City. It passes through several major Kansas cities, ...

History

Some sections of I-35 in Oklahoma City were already built in 1953 before the Interstate System was created. Following the passage of the Federal Highway Act of 1956 that created the Interstate Highway System, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) approved the location of the future Interstate north of Oklahoma City to the Kansas state line on a route previously surveyed by the

Oklahoma Turnpike Authority The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (formerly Oklahoma Transportation Authority) is an agency of Oklahoma that deals with issues regarding the Oklahoma turnpike system. Along with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the Authority is the prima ...

for a proposed toll road. As a free road, the first of that section of I-35 were opened to traffic in 1958 from US-177 near Braman north to the Kansas border, where it continued as the

. This was followed by completion of the entire route from Oklahoma City northward to Braman by 1963 in several phases, including Edmond to Guthrie in 1960, Guthrie to

in 1961, Perry to Blackwell in 1962, and Blackwell to Braman in early 1963. To the south of Oklahoma City, I-35 was completed through Norman south to

in June 1959. In Moore, it opened in two parts: the northern half, connecting Moore to Oklahoma City, opened in January 1960. The southern half, linking it to Norman, was opened to traffic in June 1967.Medley, Robert. "Higways 'sic''.html"_;"title="sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html"_;"title="'sic">'sic''continue_to_drive_economy."_''The_Daily_Oklahoman''_29_June_2006:_1D._The_Moore–Norman_segment_was_originally_a_four-lane_section_of_U.S._Route_77_in_Oklahoma.html" ;"title="sic">'sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''continue to drive economy." ''The Daily Oklahoman'' 29 June 2006: 1D. The Moore–Norman segment was originally a four-lane section of U.S. Route 77 in Oklahoma">US-77 built in 1951 that did not meet full Interstate Highway standards and included several at-grade intersections within the City of Moore, including some with traffic signals, and upgraded accordingly to include grade separations to bring up to full Interstate Highway standards and frontage roads to serve local traffic needs. Also not up to full Interstate Highway standards prior to 1967 was a section in the vicinity of Lindsey Street in the southern portion of Norman where another at-grade intersection still existed which dated back to the original highway's construction in the early 1950s—this was also brought up to full Interstate Highway standards in 1967 with the construction of interchanges on I-35 at Lindsey and a short distance to the south for the future SH-9 bypass that would be built around the southside of Norman in the early 1970s. Further south, I-35 was completed from Marietta south to the Red River bridge in 1963, at which point a nearly gap of uncompleted Interstate would exist between Purcell and Marietta until the late 1960s with traffic continuing to be routed over paralleling US-77. This was in large part due to efforts of the towns of Wynnewood, Paoli, and Wayne fighting to keep I-35 as close as possible to US-77. This was successful due to a threat from Governor Henry Bellmon to build a toll road rather than I-35, and legislation preventing state funds for the Interstate from being spent if it were more than from the U.S. Highway. The uncompleted gap of I-35 in Southern Oklahoma was narrowed in 1967 and 1968 when two sections were completed from US-70/ SH-199 in Ardmore south to SH-32 in Marietta. In 1969, the section of Interstate bypassing Ardmore was completed north from US-70 to SH-142, and, the following year, 1970, brought the completion of I-35 from SH-7 near Davis south to Ardmore, at long last bypassing the winding section of US-77 through the Arbuckle Mountains. This stretch through the Arbuckles was particularly expensive and difficult to construct, taking almost two years and requiring the blasting and removal of of rock.Farmer, Ann. "Old Mountain Area Becomes A New Discovery" ''The Nevada (Mo.) Sunday Herald (republished for the AP by The Greenville (Tex.) Herald Banner)'' 9 June 1972: 12. A few months later, in January 1971, I-35 was finally completed across the State of Oklahoma, when the remaining portions of the Interstate from Purcell to SH-7 near Davis were opened to traffic.Cockerell, Penny. "50 Years: As the intersection of Interstates 35, 40, and 44, Oklahoma is at America's crossroads." ''The Daily Oklahoman'' 29 June 2006: 2A.

Future

In 2008, ODOT announced plans to widen of I-35 through Norman, from the Main Street interchange (exit 109) to the McCall Bridge over the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .SH-74A/Lindsey Street interchange (exit 108B), due to its proximity to the SH-9 interchange (exit 108A). A public meeting held in Norman attracted 300 attendees, many bearing "Don't Close Lindsey" signs. Attendees cited the impact on local businesses and those attending

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

football games as grounds for opposing the closure of the interchange. A former OU economics professor estimated the interchange's closure would cost Norman $100 million over the course of 15 years.Cole-Frowe, Carol. "Fired up: Residents fight for Lindsey Street interchange." ''The Norman Transcript'' 19 September 2008: A1. At the meeting, four proposals were displayed, only one of which displayed no access from Lindsey Street. A second proposal would preserve access to Lindsey Street but require the seizure of a newly built Chevrolet dealership near the interchange. The third proposal would instead send the ramps around the dealership, and the fourth, the highest-cost alternate, would use bridges to prevent Lindsey Street and SH-9 traffic from conflicting. ODOT said their design standards did not require consideration of OU football traffic, because they only considered the 30th highest traffic percentile. One ODOT engineer was quoted as saying, "Otherwise, we'd have to 10-lane everything in Norman." In early 2011, a solution was unveiled that would retain access to Lindsey Street and reconstruct the interchange without displacing the dealership. In 2014, ODOT completed reconstruction of the Main Street interchange as a

single-point urban interchange A single-point urban interchange (SPUI, or ), also called a single-point interchange (SPI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI), is a type of highway interchange. The design was created in order to help move large volumes of traffic thr ...

(SPUI) and widening of I-35 to just south of Main Street. In early 2015, ODOT began a two-year, $71 million project to reconstruct the Lindsey Street interchange as a SPUI, reconstruct the SH-9 interchange, and complete widening of I-35 to six lanes to the Canadian River. ODOT is currently reconstructing the I-35/I-240 interchange in southeast Oklahoma City in several phases, the first began in 2016. It was announced in February 2022 that the speed limit of the freeway would become 65 mph from 89th Street in Oklahoma City to just south of the SH-9 interchange in Norman. This change will make the speed limit consistent in the area, where it previously was not. All of the new signs were installed by the end of March.

Naming

*Through the Arbuckle Mountains, I-35 is designated as the Honey Creek Pass. *The bridge over the Canadian River is the S.K. McCall Memorial Bridge. *In Moore, I-35 is the Helen Cole Memorial Highway. *In Edmond, I-35 is the

Shannon Miller Shannon Lee Miller (born March 10, 1977) is an American former artistic gymnast. She was the 1993 and 1994 world all-around champion, the 1996 Olympic balance beam champion, the 1995 Pan American Games all-around champion, and a member of the g ...

Parkway.

Exit list

References

External links