Interstate 240 (Oklahoma)
Encyclopedia
Interstate 240 is an Interstate Highway in Oklahoma
, USA, that runs 16.22 miles (26.1 km) west from Interstate 40 to Interstate 44 in southern Oklahoma City
. After its terminus in southwest Oklahoma City, the main I-240 roadbed becomes Interstate 44 and Airport Road toward Will Rogers World Airport
. The interstate overlaps SH-3
, the longest Oklahoma state highway, for its entire length.
Major destinations along the route include Crossroads Mall
, Tinker Air Force Base
, and the heavily populated Southside of Oklahoma City. With just under 8000000 square feet (743,224.3 m²) of commercial space, I-240 is a major corridor of retail, industrial and office space.
I-240's service road is named S.E. 74th Street.
The section of I-240 east of I-35 exists primarily to serve the now-closed General Motors plant and Tinker Air Force Base. Crossroads Mall can also be accessed via Exit 4C for Pole Road. This section is much less traveled, having only four lanes (two in each direction) for much of its length. At I-240's eastern terminus with I-40, motorists traveling eastbound on I-240 are forced to merge onto I-40 eastbound—there is no I-40 West off-ramp. (Those wishing to take I-40 West must exit off of I-240 a mile earlier at Anderson Road, a surface street, and travel on it northbound until they reach I-40, or continue east on I-40 before turning around at Choctaw Road.)
at the western end of the Turner Turnpike
at the time.) I-240 thus nearly created a loop around the city, intersecting both I-35 and I-40 twice. The section east of I-35 to its eastern terminus at I-40 was completed in 1973. The entirety of the route was complete in 1976. In 1978, Interstate 240 was 31.76 miles (51.11 km) long.
As part of Oklahoma's 75th anniversary (Diamond Jubilee) celebrations in 1982, ODOT
extended I-44 to Lawton
and Wichita Falls, Texas
along the H.E. Bailey Turnpike. This caused I-240 to be truncated to its current western terminus near Will Rogers World Airport
.
and within the Oklahoma City
city limits.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, USA, that runs 16.22 miles (26.1 km) west from Interstate 40 to Interstate 44 in southern Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
. After its terminus in southwest Oklahoma City, the main I-240 roadbed becomes Interstate 44 and Airport Road toward Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport , also known as Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is located in southwestern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 6 miles from downtown and is the principal commercial airport of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area...
. The interstate overlaps SH-3
State Highway 3 (Oklahoma)
State Highway 3, also abbreviated as SH-3 or OK-3, is a highway maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Traveling diagonally through Oklahoma, from the Panhandle to the far southeastern corner of the state, SH-3 is the longest state highway in the Oklahoma road system, at a total length of...
, the longest Oklahoma state highway, for its entire length.
Major destinations along the route include Crossroads Mall
Crossroads Mall
Crossroads Mall may refer to:In United States of America:* Crossroads Center, a shopping mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota* Crossroads Center , a shopping mall in Waterloo, Iowa...
, Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base
Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:...
, and the heavily populated Southside of Oklahoma City. With just under 8000000 square feet (743,224.3 m²) of commercial space, I-240 is a major corridor of retail, industrial and office space.
I-240's service road is named S.E. 74th Street.
Route description
From the western terminus at I-44, I-240/US-62/SH-3 runs east towards Interstate 35. The western half is the busier of the two sections, serving the Southside area of Oklahoma City and traffic headed to the airport. This segment has a configuration of ramps that causes much weaving and many accidents. An entrance ramp will merge onto the highway, forming a new lane. This new lane will then become an Exit Only lane for the next exit. However, the exits are not spaced very far apart, causing entering and exiting traffic to conflict. (For a satellite photo, see http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=35.391761,-97.516977&spn=0.003315,0.007277&t=k&hl=en.) Signs were installed in October 2004 designating the western half of I-240 as the Keith Leftwich Memorial Loop, in honor of a state senator who died recently. I-240 meets I-35 at a cloverleaf interchange. US-62 splits off to join with I-35 northbound at this interchangeThe section of I-240 east of I-35 exists primarily to serve the now-closed General Motors plant and Tinker Air Force Base. Crossroads Mall can also be accessed via Exit 4C for Pole Road. This section is much less traveled, having only four lanes (two in each direction) for much of its length. At I-240's eastern terminus with I-40, motorists traveling eastbound on I-240 are forced to merge onto I-40 eastbound—there is no I-40 West off-ramp. (Those wishing to take I-40 West must exit off of I-240 a mile earlier at Anderson Road, a surface street, and travel on it northbound until they reach I-40, or continue east on I-40 before turning around at Choctaw Road.)
History
The section of what is now I-240 between I-35 and current I-44 was already complete in 1965 as an alignment of US-62. When the Interstate route was initially established in the 1960s, I-240 ran from its current eastern terminus around the city, turning north at the present interchange with I-44, continuing on the present course of I-44 to its present southern junction with I-35. (Interstate 44 ended near EdmondEdmond, Oklahoma
Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,405, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Oklahoma....
at the western end of the Turner Turnpike
Turner Turnpike
The Governor Roy J. Turner Turnpike is a toll road in central Oklahoma, connecting its two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. It was authorized by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1947 and opened in May, 1953, it is the oldest of the state's ten turnpikes. The route is signed as Interstate 44 for...
at the time.) I-240 thus nearly created a loop around the city, intersecting both I-35 and I-40 twice. The section east of I-35 to its eastern terminus at I-40 was completed in 1973. The entirety of the route was complete in 1976. In 1978, Interstate 240 was 31.76 miles (51.11 km) long.
As part of Oklahoma's 75th anniversary (Diamond Jubilee) celebrations in 1982, ODOT
Oklahoma Department of Transportation
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is an agency of the government of Oklahoma responsible for the construction, maintenance, and regulation the use of the state's transportation infrastructure...
extended I-44 to Lawton
Lawton, Oklahoma
The city of Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in the southwestern region of Oklahoma approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
along the H.E. Bailey Turnpike. This caused I-240 to be truncated to its current western terminus near Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport
Will Rogers World Airport , also known as Will Rogers Airport or simply Will Rogers, is located in southwestern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 6 miles from downtown and is the principal commercial airport of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area...
.
Exit list
The entirety of the route is in Oklahoma CountyOklahoma County, Oklahoma
Oklahoma County is a county located in the central partof the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 718,633 at the 2010 census. The county seat and principal city is Oklahoma City...
and within the Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
city limits.
| Mile | # Exit number An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore.... |
Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| , Wichita Wichita, Kansas Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area... |
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
| 1A | West end of US-62 overlap | ||
| 1B | S. May Avenue | ||
| 1C | S. Penn Avenue | Full name is "Pennsylvania" | |
| 2A | S. Western Avenue | ||
| 2B | S. Walker Avenue | ||
| 3A | S. Santa Fe Avenue | Westbound exit is via exit 3B | |
| 3B | S. Shields Boulevard | ||
| 4 | – Dallas Dallas, Texas Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States... , Wichita Wichita, Kansas Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area... |
East end of US-62 overlap | |
| 4C | Pole Road | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance, to Crossroads Mall Crossroads Mall (Oklahoma) Crossroads Mall is a super regional shopping mall and trade area located in south Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The name of the mall was chosen because it lies at the major intersection of I-35 and I-240, a major crossroads of the city. Today, the mall faces many problems due to the vacancy of all four... |
|
| 5 | Eastern Avenue | ||
| 6 | Bryant Avenue | ||
| 7 | Sunnylane Road | ||
| 8 | - Tinker AFB Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in the southeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma area, directly south of the suburb of Midwest City, Oklahoma.-Overview:... |
||
| 9 | Air Depot Boulevard | ||
| 11 | Douglas Boulevard – Midwest City Midwest City, Oklahoma Midwest City is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,371, making it the eighth largest city in the state.... , Tinker AFB |
Signed as exits 11A (Douglas Boulevard) and 11B (Midwest City and Tinker AFB) eastbound | |
| 14 | Anderson Road | ||
| – Fort Smith Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas... |
Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |