State Highway 4 (Oklahoma)
Encyclopedia
State Highway 4, abbreviated as SH-4 or OK-4, is a designation for two distinct highways maintained by the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Oklahoma
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...

. One of them serves as an important route through the suburbs west of 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...

, while the other connects US-259 to the Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 state line west of Cove, Arkansas
Cove, Arkansas
Cove is a town in Polk County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 383 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cove is located at ....

. SH-4 has no lettered spur routes

The two SH-4s were never connected. The Central Oklahoma highway was established in 1941 and gradually extended to its present extent between then and 2003. The Eastern Oklahoma highway was originally numbered SH-21, and was renumbered to SH-4 in 1963.

Central Oklahoma

The western Highway 4 is 29.5 miles (47.5 km) long. It begins at the western terminus of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike Spur south of Bridge Creek, Oklahoma
Bridge Creek, Oklahoma
Bridge Creek is a town in Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2006 US Census estimate, the town is estimated to have a total population of 340.-Geography:Bridge Creek is located at ....

, and immediately curves due north. It is a two-lane road until it reaches SH-37
State Highway 37 (Oklahoma)
State Highway 37 is a designation for two separate highways in the state of Oklahoma. The northern section runs between Hinton and Moore in central Oklahoma, while the southern section runs from the Texas state line at the Red River to Idabel, in southeastern Oklahoma...

, where it expands to four lanes. Seven miles (11.2 km) later, it joins
Concurrency (road)
A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

 with SH-152
State Highway 152 (Oklahoma)
State Highway 152 is a state highway running through west-central Oklahoma. At a length of 149.6 miles , it is the longest three-digit state highway in Oklahoma. It runs from State Highway 152 at the Texas State Line to Interstate 44 near Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City...

 in the town of Mustang
Mustang, Oklahoma
Mustang is a growing suburban city in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,395 at the 2010 census....

. One mile (1.66 km) later, SH-4 continues northward along Mustang Road toward Interstate 40 and Yukon
Yukon, Oklahoma
Yukon is a city in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 22,709 at the 2010 census....

.

After crossing I-40, SH-4 becomes a two-lane road once again until entering Yukon, at which point it becomes a four-lane road again. It meets SH-66
State Highway 66 (Oklahoma)
State Highway 66 is a 196-mile state highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, beginning at U.S. Highway 81 in El Reno and ending at U.S. Highway 60 near White Oak. The highway was designated in 1985 as a replacement for the decommissioned US-66...

, once Route 66, in Yukon. Seven miles (11.2 km) later, it meets the Northwest Expressway (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...

). It lasts for just three miles (4.8 km) longer until ending at Edmond Road in Piedmont
Piedmont, Oklahoma
Piedmont is a city in Canadian and Kingfisher counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and it is a part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 3,650 at the 2000 census...

.

Just after crossing SH-3, there is a standard distance sign listing Piedmont and "END OF ROUTE", giving the distance to the terminus of SH-4. This is a relative rarity on Oklahoma highways.

Eastern Oklahoma

The eastern Highway 4 is 12.01 miles (19.3 km) long. It begins at US-259 and goes generally east–west, passing through the unincorporated communities of Smithville
Smithville, Oklahoma
Smithville is a town in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 123 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Smithville is located at ....

 and Watson
Watson, Oklahoma
Watson is an unincorporated community in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located along State Highway 4 in northeastern McCurtain County. Although it is unincorporated, Watson has a post office, which was established on January 25, 1908. It remains operational and uses the ZIP code...

. After crossing the Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 state line, it becomes Highway 4.

Central Oklahoma

The western SH-4 was assigned in 1941 to a previously unnumbered roadway between U.S. Highway 66 in Yukon
Yukon, Oklahoma
Yukon is a city in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 22,709 at the 2010 census....

 and Piedmont
Piedmont, Oklahoma
Piedmont is a city in Canadian and Kingfisher counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and it is a part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area. The population was 3,650 at the 2000 census...

. A continuation of SH-4 east to North May Avenue in 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...

 along Ranchwood Boulevard and NW 10th Street had been designated as a farm-to-market road four years earlier. In 1954, SH-4 was extended eastward along the farm-to-market road to a terminus at State Highway 3 and State Highway 74 (May Avenue) southwest of downtown Oklahoma City.

SH-4 remained unchanged until 1979 when it was truncated to its former southern terminus at US-66 in Yukon. The route was then extended to Mustang
Mustang, Oklahoma
Mustang is a growing suburban city in Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 17,395 at the 2010 census....

 in 1982, following Ranchwood Boulevard and Mustang Road south to a new terminus at State Highway 152. Construction on a southward extension of SH-4 to State Highway 37 near Tuttle
Tuttle, Oklahoma
Tuttle is a city in Grady County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,294 at the 2000 census.Tuttle is a largely agricultural community with a focus on wheat, cotton, corn, alfalfa hay, Bermuda grass hay, and cattle. Nearby Braum's Dairy, the largest farm in the area, is located just...

 began in 2001 and was completed a year later, as was a new segment between SH-37 and the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (Interstate 44). SH-4 was originally signed only as far south as SH-37; the designation was extended south to I-44 in early 2003.

Eastern Oklahoma

What is now the eastern SH-4 became part of State Highway 21 in 1927 when SH-21 was rerouted north of Bethel to follow modern U.S. Highway 259 and SH-4 to the Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 state line. The SH-21 designation was removed in 1963 and replaced with SH-4 from Smithville
Smithville, Oklahoma
Smithville is a town in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 123 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Smithville is located at ....

 east to the state line near Watson
Watson, Oklahoma
Watson is an unincorporated community in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located along State Highway 4 in northeastern McCurtain County. Although it is unincorporated, Watson has a post office, which was established on January 25, 1908. It remains operational and uses the ZIP code...

. Only minor realignments, such as the straightening of the roadway near Smithville and the replacement of a historic truss bridge by a modern span have occurred since.

Central Oklahoma

Eastern Oklahoma

External links

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