Interstate 240 (Oklahoma)

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Interstate 240

Map
I-240 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of I-40
Maintained by ODOT
Length16.22 mi[1] (26.10 km)
Existed1965[2]–present
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
West end I-44 / US 62 / SH-3 in Oklahoma City, OK
Major intersections I-35 / US 62 / US 77 in Oklahoma City, OK
East end I-40 / US 270 / SH-3 in Oklahoma City, OK
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOklahoma
CountiesOklahoma
Highway system
  • Oklahoma State Highway System
← I-235→ I-244

Interstate 240 (I-240) is an Interstate Highway in southern Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, that runs 16.22 miles (26.10 km) from I-40 to I-44. The Interstate overlaps State Highway 3 (SH-3), the longest Oklahoma state highway, for its entire length and functions as a southern bypass around the Downtown area.

Major destinations along the route include Tinker Air Force Base and the heavily populated Southside of Oklahoma City. With just under eight million square feet (0.74×10^6 m2) of commercial space,[3] I-240 is a major corridor of retail, industrial, and office space. As of 2012, however, the corridor included some "pockets of shuttered stores and creeping shabbiness" and local planners were in the first stages of efforts to revitalize the corridor.[4]

Route description

From the western terminus at I-44, I-240/U.S. Highway 62 (US-62)/SH-3 runs east toward I-35. This 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 merges onto the highway, forming a new lane. This new lane then becomes an "exit only" lane for the next exit. However, the exits are not spaced very far apart, causing entering and exiting traffic to conflict.[5] 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 had died around that time.[6] I-240 meets I-35 at a cloverleaf interchange. US-62 splits off to join with I-35 northbound at this interchange.

The section of I-240 east of I-35 exists primarily to serve the now-closed General Motors plant and Tinker Air Force Base. 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 westbound offramp. (Those wishing to take I-40 westbound must exit off of I-240 one mile (1.6 km) 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 the next exit 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.[citation needed] 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. (I-44 ended near Edmond 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.[citation needed] The entirety of the route was complete in 1976.[citation needed] Once completed, I-240 was 31.76 miles (51.11 km) long.[7]

As part of Oklahoma's 75th anniversary (Diamond Jubilee) celebrations in 1982, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (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.[8]

On August 2, 2021, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission approved an extension to the I-240 designation to form a beltway around Oklahoma City. Starting in the existing eastern terminus, I-240 will run concurrent with I-40 to the Kickapoo Turnpike, then turn north and follow the Kickapoo Turnpike north to I-44 (the Turner Turnpike), then turn west along I-44 to the Kilpatrick Turnpike, following that road west and south to its current southern terminus at SH-152, then turning east along SH-152 and following that road east to I-44, which it will overlap until reaching the current western terminus of I-240, bringing the total length of the proposed I-240 loop to 91 miles (146 km).[9] If signed, it will become the longest complete beltway numbered as a single Interstate Highway in the US, supplanting I-275 in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 83.71 miles (134.72 km). ODOT Director Tim Gatz stated in the Transportation Commission meeting that the numbering change was primarily to aid in navigation using digital mapping and routing applications. Gatz also said, "If you look at the Interstate 240 designation on the loop around the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, we are finally to the point where we have a truly contiguous route there that can shoulder the burden of some of that transportation need in a loop format. That's common practice across the country, and you'll see that in many of the metropolitan areas, and that update will really be beneficial as far as everything from signage to how do you describe that route on a green-and-white sign."[10][11] The designation was approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in October 2021 with the condition that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approve it as well.[12]

Future

ODOT began a redesign process for the I-35/I-240 interchange in southeast Oklahoma City in 1998. It is currently a four-leaf cloverleaf interchange that has deemed to be outdated and the improvements will change it to a multi-level interchange with dedicated interstate ramps, turnaround lanes, and service roads for improved city street access in six phases. Phase 1 began in early summer 2016 and was completed in May 2017 while phase 1A construction began in mid-June 2017 and was completed in summer 2018. Construction on phase 1B began on June 5, 2023 and is expected to be completed in 2025.[13]

In Fall 2023, the AASHTO approved an application from ODOT for an interstate designation on the Kickapoo Turnpike and the Kilpatrick Turnpike. However, the designations were assigned as I-335 and I-344 respectively; I-240 would not be extended along the turnpikes.[14] In March 2024, the OTA announced that it would extend I-240 along Airport Road to the junction with the Kilpatrick Turnpike when the turnpike was designated as I-344. SH-152's eastern terminus will be truncated to the junction between the turnpike and I-240.[15]

Exit list

The entire route is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County.

mi[16]kmExitDestinationsNotes
0.00.0

 I-44 east (SH-3) to I-40 – Tulsa, Wichita		Western terminus of I-240; western end of SH-3 concurrency
1A
 I-44 / US 62 west – Lawton		Western end of US-62 concurrency; I-44 EB exit 115
0.71.11BS. May Avenue
1.72.71CS. Pennsylvania Avenue
2.74.32AS. Western Avenue
3.25.12BS. Walker Avenue
3.76.03S. Santa Fe Avenue / S. Shields BoulevardWestbound signed as "Santa Fe Avenue" only
4.06.43BShields Boulevard / Santa Fe AvenueWestbound exit only
4.77.64A
 I-35 south (US-77) – Dallas		I-35 exit 121B
4.77.64B

 I-35 north (US-77) / US 62 east – Wichita		Eastern end of US-62 concurrency; I-35 exit 121B
5.28.44CPole RoadEastbound exit and westbound entrance
5.89.35Eastern Avenue
6.810.96Bryant Avenue
7.812.67Sunnylane Road
8.814.28
 SH-77H south (Sooner Road) – Tinker Air Force Base		Northern terminus of SH-77H
9.815.89Air Depot Boulevard
11.819.011ADouglas BoulevardWestbound combined exit number 11
11.819.011BTinker Air Force Base, Midwest City
14.924.014Anderson Road
16.827.0
 I-40 / US 270 / SH-3 east		Eastern terminus of I-240; no access to I-40 west; eastern end of SH-3 concurrency; I-40 WB exit 165
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ "Route Log - Auxiliary Routes of the Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways - Table 2". Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  2. ^ "3-digit Interstates from I-35". Kurumi. Retrieved January 29, 2005.
  3. ^ Based on first quarter 2009 survey of buildings within 1/2 mile either side of I-240 between Will Rogers Airport I-44 and SH-77H (Sooner Road).
  4. ^ Richard Mize, "Urban Land Institute, businesses, city aim to revamp I-240 in south Oklahoma City", The Oklahoman, March 10, 2012.
  5. ^ "Lane Configuration". Google Maps. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. ^ Stuve, Eric. Interstate 240. OKHighways. URL accessed 8 March 2006.
  7. ^ Interstate System Route Log and Finder List, USDOT, March 1978
  8. ^ "I-240 Section Changing to I-44." The Daily Oklahoman 9 October 1982.
  9. ^ Lackmeyer, Steve, "An I-240 loop? South OKC interstate may soon circle the city", The Oklahoman, 2 August 2021.
  10. ^ Jones, Alyse (14 January 2023). "Oklahoma approves major upgrades to busy metro interchange". KOCO. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  11. ^ Oklahoma Transportation Commission (2 August 2021). "ODOT Commission Meeting". Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  12. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (November 2021). "2021 Annual Meeting Report to the Council on Highways and Streets" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  13. ^ "I-35/I-240 Interchange improvements". Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  14. ^ Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering (November 2023). "2023 Fall Meeting Report to the Council on Highways and Streets" (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 5, 2023.
  15. ^ Humphrey, Spencer (March 7, 2024). "Multiple OKC-area highways, turnpikes to be designated as interstates in coming month". KFOR.com Oklahoma City. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  16. ^ Google (27 April 2014). "Interstate 240 (Oklahoma)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 27 April 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interstate 240 (Oklahoma).
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