History of Interstate 35 in Oklahoma

Northern Oklahoma

Some sections of I-35 had opened in Oklahoma City as early as 1953, before the Interstate Highway system was created. I-35 was initially planned as a turnpike, connecting with the Kansas Turnpike to Wichita. When the Interstate Highway system was established in 1956, I-35 could be constructed as a toll-free road. Construction was of the highest priority as I-35 served the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, as well as a through route from Dallas to Kansas City.used to be. In 1958 the first 8 kilometers opened around Braman, connecting to the Kansas Turnpike. In 1963, the northern section between Oklahoma City and Braman was completed and opened to traffic. The highway reached Guthrie in 1960, Perry in 1961, Blackwell in 1962, and Braman in early 1963 at the Kansas border.

  • ehangzhou.org: Features what is the best time to travel to the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City

De I-35 is in Oklahoma Cityopened between 1960 and 1963. In the decades since, I-35 has been expanded to an adequate highway for OKC’s population size. The oldest part with 2×3 lanes is the double numbering with I-40 that already had 2×3 lanes before 1990. The section between Moore and Norman was widened to 2×3 lanes for 1995, the section between I-40 and Moore was widened to 2×3 lanes in the second half of the 1990s, except around the interchange with I-240, which opened in 2004. has been widened to 2×3 lanes. Subsequently, the double numbering between I-35 and I-40 was widened to 2×4 lanes and around 2002 the reconstruction of the eastern interchange between the two highways was also completed. The portion of I-35 along the east side of Oklahoma City is largely in its original state from the 1960s.

  • FINDJOBDESCRIPTIONS: Weather by month for the state of Oklahoma, covering average temperatures for all 12 months.

Southern Oklahoma

Construction also started in the late 1950s south of Oklahoma City. In June 1959, a section from Norman to Purcell opened and six months later, in January 1960, the section between Oklahoma City and Norman opened, connecting the two cities by highway. The section between Moore and Norman had already been opened in 1951 as a four-lane trunk road, which was being upgraded to Interstate Highway design requirements. In the far south of Oklahoma, the section between Marietta and the bridge over the Red River, the Texas border, was opened in 1963. After this, a missing link of 140 kilometers between Purcell and Marietta existed for quite a few years. Traffic was then diverted over parallel US 77which was part of a four-lane trunk road around Ardmore. In 1967 and 1968, the highway was extended from Marietta to Ardmore, shortening the missing link by approximately 15 miles. In 1970, the highway reached Davis, further shortening the missing section. In January 1971, the last section of Interstate 35 opened in Oklahoma, between Davis and Purcell.

Widening in Norman

I-35 has been gradually widened to 2×3 lanes by Norman. The section north of Norman to Oklahoma City was widened to 2×3 lanes before 1995. From 2009-2010, I-35 was widened to 2×3 lanes through northern Norman between Flood Street and Main Street. The connection to Main Street was originally a cloverleaf, but was transformed into SPUI in 2013-2014. In 2013, the bridge over the Canadian River was also widened south of Norman. Between 2015 and 2018, the intermediate section around Lindsey Street and State Highway 9 was widened to 2×3 lanes and the connection with Lindsey Street was transformed into SPUI.

Opening history

Van Unpleasant Length Opening
Exit 113 Exit 117 6 km 1953
Exit 134 Exit 138 6 km 1953
Exit 117 Exit 121 6 km 1954
Exit 138 Exit 141 5 km 1956
Exit 106 Exit 108 3 km 1957
Exit 130 Exit 134 6 km 1958
Exit 231 Exit 236 8 km 1958
Exit 93 Exit 106 21 km 1959
Exit 126 Exit 130 6 km 1960
Exit 108 Exit 113 8 km 1960
Exit 121 Exit 126 8 km 1961
Exit 141 Exit 153 19 km 1961
Exit 221 Exit 231 16 km 1961
Exit 153 Exit 185 51 km 1962
Exit 185 Exit 221 58 km 1963
Exit 0 Exit 5 8 km 1963
Exit 5 Exit 15 16 km 1965
Exit 15 Exit 24 14 km 1967
Exit 24 Exit 31 11 km 1969
Exit 31 Exit 93 100 km 1971

Traffic intensities

Every day, 48,000 vehicles cross the Texas border, after which the intensities are somewhat lower at mostly 30,000 to 35,000 vehicles per day until Norman. The passage through Norman is already a lot busier with 72,000 to 91,000 vehicles per day and 111,000 vehicles between Norman and Moore. This peaks first at 131,000 vehicles per day near I-240 in southern Oklahoma City and then at 146,000 vehicles per day before the interchange with I-40, the busiest point of I-35 in Oklahoma.

The short double-numbering I-40 at Downtown Oklahoma City handles 125,000 vehicles per day, then 68,000 to 80,000 vehicles drive along the east side of Oklahoma City, peaking at 87,000 vehicles on the double-numbered I-44 northeast of Oklahoma City. After that, 74,000 more vehicles pass Edmond, descending to 49,000 vehicles between Edmond and Guthrie. North of the Oklahoma City region, traffic volumes are dropping rapidly, with between 17,000 and 25,000 vehicles per day on the rest of the route to the Kansas border.

Lane Configuration

Van Unpleasant Lanes Comments
Exit 0 Exit 106 2×2
Exit 106 Exit 108 2×3 Norman
Exit 108 Exit 113 2×2 Norman
Exit 113 Exit 121 2×3 Oklahoma City
Exit 121 Exit 122 2×2 Oklahoma City
Exit 122 Exit 126 2×3 Oklahoma City
Exit 126 Exit 128 2×4 Oklahoma City
Exit 128 Exit 141 2×3 Oklahoma City
Exit 141 Exit 231 2×2

History of Interstate 35 in Oklahoma

About the author