Chickasaw Turnpike truncated, westernmost 4 mi. now SH-7 Spur

[Scott5114]

I'm looking for news on when this transfer took place. I can't find anything, and didn't even know about it until an anonymous editor updated the Wikipedia page about it. (Didn't even know it was true until I double-checked the 2013 map, where I saw that I had missed it on my cursory perusal. Oops.)

[bugo]

Looks like there's a full interchange at US 177 now.  Were the new ramps built by ODOT or OTA?

[Scott5114]

I found the approval by the Transportation Commission–it's in the meeting minutes of Aug. 1, 2011 (!). According to the Transportation Commission, building the ramps was ODOT's responsibility. This is also the first time in Oklahoma history a turnpike has been transferred to ODOT and become a free road. Part of the rationale was to provide a truck bypass of Sulphur, apparently.

http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/tcomm/minutes11/tc_minutes-201108.pdf 

[bugo]

How many spurs are in Oklahoma?

[okroads]

How many spurs are in Oklahoma?

Spur OK 51 in Tahlequah is the only other one I know of.

[Brandon]

Surprising that ODOT did not use a lettered "spur" of OK-7, such as OK-7A instead of SPUR OK-7, as they seem to have these elsewhere (at least on the map).

[rte66man]

How many spurs are in Oklahoma?

Spur OK 51 in Tahlequah is the only other one I know of.

I'm surprised ODOT went with a formally-titled "Spur".  OK has quite a few roads that are spurs, but they are labeled OK412P, OK54A, OK183A, etc.  Wonder if this is a conscious policy change or just a random occurrence.

rte66man

[agentsteel53]

I seem to recall field signage of either a US-281 Spur or a US-270 Spur somewhere in Oklahoma.

[Scott5114]

Yeah, you're thinking of US-281 Spur south of Geary.

They really should have made it SH-7B for consistency. (7A already exists, in Duncan, not that that has ever stopped them before–there are three 9A's.) Or SH-177C (assuming they want to fix 40A and 18B while they're at it). SH-13 would have been the best choice if it's planned to ever pass off the rest of the Chickasaw off to ODOT.

[rte66man]

Yeah, you're thinking of US-281 Spur south of Geary.

They really should have made it SH-7B for consistency.........

Bwahahahahaha!  I needed a good laugh. Thanks.

Consistency and OopsDOT have never gone together. 

rte66man

[Scott5114]

Yeah, you're thinking of US-281 Spur south of Geary.

They really should have made it SH-7B for consistency.........

Bwahahahahaha!  I needed a good laugh. Thanks.

Consistency and OopsDOT have never gone together. 

rte66man

You really want a good laugh, look at the most recent press releases on the ODOT site about departing director Gary Ridley and incoming director Mike Patterson. Both press releases go out of their way to include quotes calling ODOT "one of the best DOTs in the country." If only.

[mrose]

How long before the rest of it is free too?

[rte66man]

How long before the rest of it is free too?

When pigs fly......

rte66man

[Brandon]

How long before the rest of it is free too?

When pigs fly......

rte66man

Wasn't this turnpike forced upon the OTA so that they could build the suburban turnpikes in Tulsa and Oklahoma City and the Cherokee Turnpike?  My best guess is that if the OTA could unload it, they will.

[Scott5114]

It's my understanding that the reason these 4 miles were transferred to ODOT is because it was seen as a cheap way to create a bypass of Sulphur, which was needed because there is a nearby quarry and lots of trucks were driving through Sulphur, causing traffic issues.

Tolling the bypass would have actually been more expensive, because the way the Chickasaw worked was that all interchanges were partial, with entrance ramps pointing toward the barrier toll and exit ramps pointing away, such that you couldn't legally use the turnpike without passing through the barrier. If OTA had insisted on collecting tolls with an upgraded interchange at US-177, it would have meant a new toll booth would have to be constructed, probably on the new ramps. It was cheaper just to make it a free road under ODOT's responsibility, and more effective too, since some of the trucks would have just driven through Sulphur to avoid the toll.

As for the rest of the turnpike, it is the only turnpike whose bonds specifically authorize it to be transferred to ODOT. However, there is not any pressing need to do so, unlike the portion that has been transferred, so I have no idea if OTA and ODOT are interested in transferring it.

In a way, the Chickasaw is a missed opportunity. If it had extended southwest enough to connect directly to I-35, it would be extremely useful as a freeway spur to Ada. (Ada is regionally important because it is the de facto capital of the Chickasaw Nation, meaning tribal members often have to travel to Ada to take advantage of tribal services such as the free hospital there.) This probably would have resulted in enough traffic to get the other two lanes built (which the right-of-way is set aside for, and bridges built to accommodate). Unfortunately, politics resulted in the thing that we have now, where its perceived uselessness caused it to be cut back to the point that it became useless, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[rte66man]

<snipped>
In a way, the Chickasaw is a missed opportunity. If it had extended southwest enough to connect directly to I-35, it would be extremely useful as a freeway spur to Ada. (Ada is regionally important because it is the de facto capital of the Chickasaw Nation, meaning tribal members often have to travel to Ada to take advantage of tribal services such as the free hospital there.) This probably would have resulted in enough traffic to get the other two lanes built (which the right-of-way is set aside for, and bridges built to accommodate). Unfortunately, politics resulted in the thing that we have now, where its perceived uselessness caused it to be cut back to the point that it became useless, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When it was first proposed in the 70's, there was a very powerful legislator from Ada named Lonnie Abbott.  He was always wanting the turnpike to run from I35 near Exit 51 to I40 near Exit 200.  As mentioned, the final deal was cut to allow the urban pikes in exchange for the Chickasaw.  By that time, Abbott was in legal and ethical difficulties that caused him to lose office.  None of his successors had the stroke to get the rest of it built. The one thing they did get was an agreement to 4-lane OK99 (now also US377) north from Ada to I40. 

rte66man

[Scott5114]

Abbott still has a sizable stretch of 377/99 named after him in Ada, too.

[Scott5114]

Today I attended a 4th of July lunch in Latta so I took advantage of the opportunity to check on the Chickasaw Turnpike.

• There is a sign that I didn't notice before going eastbound before the at-grade intersections near the east end reading something along the lines of "(black on white) Access Control Ends (black on yellow) Watch for Traffic From Intersections And Driveways".
• The signage for the Dolberg Road exit is a mess because the three signs are from different design generations. The 1 mile sign is an original button copy sign. The 1/2 mile sign is in Clearview, except for the "g" in "Dolberg", which is Series D. The exit direction sign is retroreflective Series EM.
• Toll is now 65¢, up from 55¢.
• There is no end marker going westbound at the US-177 interchange.
• Rather than being signed as one would expect a spur route to be, SH-7 Spur uses a custom shield with "SPUR" tucked onto the shield above the state outline. I'll post a photograph here in a bit.
• The US-177 exit is numbered as Exit 5 from SH-7 Spur (the Chickasaw Turnpike still uses the 1991 signage). This signage is in all Clearview, of course, as per current ODOT standard, and reads "JCT (ugh) US-177, Stratford/Sulphur".
• Signage approaching SH-7 still reads "Turnpike Ends, 1 mile" despite no longer being on a turnpike.

SH-7 Spur:

[WichitaRoads]

Today I attended a 4th of July lunch in Latta so I took advantage of the opportunity to check on the Chickasaw Turnpike.

• There is a sign that I didn't notice before going eastbound before the at-grade intersections near the east end reading something along the lines of "(black on white) Access Control Ends (black on yellow) Watch for Traffic From Intersections And Driveways".
• The signage for the Dolberg Road exit is a mess because the three signs are from different design generations. The 1 mile sign is an original button copy sign. The 1/2 mile sign is in Clearview, except for the "g" in "Dolberg", which is Series D. The exit direction sign is retroreflective Series EM.
• Toll is now 65¢, up from 55¢.
• There is no end marker going westbound at the US-177 interchange.
• Rather than being signed as one would expect a spur route to be, SH-7 Spur uses a custom shield with "SPUR" tucked onto the shield above the state outline. I'll post a photograph here in a bit.
• The US-177 exit is numbered as Exit 5 from SH-7 Spur (the Chickasaw Turnpike still uses the 1991 signage). This signage is in all Clearview, of course, as per current ODOT standard, and reads "JCT (ugh) US-177, Stratford/Sulphur".
• Signage approaching SH-7 still reads "Turnpike Ends, 1 mile" despite no longer being on a turnpike.

SH-7 Spur:

Well, that sign just looks like shit... not the worst I've ever seen, but UGH.

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