Oklahoma

Started by Alex, September 07, 2009, 12:04:39 AM

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Scott5114

Yep, they're Creek Turnpike exit numbers. Pine Street is exit 35. No idea how numbering it this way makes any degree of sense, considering the Will Rogers southern terminus is clearly marked south of that interchange and well into what plebes would consider the Creek Turnpike.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef


okroads

Quote from: Scott5114 on February 16, 2023, 10:20:09 PM
Relevant project file: https://www.odot.org/contracts/a2022/plans2210/192_2210_HSIPG-255F(581)TR_3579504/0000-3579504-FULLFILE.pdf

The plans look great–let's see if Action Safety can manage to actually follow them.

That is always a big "if" in this state. :D

A few observations:
- I'm not a big fan of "Lawton - Dallas" on one line on the top left sign on page 51. Reminds me of some signs on the Kickapoo Turnpike.
- This appears to show the reroute of OK 3 away from I-44 north of I-40 (some of these signs are already in place on I-40 East); wonder if there will be OK 3 assurance shields added to I-40? This project appears to be focusing mainly on large signage and not assurance shields.
- Fort Smith is spelled out instead of using the usual "Ft Smith" (pages 57, 59, 65)
- Didn't know US 62 was a north-south highway in Oklahoma like it is in Pennsylvania & New York (see pages 59 & 61)
- The random "Yukon - Exit 5 Miles" overhead sign, which has been there in some form for decades on I-40 West at Rockwell, is going away (page 78)
- Glad to see one extra sign indicating the "exit only" right lane on I-235 South at N 6th Street (page 80). Currently, the only sign indicating "exit only" is at the actual exit so there are always last-second merges.

rte66man

Quote from: okroads on March 01, 2023, 10:12:22 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on February 16, 2023, 10:20:09 PM
Relevant project file: https://www.odot.org/contracts/a2022/plans2210/192_2210_HSIPG-255F(581)TR_3579504/0000-3579504-FULLFILE.pdf

The plans look great–let's see if Action Safety can manage to actually follow them.
- Didn't know US 62 was a north-south highway in Oklahoma like it is in Pennsylvania & New York (see pages 59 & 61)

Very inconsistent. We all know US62 is an E-W highway. I believe ODOT just got lazy and didn't want to add another directional. They now join OTA, who has flat-out refused to change the "South US62" signs on NB 44 approaching Exit 106. They have been that way for at least 12 years.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

sprjus4

Significant lengths of the Turnpike system will be raising from 75 mph to 80 mph.

This includes I-44 between Lawton and Oklahoma City (H.E. Bailey Turnpike), US-412 (the entire Cimarron Turnpike) between I-35 and US-64, the Cimarron Turnpike spur near Stillwater, and the SH-351 Muskogee Turnpike between Muskogee and I-40. A number of these areas have recently had their grassy raised medians replaced by cable guardrail, allowing the higher speeds safely.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/speed-limits-to-increase-to-80-mph-on-two-area-turnpikes/article_ff0d1f76-d331-11ed-896f-cbb6d621dca5.html

kphoger

Hopefully the bump-up takes effect before I drive the HE Bailey next, which will be early summer.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

rte66man

OTA April Commission Meeting Agenda
https://pikepass.com/pdf/Banner%20information_agendas%20for%2004-04-2023%20Board%20Meeting.pdf

pp 55-59 imply the changes will take place immediately after approval. Not sure how quickly they can change the signs though.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

Great Lakes Roads

The H.E. Bailey Turnpike (I-44) will probably be the first turnpike in this round of speed limit increases to go up to 80...

The Cimarron Turnpike (US 412) still has one section that has not been upgraded with the cable median barrier (that will be as part of the bridge project at exit 22)...

Muskogee: the cable median barrier is already there, so I think that the only thing that needs to be upgraded is the cashless tolling conversion...

sprjus4

I'm curious as to why the increases did not include I-44 between Lawton and the Texas state line (first instance of the speed limit decreasing from 80 mph to 75 mph going into Texas?). Isn't that portion fully upgraded now?

Great Lakes Roads

Quote from: sprjus4 on April 08, 2023, 12:34:59 AM
I'm curious as to why the increases did not include I-44 between Lawton and the Texas state line (first instance of the speed limit decreasing from 80 mph to 75 mph going into Texas?). Isn't that portion fully upgraded now?

Yes, it has the cable-median barrier (so it's all ready to go)... the only reason why they are not raising the speed limit on that section south of Lawton is due to the construction project at exit 20...

sprjus4

^ Can they not lower the speed limit temporarily around that area, and keep it 80 mph everywhere else?

How is it different than 75 mph lowering through there?

roadman65

When did Oklahoma number the Indian Nation Turnpike to this https://goo.gl/maps/dDTGFkQLmxK7skiu5
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

kphoger

Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

bugo

The last few miles of I-44 between Randlett and the Red River are not part of the turnpike system, so the maximum speed limit allowed on this stretch of road is 75 MPH.

kphoger

Quote from: bugo on April 21, 2023, 03:53:21 PM
The last few miles of I-44 between Randlett and the Red River are not part of the turnpike system, so the maximum speed limit allowed on this stretch of road is 75 MPH.

I thought your reasoning was backward for a minute, because I distinctly remembered it being 75 north of Randlett and 70 south of Randlett.  Then I remembered the recent speed limit increase we were discussing a couple of weeks ago, and it all made sense.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

sprjus4

Quote from: bugo on April 21, 2023, 03:53:21 PM
The last few miles of I-44 between Randlett and the Red River are not part of the turnpike system, so the maximum speed limit allowed on this stretch of road is 75 MPH.
Couldn't they raise the speed limit on the 24 mile segment between US-277 near Geronimo and US-277 near Randlett? That segment is apart of the turnpike system and could bump to 80 mph.

Bobby5280

I drive that section of I-44 from time to time. I usually don't drive any faster than 75mph. The turnpike is about as narrow as it can get for Interstate standards. That flimsy cable barrier separating the two directions of traffic doesn't seem like much at all. When I'm driving on that stretch of I-44 I sort of feel like I'm driving fast on a city street rather than an actual Interstate highway.

sprjus4

Quote from: Bobby5280 on April 22, 2023, 12:40:37 PM
I drive that section of I-44 from time to time. I usually don't drive any faster than 75mph. The turnpike is about as narrow as it can get for Interstate standards. That flimsy cable barrier separating the two directions of traffic doesn't seem like much at all. When I'm driving on that stretch of I-44 I sort of feel like I'm driving fast on a city street rather than an actual Interstate highway.
It's no different from the Cimarron Turnpike or the Muskogee Turnpike, which will be raising to 80 mph.

There's no reason it shouldn't be raised to 80 mph. If it is too fast for you, you're welcome to remain at 75 mph in the right lane.

Bobby5280

Have you actually driven I-44 between Lawton and Randlett (much less the two other turnpikes you mentioned)? It's one thing to look at the roads via Google Earth versus actually driving on them in real life. I'm not backing down at all from my comment that I-44 between Lawton and Randlett feels like little more than a city street with a cable barrier running down the middle of it.

Scott5114

To someone like me who has clinched the Cimarron and the Indian Nation, the idea of them having 80 mph speed limits is faintly ridiculous. They are nowhere near the modern standards of the other sections of turnpike currently carrying 80 mph limits.

I don't really object to the increase that much because I'm fine with people driving as fast as they want to, but I am a little concerned that the 80 limit might set up an expectation of a certain kind of road quality that this turnpike profile doesn't meet. The Autobahn it ain't.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Bobby5280

To be clear, at least having some kind of physical barrier between the two directions of traffic (as opposed to a narrow hump of grass) is better than nothing. But it's still not all that great.

The OTA dug out that narrow grassy median strip and replaced it with a flat "lane" of concrete. Rather than using a solid, concrete Jersey barrier (like what was installed on the I-44 turnpikes from Medicine Park to the Missouri border in the mid 1990's) they tacked in a cable barrier down the middle of that new center lane. These newer cable barriers may work well at stopping out of control vehicles. But visually they don't look like much of a barrier and you can easily see right through them.

The visual of the renovated turnpike looks very similar to a 5-lane urban street, with a cable barrier installed in the center turn lane. Lawton has several of these kinds of 5-lane concrete streets. Those streets typically have 35mph speed limits. It feels weird to go from driving on one of those streets to driving on I-44, where it looks the same, but traffic is going much faster.

Some portions of I-44 South of Lawton have had chunks of road bed replaced. But there are still segments that date back a really long time. You can feel the difference driving on that section versus driving on fully re-built Interstate such as the toll free section on I-44 South of the Randlett exit.

kphoger

I've driven I-44 between Lawton and Randlett several times, and it has never seemed narrow to me.  And as for the cable barrier:  while it doesn't feel as safe as a Jersey barrier, it does feel safer than a plain grassy median, and I've never thought I needed to reduce my speed simply because of the cable barrier.

If anything, it's the less-than-flat roadbed that makes me hate that stretch, especially considering I'm usually driving a heavy-laden vehicle.

No, the part of the HE Bailey that feels too narrow for the speed limit to me is the part where there's a hard curb immediately left of the yellow stripe, on a curve, within city limits, where there are commonly slow-moving trucks still getting up to speed.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

MikieTimT

Still, it's an improvement on "Arkansas Freeways" (5 lane) that are common just to the east.  That being said, I don't see any push in upping the speed limits on those roads either.

Bobby5280

Quote from: kphogerNo, the part of the HE Bailey that feels too narrow for the speed limit to me is the part where there's a hard curb immediately left of the yellow stripe, on a curve, within city limits, where there are commonly slow-moving trucks still getting up to speed.

Yeah, I don't like that spot on I-44 going South out of Chickasha. Any motorist in the left lane not paying attention could slam his left front wheel into that sudden street curb.

I'm guessing the street curbs are there on that half-mile stretch of the Southwest-bound lanes to help channel storm water to the drainage grates. The lanes are banking thru a broad left turn. The slanted grading causes rainwater to flow into the center median strip rather than out to the right shoulder. I think they could have developed a better solution than a street curb on the left edge of the left lane.

kphoger

Quote from: Bobby5280 on April 25, 2023, 01:16:38 PM
Yeah, I don't like that spot on I-44 going South out of Chickasha. Any motorist in the left lane not paying attention could slam his left front wheel into that sudden street curb.

I'm guessing the street curbs are there on that half-mile stretch of the Southwest-bound lanes to help channel storm water to the drainage grates. The lanes are banking thru a broad left turn. The slanted grading causes rainwater to flow into the center median strip rather than out to the right shoulder. I think they could have developed a better solution than a street curb on the left edge of the left lane.

Oh wow, I didn't even realize it was only on the southwest-bound side.  I guess that explains why I've never thought the same when heading northeast through there...
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

rte66man

Quote from: Bobby5280 on April 25, 2023, 01:16:38 PM
Quote from: kphogerNo, the part of the HE Bailey that feels too narrow for the speed limit to me is the part where there's a hard curb immediately left of the yellow stripe, on a curve, within city limits, where there are commonly slow-moving trucks still getting up to speed.

Yeah, I don't like that spot on I-44 going South out of Chickasha. Any motorist in the left lane not paying attention could slam his left front wheel into that sudden street curb.

I'm guessing the street curbs are there on that half-mile stretch of the Southwest-bound lanes to help channel storm water to the drainage grates. The lanes are banking thru a broad left turn. The slanted grading causes rainwater to flow into the center median strip rather than out to the right shoulder. I think they could have developed a better solution than a street curb on the left edge of the left lane.

Good guess. That is exactly why they are there. When the dirt embankments were there, it wasn't as much of an issue as you subconsciously stayed away. The addition of the Jersey barriers made it more blatant.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra



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