Early turnpike proposal from Blackwell to Oklahoma City to Wichita Falls

[bugo]

This map was labeled 1956 and shows a proposed turnpike following what became I-35 from Blackwell to Oklahoma City then following what became the Bailey Turnpike through Lawton and to the Red River near Wichita Falls. It shows the Turner Turnpike as open, the Blackwell-OKC-Wichita Falls turnpike as proposed and omits the Will Rogers Turnpike which was under construction at the time. I have heard of a proposed turnpike along I-35 all the way through the state but according to this map, the N-S turnpike would have gone through Lawton instead of Ardmore. Is this an example of a confused mapmaker or was this actually a proposal at one time?

[Brian556]

This map was labeled 1956 and shows a proposed turnpike following what became I-35 from Blackwell to Oklahoma City then following what became the Bailey Turnpike through Lawton and to the Red River near Wichita Falls. It shows the Turner Turnpike as open, the Blackwell-OKC-Wichita Falls turnpike as proposed and omits the Will Rogers Turnpike which was under construction at the time. I have heard of a proposed turnpike along I-35 all the way through the state but according to this map, the N-S turnpike would have gone through Lawton instead of Ardmore. Is this an example of a confused mapmaker or was this actually a proposal at one time?

Interesting that the mapmaker chose to mark tiny towns but leave off larger ones. Seiling stands out like a sore thumb

[In_Correct]

Please build this turnpike.

[US 89]

Please build this turnpike.

Why? Half of it is already the HE Bailey, the other half is I-35.

[rte66man]

This map was labeled 1956 and shows a proposed turnpike following what became I-35 from Blackwell to Oklahoma City then following what became the Bailey Turnpike through Lawton and to the Red River near Wichita Falls. It shows the Turner Turnpike as open, the Blackwell-OKC-Wichita Falls turnpike as proposed and omits the Will Rogers Turnpike which was under construction at the time. I have heard of a proposed turnpike along I-35 all the way through the state but according to this map, the N-S turnpike would have gone through Lawton instead of Ardmore. Is this an example of a confused mapmaker or was this actually a proposal at one time?

Is this a Rand McNally? It also looks like one of their regional maps. I would guess it's a mistake as I've never seem anything proposed like this.

[The Ghostbuster]

Maybe it could have been an Interstate 33. Or a relocation of Interstate 35 away from the US 77 corridor.

[Bobby5280]

Going through Wichita Falls is a pretty out of the way path for a super highway going from Oklahoma City to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Now, if the highway from OKC down to Wichita Falls had gone farther Southwest to hook into another major highway in or near Abilene that might have made such a route more valuable for long distance, even cross country travel.

[sparker]

Maybe it could have been an Interstate 33. Or a relocation of Interstate 35 away from the US 77 corridor.

OK had a bunch of pre-Interstate proposed turnpikes; one followed today's truncated Chickasaw Turnpike path NE from what's now I-35 to US 377, then north via Shawnee to the Turner Turnpike.  OK elected to take Interstate funds for essentially every Interstate corridor save I-44 rather than continue their toll program, which was shifted to non-Interstate corridors such as (later) US 412, the Muskogee, and the INT.

[J N Winkler]

I have heard of a proposed turnpike from the Kansas Turnpike terminus at the state line down to Oklahoma City, but not that it or another turnpike was projected to run further south in the corridor now served by I-35.

As an aside, the travel time estimates seem to be based on average speeds ranging from 38 to 41 MPH, so I wonder if they were measured or if a base value was adjusted according to some method for estimating likely delay (counting towns passed through?).