Oklahoma

[The Ghostbuster]

If only there was something we could do about it. We need more road geeks in the nation's DOTs.

[Rothman]

If only there was something we could do about it. We need more road geeks in the nation's DOTs.

Could contact the Oklahoma Division of the FHWA.

[hotdogPi]

Search is broken, but I remember someone saying about a decade ago that we could just have ninjareplaced the I-99 signs as I forget which 3-digit number and they wouldn't care enough to change them back.

[kphoger]

If only there was something we could do about it. We need more road geeks in the nation's DOTs.

Could contact the Oklahoma Division of the FHWA.

What do you think this is, a democracy?  We are completely powerless to do anything at all about anything at all.  Except whine, that is.

[Bobby5280]

"I-343" is yet another thing to make Oklahoma look fucking stupid.

Representative Tom Cole visits my civic club's meetings in Lawton every once in awhile. The next time he visits I'm going to ask him, "where in Oklahoma is I-43?"

[kphoger]

I hate parent-child highway numbering.  I-343 is my now my new favorite thing about Oklahoma.

[Bobby5280]

It's a bunch of random stupid shit. I'm used to state highway routes sort of being all over the place with their numbering schemes. A national highway system isn't supposed to be doing that.

If some idiot can arbitrarily pull "I-343" out of his ass because it's his favorite number or something it's only a matter of time before we have some new short toll road somewhere get called Interstate 1 to jerk off some congressman's ego.

Hell, while we're at it, why bother limiting ourselves to the alphanumerical Latin alphabet? Maybe they can throw in some icons and emojis as route "numbers". We can have markers like Interstate smiley face or Interstate cherries. Interstate middle finger and Interstate poop pile might be funny.

[kphoger]

it's only a matter of time before we have some new short toll road somewhere get called Interstate 1

Sounds good to me.

CO-1, ID-1, KS-1, and MO-1 are each less than 15 miles long, and nobody bats an eye.

I'm used to state highway routes sort of being all over the place with their numbering schemes. A national highway system isn't supposed to be doing that.

meh.  The numbers don't have to mean anything in a national system any more than they do in a state system.  The number doesn't matter.

[TheCatalyst31]

it's only a matter of time before we have some new short toll road somewhere get called Interstate 1

Only if a roadgeek wishes on a monkey's paw for I-238 to be renumbered to something that fits the numbering system. It's west of I-5, after all, and if you upgrade a few miles of CA 238 you could call it north-south.

[swake]

I've never heard anybody self-describe themself as "Muscogee". It's always "Creek Indian".

The tribe changed the name from Creek Nation to Muscogee (Creek) Nation in the 1970s. In 2021 they formally dropped the "Creek" as a colonial name and outdated.

My wife and kids and my wife's whole family call themselves Muscogee. Some people even find the term "Creek" offensive.

[swake]

It's a bunch of random stupid shit. I'm used to state highway routes sort of being all over the place with their numbering schemes. A national highway system isn't supposed to be doing that.

If some idiot can arbitrarily pull "I-343" out of his ass because it's his favorite number or something it's only a matter of time before we have some new short toll road somewhere get called Interstate 1 to jerk off some congressman's ego.

Hell, while we're at it, why bother limiting ourselves to the alphanumerical Latin alphabet? Maybe they can throw in some icons and emojis as route "numbers". We can have markers like Interstate smiley face or Interstate cherries. Interstate middle finger and Interstate poop pile might be funny.

ooh! I vote for the new I-42 to instead become Interstate "X" in roman numerals. Or maybe 四十二?

[kphoger]

"X"

https://maps.app.goo.gl/x6VE8Yfmwb92syTV8

[vdeane]

"X"

https://maps.app.goo.gl/x6VE8Yfmwb92syTV8

Formerly known as Twitter

[TXtoNJ]

I've never heard anybody self-describe themself as "Muscogee". It's always "Creek Indian".

The tribe changed the name from Creek Nation to Muscogee (Creek) Nation in the 1970s. In 2021 they formally dropped the "Creek" as a colonial name and outdated.

My wife and kids and my wife's whole family call themselves Muscogee. Some people even find the term "Creek" offensive.

I've never understood the impulse to dismiss developments in indigenous communities from people who don't generally interact with them.

Also, there are a handful of funny things on this page worth addressing:

First, DOTs are absolutely littered with roadgeeks
Second, bad solutions like I-343 are often adopted because of political considerations
Third, kphoger is both accurately stating and completely understating the situation by saying that nobody cares about I-343. In fact, there are a bunch of people who are thrilled that their business is now "on an Interstate"

[74/171FAN]

First, DOTs are absolutely littered with roadgeeks

Yeah, I do not see it, especially when staff fully depends on GPS to get from Point A to Point B.

[Rothman]

First, DOTs are absolutely littered with roadgeeks

Yeah, I do not see it, especially when staff fully depends on GPS to get from Point A to Point B.

Right.  There are roadgeeks in this forum's vein at DOTs, but we're still a minority in the workplace.  It's a little sad how many employees end up at a DOT "by default."  That said, I respect the engineers that looked at the private sector's higher pay and opted for more life-work balance by coming to the public sector.

[TBKS1]

Third, kphoger is both accurately stating and completely understating the situation by saying that nobody cares about I-343. In fact, there are a bunch of people who are thrilled that their business is now "on an Interstate"

This was pretty much the sole point made by most of the speakers at the official Interstate 57 designation ceremony (that I attended) in November 2024. I do understand where they're coming from in that regard, Interstate highways are more likely to be driven on to an extent, especially for long-distance or cross country travel by car. Another key point discussed there was the closing the gap between the southern and northern sections of Interstate 57 and providing a direct access route from Little Rock to Chicago. The direct connection would benefit smaller towns adjacent to I-57, even the gas stations and convenience stores located off the exit ramps of these freeways would result in a significant boost from the traffic of an Interstate highway going through them.

However, I'm not super convinced that would necessarily be the case for Interstate 343. As far as I'm aware, Interstate highways are very competitive for business startups, but only to a point. I haven't seen anybody say they wish they had a business adjacent to Interstate 180 in Illinois, for example. I also have a hard time believing that OK 351 (soon I-343) would have any substantial traffic boost once the Interstate highway designation is added, it's not like there's active progress to close a gap in the route either, or that its AADT would go up by people driving from Fort Smith to Tulsa solely because its designation changed.

[kphoger]

For the record, I just meant that nobody but pedantic roadgeeks cares about the number—not whether it's an Interstate or not in the first place.

[TBKS1]

it's only a matter of time before we have some new short toll road somewhere get called Interstate 1

Sounds good to me.

CO-1, ID-1, KS-1, and MO-1 are each less than 15 miles long, and nobody bats an eye.

Loop 1 in Austin could become an Interstate highway if it wanted to, I don't see that ever happening but it would be pretty funny.

[Scott5114]

Second, bad solutions like I-343 are often adopted because of political considerations

What political considerations could possibly apply here? Are you suggesting it's not I-340 because Kevin Stitt cashed a fat fucking check from the Oklahoma Union of Cutout Reflective Vinyl Number 3 Manufacturers?

[Revive 755]

First, DOTs are absolutely littered with roadgeeks

Yeah, I do not see it, especially when staff fully depends on GPS to get from Point A to Point B.

Or the lack of interstate shields with state names in several states.

[Bobby5280]

What political considerations could possibly apply here? Are you suggesting it's not I-340 because Kevin Stitt cashed a fat fucking check from the Oklahoma Union of Cutout Reflective Vinyl Number 3 Manufacturers?

The "I-343" numbering choice sure as hell isn't based on anything logical.

If they had gone with existing numbering conventions that apply to all 3-digit Interstate routes except for I-238 they would have picked I-340 or maybe I-342, assuming I-42 gets signed in Oklahoma sometime soon.

As stated before I-238 isn't a random number, but a continuation of an existing state highway designation. "I-351" could have filled the bill if OTA wanted to copy the I-238 example. They didn't do that. They just pulled "I-343" out of their asses. Some "boss" has some sentimental obsession with that number and insisted on using it even though the designation makes not a damned bit of sense.

So, the I-343 numbering choice could indeed be called political if somebody like the Governor or another senior lawmaker insisted on the designation. I think it's more likely some douchebag politician made the numbering choice rather than an official within the OTA.

[Rothman]

A reminder that when I spoke to OTA, they said the number was FHWA's choice. 

[Scott5114]

A reminder that when I spoke to OTA, they said the number was FHWA's choice. 

And you believed them?

[Scott5114]

While I'm not here to judge ODOT

I am!

...It's subpar.