Muskogee Turnpike and Gymnast Turnpike, Oklahoma

Muskogee Turnpike

According to Bestitude, the Muskogee Turnpike is a turnpike, or toll road, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The highway runs from the Broken Arrow suburb of Tulsa, through Muskogee to Interstate 40 at Webbers Falls, and is a major eastbound highway from Tulsa. The route is 85 kilometers long.

Travel directions

The highway begins in Broken Arrow, a suburb of Tulsa. It crosses the Creek Turnpike and heads southeast. The highway has 2×2 lanes. At Tullahassee, you cross US 69, which runs from Muskogee to Vinita as a four-lane highway. You pass Muskogee, a regional town of 38,000 inhabitants, where you cross US 62, which runs from Oklahoma City to Fayetteville. The section along Muskogee is toll-free, to encourage local traffic to take the highway, rather than drive through town. The highway runs parallel to the Arkansas River from here. The last section goes through uninhabited land, joining Interstate 40. at Webbers Fallstowards Fort Smith and Little Rock.

way number

The Muskogee Turnpike is numbered State Route 351 between SR-51 in Broken Arrow and Harris Road in Muskogee and between SR-165 in Muskogee and I-40. This number was approved in 2014 and covers the tolled areas of the Muskogee Turnpike.

History

The Muskogee Turnpike was opened to traffic on October 16, 1969.

Opening history

Tol

The Muskogee Turnpike is a toll road, operated by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. The tolls are very low as everywhere in Oklahoma. Tolls can be paid with the Pikepass.

Traffic intensities

23,000 vehicles drive daily at the start of the toll road at Broken Arrow, dropping to 20,000 vehicles after Coweta and 21,000 vehicles at Muskogee. 7,000 vehicles a day drive between Muskogee and Webbers Falls.

Gymnast Turnpike

The Governor Roy J. Turner Turnpike is a turnpike in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, part of Interstate 44. The toll road connects Oklahoma City to Tulsa and is 142 kilometers long.

Travel directions

The Turner Turnpike at Luther.

The Turner Turnpike begins just outside Oklahoma City at an interchange with Interstate 35, the highway from Oklahoma City to Wichita, Kansas. To the west, the John Kilpatrick Turnpike continues west around Oklahoma City. The highway has 2×2 lanes and runs in an east to northeasterly direction. One passes through monotonously sloping area with meadows. There are no larger towns on the route. Just before Tulsa, the Creek Turnpike branches off, forming the Tulsa bypass, after which the Turner Turnpike becomes toll-free I-44 to Tulsa.

History

The Turner Turnpike is Oklahoma ‘s oldest highway, and was approved in 1947 to directly connect the state’s two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The highway opened on May 16, 1953, and was also the westernmost interurban highway in the United States at the time. The toll road has long since been paid off, but the toll continues to be levied in order to build and maintain other toll roads that are not profitable.

Work began in 2017 to widen the Turner Turnpike 35 miles west from Tulsa to 2×3 lanes. On November 16, 2018, the widening of the first 13 kilometers between Bristow and Tulsa was completed.

Naming

The highway is named after Roy J. Turner (1894-1973), who was the governor of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1951. Under his leadership, a major reorganization of the State Highway Department was carried out and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority was established.

Toll

The Turner Turnpike has a somewhat conspicuous toll system. Tickets are not used, but there is one central toll station at Stroud over the 142 kilometers. If you leave the toll road earlier, you pay a reduced rate at the exit. When you later leave the toll road, part of the toll is refunded, depending on how much you have not driven of the total distance. The toll fee is $6.45 in cash or $6.20 with a Pikepass, which amounts to $0.045 in cash per kilometer. Based on inflation, tolls had fallen by 50% between 1953 and 2011, and the Turner Turnpike was one of the cheapest toll roads in the country. In 2012, the toll rates were significantly increased, but the toll road remains cheap by European standards.

Traffic intensities

Every day, 27,000 to 30,000 vehicles travel most of the Turner Turnpike. Traffic intensities vary little due to the lack of larger towns on the route. Only the easternmost part close to Tulsa is somewhat busier with 42,000 vehicles per day.