At the right of the above picture is the 13th
Street/Denver Avenue exit along US-75 North/US-64 East/OK-51 East in
Downtown Tulsa. Unknown to most Tulsans is the fact that the federal
government also recognizes this road as Interstate 444.
Most interstate highways across the country have their exits numbered, to make it easier for travelers to find the correct exit, especially when in unfamiliar territory. The above exit has such a numbering, the fourth exit of Mile 94. Problem is twofold. First, I-444 Mile Zero is only about a half-mile from this spot. And being only 2½ miles long from one end to the other, this road is not nearly long enough for a Mile 94. Secondly, not being either a signed interstate highway or a turn, it has no other numbering system. Even if somehow the numbering system were being continued from the Cimarron Turnpike, it would only be somewhere around Mile 85 or so.
So the question is: where did this 94D come from?
It's really rather simple, if you know something of the
history of Tulsa highways. The map at left, the one I use on my I-444 Terminus Page over at Roadklahoma,
shows
the interstate as it loops around the southern and eastern downtown
areas. It is also US-75 for its entire distance, likely the reason the
only interstate signage that ever appeared on it was during the
construction phase.
But it didn't open up all at once.
The green sections on the map were opened in the early 70s, the same time the downtown stretch of I-244 was. The blue section wasn't completed until several years later, when the Broken Arrow Expressway was finally extended from its long-time western terminus, about halfway between Utica and Lewis. (In fact, the dividing point between the two stretches of road can easily be seen in the picture above, where the road turns from a light gray to a slightly darker shade.)
Here's where the fun begins.
These partial sections of I-444 (green on the map) were given exit numbers when the highway first opened. But, they were numbered as extensions of I-244. Y'know how some streets have little connecting cul-de-sacs that have the same name as the parent street, so that more houses with the parent road house numbers can exist? Same principle here. There were four numbered exits (94A, 94B, 94C & 94D) on the southwest section, and three (96A, 96B & 96C) on the northeast section.
Yes, I hear you: Interstate 244 is only fifteen miles long. Where'd this 94 and 96 come from?
With the opening of this section of I-244, the highway was complete from one end to the other. During that same time, the idea of numbering exits on interstates was a new idea, it did not exist everywhere yet. Since the opening of a new stretch of interstate means brand new signs, it was apparently decided to go ahead and put exit numbers on I-244, so they wouldn't have to go back and add them later.
For some reason that I have never been able to fathom, however, the numbering was continued from I-44, starting at the point where I-244 begins at I-44 in West Tulsa. At the time I-44 did not have exit numbers, so this would not cause all that much confusion.
OK, I hear you, stop shouting: What in the world are you talking about? I-44 exits in Tulsa are numbered in the two-hundreds! WHERE'D THIS 94 AND 96 COME FROM ALREADY?
True the I-44 exits between the Turner and Will Rogers Turnpikes are numbered from 222 to 240. Now. Back in the early seventies when these stretches of I-444 were opened, I-44 only went as far west as the west end of the Turner Turnpike, at I-35. Mile Zero was there. The H.E. Bailey Turnpike did not have an Interstate designation back then, and the part of I-44 that goes from I-240 to I-35, stretching around the western and northern parts of Oklahoma City, were originally a much longer Interstate 240.
What we know now as Exit 222 in West Tulsa, was Exit 88 back then. I-244 began at Exit 89. The actual mile markers not coinciding with where they are now (I-244 more likely started closer to Mile 89½), what we now know as Exits 4B & 4C would likely have been Exits 94A & 94B back then (they might've treated I-444 as a cul-de-sacish spinoff back then, but they didn't extend the exit numbers that far; we're talking two different 94A and 94B exits).
When I-244 was renumbered to the system it has today, and the rest of I-444 was opened up, the number parts of these exit signs were removed, leaving the word "EXIT", and the exit letter, with a big blank space in-between.
Here were the exits that existed on I-444 back then (each of them only existed in one direction of the highway):
94A (westbound): I-244 west (US-75 continued
this way)
94B (westbound): I-244 east (US-64/OK-51 continued this way)
(As you can tell from the pic, you had to take one exit or the other. The blank space below "Sand Springs" in the right sign originally read "Haskell Pl.", which back then was as far as the Osage/Tisdale Expressway extended.)
94C (westbound): 11th St/Houston Ave (The
little sign at the exit still has the 'C' on it, but the '94' was
removed long ago.)
94D (eastbound): 13th St/Denver Ave (The only
eastbound exit back then)
And on the other section:
96A (southbound): 7th St./Downtown (If you look very closely, you can still
see the remnants of the '96' on this sign. If you can't, these two
signs may work a little better, taken from slightly different angles)
96B (northbound): I-244/US-412 East (US-412 didn't exist back then, hence it's not mentioned)
96C (northbound): I-244/US-412 West (the highway continues straight ahead as US-75; don't think it did when this section was opened)
So, to summerize:
Exit 94D existed back when Interstate 444's two end sections were first opened, but before the midsection was. It continued the numbering of I-244.
Back when I-244 continued the numbering system of I-44, which didn't have exit numbers at the time
Back when I-44 Mile 0 was the west gate of the Turner Turnpike, and not the Red River.
Over the past few months, most of the Big Green Signs shown in the above pictures have been replaced. US-412 is now listed, the signs are much more reflective at night, and all blank spaces have been removed. As have all the Exit tabs. As of the initial publication of this page, however, all of the original Little Green Exit signs are still standing, including the '94D' sign. Personally, I hope it stays up forever.
Page created 18 August 2003.
Most interstate highways across the country have their exits numbered, to make it easier for travelers to find the correct exit, especially when in unfamiliar territory. The above exit has such a numbering, the fourth exit of Mile 94. Problem is twofold. First, I-444 Mile Zero is only about a half-mile from this spot. And being only 2½ miles long from one end to the other, this road is not nearly long enough for a Mile 94. Secondly, not being either a signed interstate highway or a turn, it has no other numbering system. Even if somehow the numbering system were being continued from the Cimarron Turnpike, it would only be somewhere around Mile 85 or so.
So the question is: where did this 94D come from?
It's really rather simple, if you know something of the
history of Tulsa highways. The map at left, the one I use on my I-444 Terminus Page over at Roadklahoma,
shows
the interstate as it loops around the southern and eastern downtown
areas. It is also US-75 for its entire distance, likely the reason the
only interstate signage that ever appeared on it was during the
construction phase.But it didn't open up all at once.
The green sections on the map were opened in the early 70s, the same time the downtown stretch of I-244 was. The blue section wasn't completed until several years later, when the Broken Arrow Expressway was finally extended from its long-time western terminus, about halfway between Utica and Lewis. (In fact, the dividing point between the two stretches of road can easily be seen in the picture above, where the road turns from a light gray to a slightly darker shade.)
Here's where the fun begins.
These partial sections of I-444 (green on the map) were given exit numbers when the highway first opened. But, they were numbered as extensions of I-244. Y'know how some streets have little connecting cul-de-sacs that have the same name as the parent street, so that more houses with the parent road house numbers can exist? Same principle here. There were four numbered exits (94A, 94B, 94C & 94D) on the southwest section, and three (96A, 96B & 96C) on the northeast section.
Yes, I hear you: Interstate 244 is only fifteen miles long. Where'd this 94 and 96 come from?
With the opening of this section of I-244, the highway was complete from one end to the other. During that same time, the idea of numbering exits on interstates was a new idea, it did not exist everywhere yet. Since the opening of a new stretch of interstate means brand new signs, it was apparently decided to go ahead and put exit numbers on I-244, so they wouldn't have to go back and add them later.
For some reason that I have never been able to fathom, however, the numbering was continued from I-44, starting at the point where I-244 begins at I-44 in West Tulsa. At the time I-44 did not have exit numbers, so this would not cause all that much confusion.
OK, I hear you, stop shouting: What in the world are you talking about? I-44 exits in Tulsa are numbered in the two-hundreds! WHERE'D THIS 94 AND 96 COME FROM ALREADY?
True the I-44 exits between the Turner and Will Rogers Turnpikes are numbered from 222 to 240. Now. Back in the early seventies when these stretches of I-444 were opened, I-44 only went as far west as the west end of the Turner Turnpike, at I-35. Mile Zero was there. The H.E. Bailey Turnpike did not have an Interstate designation back then, and the part of I-44 that goes from I-240 to I-35, stretching around the western and northern parts of Oklahoma City, were originally a much longer Interstate 240.
What we know now as Exit 222 in West Tulsa, was Exit 88 back then. I-244 began at Exit 89. The actual mile markers not coinciding with where they are now (I-244 more likely started closer to Mile 89½), what we now know as Exits 4B & 4C would likely have been Exits 94A & 94B back then (they might've treated I-444 as a cul-de-sacish spinoff back then, but they didn't extend the exit numbers that far; we're talking two different 94A and 94B exits).
When I-244 was renumbered to the system it has today, and the rest of I-444 was opened up, the number parts of these exit signs were removed, leaving the word "EXIT", and the exit letter, with a big blank space in-between.
Here were the exits that existed on I-444 back then (each of them only existed in one direction of the highway):
94B (westbound): I-244 east (US-64/OK-51 continued this way)
(As you can tell from the pic, you had to take one exit or the other. The blank space below "Sand Springs" in the right sign originally read "Haskell Pl.", which back then was as far as the Osage/Tisdale Expressway extended.)
And on the other section:
96B (northbound): I-244/US-412 East (US-412 didn't exist back then, hence it's not mentioned)
96C (northbound): I-244/US-412 West (the highway continues straight ahead as US-75; don't think it did when this section was opened)
So, to summerize:
Exit 94D existed back when Interstate 444's two end sections were first opened, but before the midsection was. It continued the numbering of I-244.
Back when I-244 continued the numbering system of I-44, which didn't have exit numbers at the time
Back when I-44 Mile 0 was the west gate of the Turner Turnpike, and not the Red River.
Over the past few months, most of the Big Green Signs shown in the above pictures have been replaced. US-412 is now listed, the signs are much more reflective at night, and all blank spaces have been removed. As have all the Exit tabs. As of the initial publication of this page, however, all of the original Little Green Exit signs are still standing, including the '94D' sign. Personally, I hope it stays up forever.
Page created 18 August 2003.