Interstate 44

Interstate 44 (abbreviated I-44) is an interstate highway in the central United States. Its western terminus is in Wichita Falls, Texas at an intersection with U.S. Highway 277; its eastern terminus is in St. Louis at Interstate 55. Interstate 44 is one of five interstates built to bypass U.S. Route 66; this highway covers the section between St. Louis and Oklahoma City. Virtually the entire length of the Interstate east of Springfield, Missouri was once US 66 which was upgraded from two to four lanes between 1949 and 1955. The section of I-44 west of Springfield was built further south than US 66 in order to connect Missouri's section with the already completed Will Rogers Turnpike, which Oklahoma wished to carry their part of I-44.

Length

Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

• Wichita Falls, Texas
• Lawton, Oklahoma
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Joplin, Missouri
• Springfield, Missouri
• Rolla, Missouri
• St. Louis, Missouri

Intersections with other interstates

• Interstate 240 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Interstate 40 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Interstate 235 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Interstate 35 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (multiplexed for about 5 miles (8 km))
• Interstate 244 in Tulsa, Oklahoma (twice)
• Interstate 270 southwest of Kirkwood, Missouri
• Interstate 55 in St. Louis, Missouri

Spur routes

• Tulsa, Oklahoma - I-244, I-444 (unsigned)
• St. Louis, Missouri - I-244 decommissioned in 1974, made part of I-270)

History

I-44 was originally signed in 1958 as an Interstate designation of the Turner Turnpike linking Oklahoma City and Tulsa and the Will Rogers Turnpike linking Tulsa and the Missouri state line southwest of Joplin, along with the US 66 bypass in Tulsa that linked that city with the two turnpikes and the continued four-lane highway from the Missouri border to an interchange with US 71 south of Joplin previously designated as US 166.

At the time the I-44 designation was assigned in Oklahoma in the 1950s, Oklahoma signed the milemarkers west to east starting at Turner Turnpike's Oklahoma City terminus at the I-44/I-35 interchange (near Edmond).

At this time, the milemarkers in the Tulsa area were in the 90s range. Rather than having their own numbers, I-244 and (designated, but unsigned) I-444 started their numbering based on what milemarker the highways were at when they branched off. Therefore, one exit along I-444 was labeled "94D". When the I-444 signs were removed from the highway and the "94" numbers were removed from the other markers (their gore signs simply bore the letter suffixes "A", "B", and "C") the 94D marking remained. The number became even more out of place when the markings were changed (see below). To those not knowing the history of the highways, the exit number remained an inexplicable anomaly. [1]

I-44 was later extended southwest of Oklahoma City along the existing H.E. Bailey Turnpike, thus raising the milemarkers by about 100. The new section was also a violation of the Interstate numbering grid, as it extended south of I-40. (The "44" number indicated that it should lie north of I-40 for its entire length.)

In May 1993 a major tornado hit Interstate 44 east of Tulsa. This particular tornado had the fastest tornado wind speeds on record at the time. The interstate was severely damaged where the tornado crossed it. In the end, this tornado was blamed for 36 deaths.

A section of I-44 was moved slightly north between Morgan Heights and Powellville, Missouri. The old road is highly visible for eastbound traffic near Powellville. As of April 2006, the rocks carved away for the new roadbed have virtually no lichen, reflecting that this construction occurred rather recently. Aerial photo

Business Loop 44

• Joplin, Missouri
• Mount Vernon, Missouri
• Springfield, Missouri
• Lebanon, Missouri
• Rolla, Missouri
• Sarcoxie, Missouri
• Waynesville, Missouri
• Pacific & Allenton, Missouri

Notes

• I-44 in Oklahoma is a toll road most of the way, paralleled by former U.S. 66.
• As U.S. 66 was being bypassed by I-44, the Route 66 Association requested the designation Interstate 66 for I-44 from St. Louis to Oklahoma City. AASHTO rejected the request.^[2]
• I-244 in Tulsa, Oklahoma has its own loop route, I-444. I-244 and I-444 together form a square around Tulsa's downtown known locally as the "Inner Dispersal Loop". But while some maps show the "444" designation, it is signed only with the names of the U.S. and state routes it also carries: U.S. 75, U.S. 64, and State Highway 51.
• What was once I-244 around St. Louis is currently part of that city's I-270/I-255 beltway.
• Business Loop I-44 and Business Spur I-44 at the Fort Leonard Wood exit intersect.

References

Wikipedia information about Interstate 44 This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Interstate 44". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.