Oklahoma State Highway 51

State Highway 51, abbreviated to SH-51 or OK-51, is a major state highway in Oklahoma, United States. It runs for 332.8 miles (535.6 km) eastwest across the state, running from the Texas state line to Arkansas. It is the third-longest state highway in the system.

State Highway 51 marker

State Highway 51

Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length332.8 mi (535.6 km)
ExistedJune 1, 1927–present
Major junctions
West end US 60 at Texas state line
Major intersections
East end AR 244 at the Arkansas state line
Location
CountryUnited States
StateOklahoma
CountiesEllis, Dewey, Blaine, Kingfisher, Logan, Payne, Creek, Tulsa, Wagoner, Cherokee, Adair
Highway system
  • Oklahoma State Highway System
SH-50 SH-52

Route description

Texas to I-35

SH-51 meets many different highways in Seiling

SH-51 begins at the Texas line concurrent with US-60 just east of Higgins, Texas. It remains concurrent for 61 miles (98 km) until it reaches US-270/US-281/SH-3 at Seiling, Oklahoma. At Seiling, SH-51 joins with those three highways for nine miles (14 km) before splitting off on its own.

Eleven miles (18 km) after splitting off, Highway 51 meets SH-58 in Canton. It then continues east, crossing the North Canadian River and meeting SH-51A before turning northeast toward Okeene, where it intersects SH-8. SH-51 will go for 24 miles (39 km) before intersecting another highway.

In Hennessey SH-51 meets US-81 before continuing eastward. Seventeen miles (27 km) later, it meets SH-74 north of Crescent. Eleven miles (18 km) to the east, it shares a brief concurrency with US-77; Two miles (3.2 km) later it has an interchange at Interstate 35 at Exit 174.

I-35 to Tulsa

After crossing I-35, SH-51 becomes a multilane highway and a major corridor linking I-35 to Stillwater, the home of Oklahoma State University. Along this 13-mile (21 km) stretch is an intersection with SH-86. When SH-51 reaches Stillwater, it meets US-177.

Continuing east from Stillwater, the road returns to a two-lane highway after sharing a 1-mile (1.6 km) concurrency with SH-108 and intersects with SH-18 Eight miles (13 km) later. Four miles (6.4 km) east of this, it passes through Yale, Oklahoma before crossing SH-99. It becomes a multilane highway again after SH-48. It turns into the "Mannford Freeway" before passing through the small towns of Mannford and Lotsee on its way toward the Tulsa area.

Tulsa and beyond

In Sand Springs, SH-51 crosses the Arkansas River with SH-97 before merging onto the Sand Springs Expressway (US-412/US-64). When this freeway ends at I-244 near downtown Tulsa, SH-51 merges onto I-244 southbound only to exit 1 mile (1.6 km) later, where it runs concurrent with US-64/US-75. This freeway is actually Interstate 444, but the route is not signed as such. After one more mile, SH-51 leaves the interstate with US-64 and becomes the Broken Arrow Expressway, a freeway running northwest–southeast through Tulsa which is known as "The BA" by locals and local media. US-64 leaves the freeway as a concurrency with US-169 southbound. Later, SH-51 will exit the freeway and become a four-lane highway toward Coweta. The mainline freeway becomes the Muskogee Turnpike.

At Coweta, SH-51 turns back east after heading southeast through the Tulsa area. After crossing the Muskogee Turnpike again and bridging the Verdigris River the highway soon enters Wagoner, where it junctions with US-69. Returning once again to a 2-lane road, Highway 51 crosses Ft. Gibson Lake and the town of Hulbert. Eleven miles (18 km) later, it passes through Tahlequah, where it has a brief concurrency with US-62/SH-10. After spitting with these highways, it heads southeast toward Stilwell, Oklahoma, running concurrent with US-59 for a mile on the way. After leaving Stilwell it provides access to Adair State Park, and then crosses the Arkansas line becoming Arkansas Highway 244, which quickly connects to Arkansas Highway 59.

History

SH-51 was originally commissioned on June 1, 1927 as a connector from Stilwell to Eldon at SH-27 (present-day US-62).[1] By 1928, it had been extended to Tulsa.[2] On June 15, 1933, it was extended to the east to the Arkansas state line, where it became AR-45.[1]

ODOT extended SH-51 west to Stillwater and Perry (via a segment of roadway currently serving as US-177).[1][3] On March 18, 1935, the section from Stillwater to Perry was rescinded and SH-51 was extended to SH-8 at Okeene.[1][4] It was then extended to Seiling on October 18, 1938. On March 23, 1943, it was extended to the Texas state line by a concurrency with US-60.[1][5]

The Broken Arrow Expressway was built in the early 1960s[6] and opened in 1964.[1] It was not, however, officially named the Broken Arrow Expressway until July 6, 1999 [7] by H.B. 1455.

The steel truss bridge carrying SH-51 across Stillwater Creek west of Stillwater, once considered the gateway into the city, was removed on March 25, 2008. In a first for the state of Oklahoma, the bridge, originally built in 1936, was sold to Payne County for $200,000 and transferred to a county road east of Stillwater, where it was installed over Council Creek.[8]

Major intersections

CountyLocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Ellis0.00.0
US 60 west Canadian
Western terminus; continuation into Texas
6.710.8
US 283 north Shattuck
Western end of US 283 concurrency
Arnett12.720.4
SH-46 north
Southern terminus of SH-46
13.722.0
US 283 south Cheyenne
Eastern end of US 283 concurrency
DeweyVici39.663.7
SH-34 north Woodward
Western end of SH-34 concurrency
40.565.2
SH-34 south Hammon
Eastern end of SH-34 concurrency
58.894.6 US 183 Woodward, Taloga
Seiling60.697.5



US 60 east / US 270 west / US 281 north / SH-3 west Woodward, Chester
Western end of US-270/281/SH-3 concurrency; eastern end of US-60 concurrency
Hucmac69.0111.0


US 270 east / US 281 south / SH-3 east Watonga
Eastern end of US-280/281/SH-3 concurrency
BlaineCanton81.2130.7
SH-58A north Canton Lake
Southern terminus of SH-58A
82.0132.0
SH-58 south Eagle City
Western end of SH-58 concurrecy
83.0133.6
SH-58 north Fairview
Eastern end of SH-58 concurrency
Southard88.1141.8 SH-51A Fairview, Watonga
Okeene98.9159.2 SH-8 Fairview, Watonga
KingfisherLacey115.1185.2
SH-132 north Enid
Southern terminus of SH-132
Hennessey122.6197.3 US 81 Enid, Kingfisher
Logan138.1222.3
SH-74E north Marshall
Southern terminus of SH-74E
140.1225.5 SH-74 Covington, Crescent
151.0243.0
US 77 north Perry
Western end of US-77 concurrency
151.3243.5
US 77 south Guthrie
Eastern end of US-77 concurrency
PayneOrlando153.8247.5 I-35 Wichita, Oklahoma CityInterchange; known as 6th Ave (I-35) - (SH-18) junctions; I-35 Exit 174
157.3253.1
SH-86 north Perry
Southern terminus of SH-86
162.0260.7Road to Lake Carl BlackwellSouthern terminus of the former SH-51C
Stillwater170.4274.2 US 177 Ponca City, Perkins
177.8286.1
SH-108 north Glencoe
Western end of SH-108 concurrency
178.8287.8
SH-108 south Ripley
Eastern end of SH-108 concurrency
186.8300.6 SH-18 Pawnee, Cushing
Creek197.6318.0 SH-99 Jennings, Oilton
208.2335.1 SH-48 Cleveland, Bristow
215.1346.2
SH-151 north
Interchange; southern terminus of SH-151
TulsaSand Springs224.3361.0
SH-97 south Sapulpa
Western end of SH-97 concurrency
225.5362.9


US 64 west / US 412 west / SH-97 north
Eastern end of SH-97 concurrecy; western end of US-64/412 cocurrency; west end of freeway
South 81st West Avenue
South 65th West Avenue
TulsaNorth 49th West Avenue
North 33rd West AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Gilcrease Museum Road, South 25th West Avenue
Quanah AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
232.1373.5

I-244 east / US 412 east (Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Expressway) / L.L. Tisdale Parkway Tulsa International Airport
Eastern end of US-412 cocurrency; western end of I-244 concurrency; I-244 Exits 5B-C
2nd StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance; I-244 Exit 5A
232.9374.8

I-244 west / US 75 south (Red Fork Expressway) Oklahoma City
Eastern end of I-244 concurrency; western end of I-444/US-75 concurrency; I-244 Exit 4B
Houston Avenue, Southwest Boulevard, 30th StreetWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Denver Avenue
Detroit AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
234.3377.1

I-444 east / US 75 north (Cherokee Expressway) Bartlesville
Eastern end of I-444/US-75 concurrency
Utica Avenue
Lewis AvenueNo westbound exit
East 15th StreetNo eastbound exit
East 21st Street
Harvard Avenue
East 31st Street, Yale Avenue
Sheridan Road
239.6385.6 I-44 / SH-66 (Skelly Drive) Joplin, Oklahoma CityI-44 Exit 231
Memorial Drive
East 41st Street, Mingo RoadNo westbound exit
242.0389.5
US 64 east / US 169 (Mingo Valley Expressway) Nowata, Bixby
Eastern end of US-64 concurrency
Garnett Road
East 51st Street SouthEastbound exit and westbound entrance
South 129th East AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
Broken ArrowSouth 145th East Avenue
Elm Place
South 177th East AvenueNo eastbound entrance
Kenosha Street
248.8400.4



Muskogee Turnpike east to Creek Turnpike Muskogee
Eastern end of freeway; no eastbound entrance; Muskogee Turnpike Exit 1
WagonerCoweta258.0415.2
SH-72 south Haskell
Northern terminus of SH-72
261.5420.8 Muskogee Turnpike Tulsa, MuskogeeMuskogee Turnpike Exit 13
Wagoner272.6438.7 US 69 Chouteau, Muskogee
275.1442.7
SH-16 south
Northern terminus of SH-16
CherokeeHulbert288.4464.1
SH-80 west
Eastern terminus of SH-80
Tahlequah
SH-51 Spur
Southwestern terminus of SH-51 Spur
300.7483.9




US 62 west / SH-10 south / SH-82 south / US 62 Bus. north Muskogee, Vian
Western end of US-62/SH-10/82 concurrency; southern terminus of US BUS 62
303.0487.6


SH-82 north / US 62 Bus. west Locust Grove
Eastern end of SH-82 concurrency; northern terminus of US BUS 62
305.0490.8
SH-10 north Kansas
Eastern end of SH-10 concurrency
Eldon310.7500.0
US 62 east Westville
Eastern end of US-62 concurrency
AdairStilwell324.8522.7
US 59 north Westville
Western end of US-59 concurrency
325.7524.2
US 59 south Sallisaw
Eastern end of US-59 concurrency
332.8535.6
AR 244 to AR 59
Eastern terminus; continuation into Arkansas
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Spurs

Like many in the Oklahoma state highway system, SH-51 has short spurs branching from it that bear the "51" number with a lettered suffix:

  • SH-51A (23 miles [37 km]) runs from SH-58 northeast of Canton to SH-8 near Roman Nose State Park. It is the longest suffixed highway in the system.
  • SH-51B (18 miles [29 km]) connects Coweta to US-69 north of Muskogee. It goes through the towns of Porter and Tullahassee.
  • SH-51C (decommissioned) (1.7 miles [2.7 km]) connected SH-51 west of Stillwater to Carl Blackwell Lake until it was decommissioned in 2005.
  • SH-51D (decommissioned) connected SH-51 south of Sand Springs with I-244 in Tulsa, running along Avery Drive and West 21st Street. It appeared on some ODOT maps as late as the 1970s, but is no longer shown.[9]
  • In 2004, ODOT completed SH-51 Spur, running for 3 miles (4.8 km) as part of a loop through northwest Tahlequah, serving Tahlequah Municipal Airport, and ending at State Highway 82. It is currently the newest Oklahoma state highway.

See also

References

  1. Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Planning & Research Division. "Memorial Dedication & Revision History - SH-51". Retrieved February 19, 2007.
  2. Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 1928 Highway Map.
  3. Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 1935 Highway Map.
  4. Oklahoma Department of Transportation 1937 Highway Map
  5. Oklahoma Highway Commission (March 23, 1943). "Minutes—Dewey & Ellis Counties, Extension of SH #51" (PDF). Retrieved September 5, 2012.
  6. The City of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. "Our History". Archived from the original on April 5, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
  7. Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Planning & Research Division. "Oklahoma's Memorial Highways and Bridges". Retrieved April 11, 2007.
  8. Sutter, John David (March 26, 2008). "One hefty recycling endeavor".
  9. Oklahoma Department of Transportation map, Average Daily Traffic Volume, Tulsa inset, 1977.
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