Oklahoma State Highway 1
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| State Highway 1 | |||||||
| Length: | 208 mi (334.7 km) | ||||||
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| West end: |   U.S. 177/OK-199 between Mannsville and Madill |
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| East end: |  AR-88, Arkansas state line |
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State Highway 1, sometimes abbreviated as OK-1 or SH-1, is a 208-mile[1] long (335 km long) highway maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It travels through the southeastern part of the state, nicknamed Little Dixie. Because Oklahoma uses odd numbers for east and west highways (the opposite of federal highways), OK-1 is signed east and west.
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[edit] Route description
[edit] Madill to Ada
OK-1 eastbound begins at U.S. 177/OK-199 between Mannsville and Madill. It then winds northward to the town of Ravia, and becomes duplexed with OK-7 at through Mill Creek. Highway 7 splits off to the west soon after and OK-1 continues northward to Hickory, Oklahoma and Roff.
In Fitzhugh SH-1 becomes a multilane highway. It then becomes a freeway serving as part of a beltway around Ada. Through Ada it is briefly duplexed with U.S. 377/OK-99.
[edit] Ada to Calvin
After leaving Ada the highway becomes gradually more hilly and curvy, and turns northwest. Between the towns of Allen and Calvin, the road roughly follows the south bank of the Canadian River, though the river is not actually visible from the road.
At Calvin, the road becomes duplexed with U.S. 270 and intersects with U.S. 75.
[edit] Calvin to Talihina
Through some parts of this section of highway, OK-1 signage is omitted in favor of U.S. 270 signs.
Continuing east, the highway passes just north of Stuart, Oklahoma and through Arpelar. It then intersects with the Indian Nation Turnpike just west of the McAlester city limits. Through McAlester, the street is also signed as Carl Albert Parkway.
East of McAlester, the road continues as a four-lane road connecting many small towns east of the city: Krebs, Alderson, Bache, Dow, Haileyville, and Hartshorne.
West of Hartshorne, U.S. 270 splits off from OK-1 and it continues east duplexed with OK-63. For 6 miles (9.6 km), OK-1 and OK-63 are triplexed with State Highway 2. Here, the road continues become even more hilly and curvy as it heads toward the Winding Stair Mountains. From this point forward, the road contains a large number of hairpin turns - some even as drastic as a whole 180-degree curve. At Talihina OK-63 splits off to the south, and U.S. 271 merges on to the highway.
[edit] The Talimena Drive
8 miles (12.8 km) west of Talihina, OK-1 splits off of U.S. 271. This begins the final 26 miles (41 km) of the highway, officially named the Talimena Drive because it runs from Talihina to Mena, Arkansas. This highway, a National Scenic Byway since January 2005, runs through the Ouachita National Forest and the Winding Stair Mountains, and has no shoulders. It features special 'vistas' - parking lots placed off the road at especially scenic parts of the highway. At either end of the Talimena Drive, signs are posted stating that the highway is closed during cold and foggy conditions, and that no snow control is provided.
The Talimena Drive is historically an entrance into Indian Territory from the state of Arkansas. The Oklahoma Choctaw came to these mountain tops in the early 1830s. Stage coach robbers, train robbers and bank robbers all came to hide on these mountain peaks bringing in their horses for much needed breaks. Horse Thief Springs is marked at its vista where one can still rest before continuing down the Drive. The height of the mountain peaks on the Drive causes the oaks and pines to grow so much slower and shorter than the rest of Southeast Oklahoma. On a hot summer day, the winds on the Talimena Drive may be a good 10 degrees cooler than other nearby locations.
OK-1 ends at the Arkansas state line. The roadbed continues on as Highway 88, toward Queen Wilhelmina State Park and the city of Mena, Arkansas.
[edit] Notes
- The current route is at least the third to receive the "1" numbering. In this case the number 1 was assigned due to the scenery along the highway.[2]
