Oklahoma State Highway 9
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| State Highway 9 | |||||||
| Length: | 350 mi (563.3 km) | ||||||
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| West end: |  TX-203, Texas state line |
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| East end: |  Interstate 540, Arkansas state line |
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State Highway 9, abbreviated as OK-9, SH-9, or simply Highway 9, is a major east-west highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It stretches across the central part of the state, from the Texas state line near Madge, Oklahoma to the Arkansas state line near Fort Smith, Arkansas. It is a major highway around the Norman area and, at 350 miles (563.3 km), Oklahoma's second-longest state highway (being dwarfed only by State Highway 3).
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[edit] Route description
[edit] West of I-35
From its western terminus at State Highway 203 along the Texas border, the highway travels due east for five miles, intersecting with OK-30 between Madge and Vinson. It continues east for 23 miles without intersecting another highway again until meeting U.S. 283/OK-34 two miles north of Mangum. It is triplexed with the other two routes for four miles going north before splitting off and heading east again through Granite and Lone Wolf. Near Hobart it duplexes with U.S. 183 for four miles (again going northward) before splitting off again.
The highway continues east through Gotebo, Moutain View, and Carnegie. Around Fort Cobb, Oklahoma it begins nine miles of travel to the south. There it links up with the duplexed U.S. Highways 62 and 281. While U.S. 281 will split off in Anadarko, OK-9 and U.S. 62 remain duplexed until Newcastle. In Chickasha, U.S. 277 joins to form another triplex with 62 and OK-9.
From Chickasha, the routes go northeast to the town of Blanchard. Four miles later, OK-9 splits away from the two U.S. routes, all alone until Goldsby. The section of road, recently upgraded to a four-lane divided highway, provides and important link from the H.E. Bailey Turnpike Spur to Interstate 35. At the interstate, OK-9 merges onto I-35 Northbound to cross the Canadian River into Norman.
[edit] East of I-35
Through Norman, Highway 9 serves as a major artery providing access to the University of Oklahoma campus (in particular, the Lloyd Noble Center). Through this area the road is a four-lane divided highway (with surface crossings and stoplights). However, after a full interchange with U.S. 77 the road suddenly becomes a two lane highway again. This section is often the site of accidents involving speeding and road rage.
The road continues eastward, passing Lake Thunderbird and the Little River Zoo, before reaching the towns of Tecumseh and Seminole. It intersects the Indian Nation Turnpike near Hanna and U.S. 69 near Eufaula. It provides access to the south side of Lake Eufaula before reaching Stigler.
SH-9 is duplexed with U.S. 59 for five miles, after which the road becomes duplexed with U.S. 271. These two roads remain joined until OK-9 ends at the Arkansas border. After this, the mainline becomes I-540.
[edit] Spurs
Along its length SH-9 creates a number of spur highways:
- Business OK-9 is a three mile loop through Hobart.
- Another instance of Business OK-9 loops through Gotebo. (This is not shown on the state highway map.)
- OK-9A is a designation for three distinct highways:
