Oklahoma State Highway 74
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| State Highway 74 | |||||
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| Section 1 | |||||
| Length: | 91.5 mi (147.25 km) | ||||
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| South end: |  OK-7 near Tatums |
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| North end: |  Interstate 35 in Goldsby |
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| Section 2 | |||||
| Length: | 52.6 mi (84.65 km) | ||||
| South end: |  Interstate 44 in Bethany |
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| North end: |  State Highway 11 west of Deer Creek |
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Oklahoma State Highways
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State Highway 74, usually abbreviated as SH-74 or OK-74 (or simply Highway 74) is the numbering of two different highways maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. These highways were once a single major north-south route, connecting Oklahoma City to more rural parts of the state. The original road stretched from OK-7 near Tatums, Oklahoma to OK-11 west of Deer Creek.
Due to encroaching Interstate highways - especially Interstate 35 - the middle section of the route through Norman, Moore, and Oklahoma City has been decommissioned for reasons of redundancy. However, some maps show OK-74 as duplexed with I-35, I-240, and I-44, thus linking the two sections.
The north section of the route is 91.5 miles in length, while the southern half is 52.6 miles long. This leads to a total length of 144.1 miles.
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[edit] Route descriptions
[edit] Southern section
From the southern terminus at OK-7, the southern section of OK-74 goes due north to Elmore City, where it intersects with OK-29. After a couple of turns in the Elmore City area, the highway continues due north to Maysville and OK-19. Still continuing northward, the highway meets the southern terminus of State Highway 24, and continues into Purcell.
In Purcell, OK-74 is duplexed with U.S. 77 and OK-39. It finally splits off and begins heading west. From here, the highway becomes more hilly and curvy as it heads toward Washington. The road never actually enters Washington, passing just one mile north of it. However, Washington is accessible via OK-24, which has its northern terminus at OK-74 as well. (Both termini of OK-24 are at OK-74.)
The highway then returns to a due north course after its intersection with OK-24. It goes through the town of Goldsby and then ends at I-35.
[edit] Northern section
The highway's northern section begins at a stack interchange with Interstate 44 in Bethany. The first part of the northern section is a freeway, called the Lake Hefner Parkway because part of it runs along the east shore of Lake Hefner. The freeway, a major part of the Oklahoma Freeway system, serves the eastern part of Edmond. At the Kilpatrick Turnpike, the freeway comes to an end, but Highway 74 continues northward on Portland Avenue.
After leaving Edmond the road shrinks to two lanes, becoming very hilly. Though it is in a rural area, the highway is still fairly busy, and the narrowness of the road combined with the terrain and number of cross streets cause a large number of accidents. (There has been a campaign by some to get ODOT to improve the road, but this has been met with little success.) As the road passes Crescent it becomes less busy.
The road passes through the towns of Covington and Garber, Oklahoma as it continues, again on a due north course. Between Covington and Garber the road intersects with U.S. 412, which can be used to access Enid, just 14 miles to the east.
Twenty miles north of U.S. 412, the highway meets U.S. 60 near Lamont. The two roads share a brief duplex before splitting off again. Eight miles north of this, OK-74 intersects with OK-11 between Deer Creek and Numa, Oklahoma. It is at this intersection that the designation ends.
[edit] Spurs
SH-74 has six spur routes (going up to a suffix of F), the highest number of any state highway in Oklahoma. One of these, OK-74A, no longer connects to the parent highway.
- OK-74A runs along Lindsey Street in Norman, connecting I-35 to U.S. 77. This highway runs straight through the University of Oklahoma campus. It connected to the section of OK-74 which was converted to I-35.
- OK-74B connects OK-74 in Goldsby to OK-76 south of Blanchard. Cole lies along the middle of this hilly spur.
- OK-74C connects OK-74 in Crescent to U.S. 77 north of Guthrie.
- OK-74D connects OK-74 to the unincorporated community of Lovell.
- OK-74E goes from OK-51 north to Marshall, and then it goes east and ends at OK-74.
- OK-74F goes from OK-74 west to Cashion, and then goes north to OK-33.
- Historically, Green Avenue on the north side of Purcell from OK-74 to I-35 was designated OK-74G. However, this designation was removed, and is currently signed as To NORTH I-35.
