U.S. Route 59 in Oklahoma

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U.S. Highway 59
Maintained by ODOT
Length: 216.47 mi[1] (348.37 km)
South end: U.S. 59/U.S. 270 in Fogel
North end: U.S. 59 north of Miami
Oklahoma State Highways
< SH-58 SH-59 >

In the U.S. state of Oklahoma, U.S. Highway 59 heads along the eastern portion of the state. US-59's 216.47 miles (348.37 km) route through Oklahoma takes it through the mountainous terrain of the eastern Oklahoma Ouachitas and Ozarks. Route 59 serves several lakes and towns through Oklahoma's Green Country, including Grand Lake, a major recreation center. The route enters the state from Arkansas near Fogel, Arkansas, and ends at the Kansas state line south of Chetopa, Kansas.

Contents

[edit] Route description

Route 59 enters Oklahoma at the state line in Fogel along with U.S. Highway 270.[2] The two routes head westward, passing to the south of Round Top Mountain. The two routes pass through Page and intersect with the terminus of US-259. Routes 59 and 270 curve around to the north and pass through Zoe and Stapp, two small hamlets north of Round Top. With Round Top Mountain behind, Routes 59 and 270 head into Hodgen.[2]

Just north of Hodgen is where Routes 59 and 270 intersect with a short spur of Route 59, 59 Scenic. The scenic route merges in before entering Heavener, where SH-128 parallels and terminates. Just north of the town, Routes 59 and 270 split at a fork. Route 59 parallels a railroad and passes Heavener Memorial Cemetery before intersecting with a former routing. The highway turns to the northwest and intersects with SH-83 in Howe.[2]

Route 59 heads northward, interchanging with US-271 just north of the Choctaw Country Club. Route 271 becomes concurrent with Route 59 just east of Poteau. Routes 59 and 271 intersect with the southern terminus of SH-112. The two concurrent roads head north through several towns, intersecting with SH-31 in Coal Creek. At Sunset corner, Route 59 turns to the west and Route 271 turns to the east, ending the concurrency. Just west of the line, Route 59 crosses a branch of Robert Kerr Reservoir.[2]

Route 59 passes to the north of the reservoir and intersects with SH-141 in Brent. Route 59 continues northward, interchanging with Interstate 40 at Exit 308. In Sallisaw, Route 59 becomes concurrent for a short distance with US-64. Route 59 continues north for a while, passing farmlands and various towns. In Stilwell, Route 59 intersects with SH-100's eastern terminus. SH-51 becomes concurrent soon after, following US-59 until a minor change as the roads leave Stilwell.[2]

Route 59 leaves Stilwell and begins to curve in different directions for the next several miles. About 12 miles north of Stilwell, the highway enters Westville and intersects with US-62. Route 59 heads northward, passing close to the Arkansas border near Lake Francis. Route 59 enters West Siloam Springs and becomes concurrent with US-412. The two roads head westward through West Siloam Springs and intersects with the Cherokee Turnpike several miles later. 59 and 412 split here, however, US-412 Scenic becomes concurrent with 59.[2]

The two highways enter Kansas, Oklahoma and split in different directions. Route 59 heads northward and interchanges with US-412 again. Route 59 intersects with State Highway 116 in Delaware County as it heads northward. The highway crosses Eucha Lake on a bridge and intersects with SH-20, which becomes concurrent. Routes 20 and 59 enter Jay, where SH-127 and SH-20 both intersect or leave US-59. Route 59 leaves Jay and heads northward towards the Kansas state line.[2]

Routes 59 and 10 in Welch
Routes 59 and 10 in Welch

Just north of Jay, Route 59 crosses over the Grand Lake o' the Cherokees and enters Grove. There, SH-10 becomes concurrent. Routes 10 and 59 head northward, crossing the lake once again and enters Afton. In Afton, US-60 and US-69 become concurrent. Route 60 quickly turns off at an interchange with Interstate 44. Routes 59 and 69 continue northward, parallelling Interstate 44. Routes 59, 10 and 69 split in Dotyville, with Route 59 continuing alone to the west.[2]

Route 59 makes several different turns and intersects with SH-10 and SH-2 in Welch. Route 59 continues northward along its final stretch, crossing the state line at 216 miles and entering the state of Kansas.[2]

[edit] History

[edit] Origin

Parts of U.S. Highway 59 originated as: State Highway 5 from Hot Springs to Broken Bow, State Highway 21 from Broken Bow to Panama, State Highway 3 from Panama to Fort Smith,State Highway 1 from Fort Smith to Salisaw, State Highway 17 from Salisaw to Siloam Springs, State Highway 11 from Siloam Springs to Kansas, State Highway 10 from Kansas to Grove, State Highway 25 from Grove to Vinita, and State Highway 6 from Vinita to Kansas line.[3] By 1932, the U.S. Highway system had come into effect and U.S. Routes 66, 62, 64, 270, 271 now also made up what is now Route 59.[4] Route 59 was assigned between 1934, mostly following its current route.[5] Route 59 originally went due north through Vinita to Welch, bypassing Ottawa County entirely.[6] Between October 1950 and January 1951, Route 59 was aligned to concur with U.S. Highway 66/69 beginning northeast of Afton towards Miami.[7][8] The old highway between Vinita and Welch became the northern State Highway 2.

[edit] Junction list

County Location Mile[9] Roads intersected Notes
LeFlore   0.0 US-59/270 Arkansas state line
  8.5 US-259 Northern terminus of US-259
Heavener 23.7 US-270  
28.2 SH-128 Western terminus of SH-128
Howe 30.8 SH-83  
Poteau 34.5 US-271  
  39.4 SH-112  
  46.9 SH-31 Eastern terminus of SH-31
Stony Point 50.1 US-271/SH-9  
  55.6 SH-9  
Sequoyah Sallisaw 70.5 I-40  
71.3 US-64  
72.5 US-64  
  75.8 SH-101 Western terminus of SH-101
Adair   100.0 SH-100  
  100.6 SH-100  
Stilwell 101.9 SH-51  
102.8 SH-51  
Westville 114.7 US-62  
Delaware West Siloam Springs 128.9 US-412  
  137.3 US-412/US-412 Scenic/Cherokee Turnpike Eastern terminus of US-412 Scenic and the Cherokee Turnpike, US-412 follows the Cherokee Turnpike while US-59 follows US-412 Scenic
Kansas 141.3 US-412 Scenic/SH-10  
141.9 US-412/Cherokee Turnpike Diamond interchange
  145.6 SH-116  
Jay 158.6 SH-20  
160.7 SH-127 Southern terminus of SH-127
160.8 SH-20  
  160.7 SH-127 Northern terminus of SH-127
Grove 172.8 SH-10  
Ottawa   181.1 SH-125  
Afton 186.6 US-60/69  
  187.5 I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike/US-60 I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike does not concur with US-59
Narcissa 193.2 SH-25 Eastern terminus of SH-25
  197.5 US-69/SH-10  
Craig Welch 209.3 SH-2/SH-10 Northern terminus of SH-2
  216.5 US-59 Kansas state line

[edit] References

  1. ^ Oklahoma Department of Transportation. State Highway System: Log of U.S. Highway 59. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Google Maps. Overview map of US-59 [map]. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  3. ^ Oklahoma State Highway Department. Oklahoma State Highway System [map], 1925 edition. Retrieved on 2008-03-13.
  4. ^ Oklahoma Department of Highways. Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System [map], June 1932 edition. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  5. ^ Oklahoma Department of Highways. Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System [map], April 1937 edition. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  6. ^ Oklahoma Department of Highways. Map of Oklahoma's State Highway System [map], 1948 edition. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  7. ^ Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Planning & Research Division. Memorial Dedication & Revision History - US-59. Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  8. ^ Oklahoma Department of Highways. Highways of Oklahoma [map]. (1954) Retrieved on 2008-03-22.
  9. ^ Stuve, Eric. U.S. 59. OKHighways. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.