Oklahoma State Highway 3

State Highway 3
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length:	616.5 mi (992.2 km)
Existed:	1939 – present
Major junctions
West end:	Colorado state line (concurrent with US-287/385)
East end:	AR-32 at the Arkansas state line
Highway system
Oklahoma State Highways Oklahoma turnpike system ← SH-2 SH-4 →

State Highway 3, also abbreviated as SH-3 or OK-3, is a highway maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Traveling diagonally through Oklahoma, from the Panhandle to the far southeastern corner of the state, SH-3 is the longest state highway in the Oklahoma road system, at a total length of 616.5 mi^[1] (992 km) via SH-3E (see below).

Contents 1 Route description 1.1 In the northwest 1.2 Through Oklahoma City 1.3 SH-3E/3W split 1.4 Ada to Atoka 1.5 Antlers to Arkansas 2 History 3 Notes 4 SH-3A 5 Junction list 5.1 Colorado to Shawnee 5.2 SH-3E 5.3 SH-3W 5.4 Ada to Arkansas 6 References 7 External links

Route description

In the northwest

Highway 3 begins at the Colorado state line 19 mi (31 km) north of Boise City, Oklahoma. At this terminus, it is concurrent with US-287/US-385. It remains concurrent with the two U.S. Routes until reaching Boise City, where it encounters a traffic circle which contains five other highways. After the circle, US-385 splits off, and SH-3 overlaps US-287, US-56, US-64, and US-412, though US-56 and US-287 both split off within the next eight miles (13 km).

In Guymon, US-64 splits off. At Elmwood, US-270 joins US-412, coming from a concurrency with State Highway 23. SH-3 remains concurrent with US-270 through Watonga. In Seiling, US-183 leaves the concurrency but is quickly replaced by U.S. Highway 281. SH-33 joins the roadbed twenty miles (32 km) later.

In Watonga, SH-33 and SH-3 split off from US-270 and US-281. Highways 3 and 33 remain concurrent for 28 more miles, until Kingfisher, where SH-3 joins U.S. Highway 81. It will stay concurrent with US-81 for 13 miles (21 km), through the town of Okarche. Three miles after Okarche, SH-3 leaves US-81. This marks the first point that SH-3 has not been part of a concurrency.

Through Oklahoma City

Beginning at the split from US-81, Highway 3 becomes a major artery in the Oklahoma City highway system, commonly known as the Northwest Expressway because it is a diagonal route and because it serves the northwestern part of the metro area. It skirts the northern limits of El Reno before entering the Oklahoma City limits. The often-congested Northwest Expressway passes through the suburb of Warr Acres and passes close to Lake Hefner.

At the intersection with the Lake Hefner Parkway, SH-3 again re-enters a concurrency. The Lake Hefner Parkway ends very shortly after, and SH-3 becomes concurrent with Interstate 44 through the western side of the city. Near Will Rogers World Airport, Highway 3 transfers to I-240 along the southern side of the city. After I-240 ends, SH-3 is transferred onto I-40 (also carrying US-270), which it remains concurrent with for 16 miles (26 km).

SH-3E/3W split

In Shawnee, SH-3 splits into two highways, SH-3E and SH-3W. SH-3W splits off I-40 onto U.S. Highway 177, along with US-270, at I-40 milemarker 181. It continues along with US-270 and 177 through the west side of Shawnee, and continues south of that city until Tecumseh, where US-270 splits off. South of Asher, Oklahoma, SH-3W leaves US-177 and veers southeast toward Ada.

SH-3E, the longer of the two split routes, was the original routing of Highway 3 before the two highways were split. It remains on I-40 for five miles (8 km) after SH-3W splits off. When it does split off, it soon joins SH-18. It follows a route closer to the center of Shawnee. After leaving Shawnee, it heads southeast toward Seminole. Here, it meets US-377/SH-99. SH-3E merges onto this highway, and they will remain concurrent until after they reach Ada.

In Ada, SH-3E and SH-3W are reunited and become SH-3 once again.

Ada to Atoka

SH-3 then becomes part of the Richardson Loop, a freeway around the west and south sides of Ada. Throughout the Richardson Loop, it overlaps SH-1 and US-377/SH-99 at different times. The highway then becomes two-lane once again and heads southeast to the town of Coalgate, where begins an 18-mile (29 km) concurrency with U.S. Highway 75, lasting through Atoka. In Atoka, US-75 splits off to join U.S. Highway 69.

Antlers to Arkansas

Two miles west of Antlers, the highway has an interchange with the Indian Nation Turnpike, and in Antlers it intersects U.S. Highway 271. After reaching the town of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, it turns southward and overlaps US-259 and US-70.

Near Idabel, the highway splits off after being with US-259 for 13 mi (21 km). Twenty-eight miles later, it becomes Highway 32 as it crosses the state line into Arkansas.

History

The current SH-3 was designated on 15 May 1939. The original highway included all of current SH-3 up to Antlers, where it terminated at US-271. It was extended to the Arkansas state line on 4 August 1952. SH-3 ended there concurrent with US-70 and SH-7, near DeQueen, Arkansas. On 7 January 1963, the highway was given its own alignment from near Idabel to Arkansas, taking over that of SH-21, which was eliminated at that time.

From the highway's commissioning to 1976, there was only one fork of SH-3 between Shawnee and Ada, which was the path of current SH-3E. SH-3W and SH-3E were created on 4 October 1976; the new SH-3W took over all of SH-13. Other than minor realignments, the highway remains essentially the same today.^[2]

In the early 1980s, Governor George Nigh was able to obtain $97.1 million to upgrade the highway between Oklahoma City and Colorado, despite opponents labeling the project "the highway to nowhere".^[3] House Concurrent Resolution 1067 labeled the highway as "Governor George Nigh's Northwest Passage." ODOT officially named the highway on 2 February 1981.^[4]

Notes

• SH-3's concurrency with Interstate 44 in Oklahoma City is an example of a wrong-way concurrency - I-44 West is SH-3 East and vice-versa.
• SH-3's concurrency with US-70 is also a wrong-way concurrency, as US-70 is signed as going west and SH-3 as going east.
• The SH-3 bypass around Atoka is named the Cecil B. "Bud" Greathouse Bypass. It was designated by ODOT on 4 October 1982.^[5]

SH-3A

SH-3 had one lettered spur, SH-3A, which continued the alignment of the Northwest Expressway for two more miles before ending at Interstate 44 near Penn Square Mall. It was originally known as SH-66A, a spur off U.S. Highway 66, which once ran through the area. The combined effect of US-66 being decommissioned and "3A" being a more logical name for an extension of Highway 3 led to the name change. State Highway 3A was decommissioned in 2009.

Junction list

Colorado to Shawnee

County	Location	Mile[1]	Destinations	Notes
Cimarron		0.0	US-287/385	Colorado state line, western terminus
	Boise City	18.7	Boise City traffic circle (various highways)
		20.5	US-287
		26.5	US-56
		34.1	SH-171
Texas	Four Corners	53.0	SH-95
		58.0	SH-95
		76.4	SH-136
	Guymon	80.5	US-64
		81.3	US-54
		81.7	US-54/SH-136
		96.2	SH-94	Southern terminus of SH-94
Beaver	Bryan's Corner	119.4	US-83
	Elmwood	136.3	US-270/SH-23	SH-23 does not concur
Harper		171.5	US-283
	May	179.6	SH-48
Ellis	No major junctions
Woodward	Fort Supply	189.2	US-183
	Woodward	203.0	SH-15	Eastern terminus of SH-15
		205.1	US-412/SH-34
		208.8	SH-34
		217.9	SH-50
Dewey		236.3	US-183
	Seiling	238.5	US-60/281
		239.1	US-60/SH-51
	Hucmac	247.5	US-60/SH-51
Blaine		267.4	SH-33/58	Southern terminus of SH-58
	Watonga	276.9	US-270/281/SH-8	SH-8 does not run concurrent with SH-3
Kingfisher	Kingfisher	304.6	US-81/SH-33
Canadian		316.7	US-81	Trumpet interchange
	Oklahoma City	330.4	SH-4
		334.0[6]	Kilpatrick Turnpike	Diamond interchange
Oklahoma		341.3	SH-74/SH-3A	Diamond interchange, western terminus of SH-3A
		342.9	I-44/SH-66/74	Stack interchange, southern terminus of SH-74, SH-66 does not concur with SH-3
		346.9	I-40/US-270
		349.2	SH-152	Eastern terminus of SH-152
		351.4	I-44/240/US-62	SH-3 joins I-240 at its western terminus
		355.9	I-35/US-62/77	I-35/US-77 do not run concurrent with SH-3
		359.8	SH-77H	Northern terminus of SH-77H
		368.1	I-40/240/US-270	Eastern terminus of I-240
Pottawatomie	McLoud	379.6	SH-102
	Dale	381.3	SH-102
	Shawnee	384.2	US-177/270/SH-3W	Road separates into SH-3W and SH-3E. SH-3W leaves I-40 here while SH-3E continues along the interstate.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

SH-3E

County	Location	Mile[1]	Destinations	Notes
Pottawatomie	Shawnee	388.3	I-40
		391.0	SH-18
		393.0	SH-18
		399.0	SH-9A
		400.2	SH-99A	Western terminus of SH-99A
Seminole	Seminole	407.9	US-270/SH-9	SH-9 does not concur with SH-3E
		410.3	US-270/377/SH-99
		412.7	SH-59
	Bowlegs	415.5	SH-59
		430.0	SH-39/SH-56	Eastern terminus of SH-39, western terminus of SH-56
Pontotoc	Ada	440.8	US-377/SH-1/99
		442.6	SH-3W/SH-19	SH-3E merges with SH-3W to form SH-3; interchange, eastern terminus of SH-19.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

SH-3W

County	Location	Mile[7]	Destinations	Notes
Pottawatomie	Shawnee	388.7	BUS US-270
		390.2	SH-18	Southern terminus of SH-18
	Tecumseh	394.6	US-270/SH-9	SH-9 does not run concurrent with SH-3W
	Chisney	402.7	SH-59B	Eastern terminus of SH-59B
	Pearson	407.7	SH-59
	Asher	413.8	SH-39
McClain		416.5	US-177/SH-59
Pontotoc		422.4	SH-59A	Eastern terminus of SH-59A
		433.5	SH-19
	Ada	434.8	SH-1/3/19	SH-3W merges with SH-3E to form SH-3; interchange, eastern terminus of SH-19.
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Ada to Arkansas

Note: mileage follows the SH-3E branch.

County	Location	Mile[1]	Destinations	Notes
Pontotoc	Ada	443.3	SH-1	Interchange
		446.5	US-377/SH-99	Interchange
	Ahloso	448.2	US-377/SH-99
Coal	Tupelo	463.5	SH-48
		473.1	US-75
	Coalgate	476.8	SH-31
		476.9	SH-31
		477.4	SH-43	Western terminus of SH-43
Atoka	Atoka	490.2	US-69
		490.7	US-69/75
Pushmataha	Antlers	521.1	Indian Nation Turnpike	Interchange
		521.8	SH-2	Southern terminus of SH-2
		522.8	US-271
		523.8	US-271
	Rattan	535.5	SH-93	Northern terminus of SH-93
	Oleta	539.6	SH-147	Northern terminus of SH-147
McCurtain		567.3	SH-98	Northern terminus of SH-98
	Broken Bow	578.4	US-70/259
	Idabel	588.1	US-70/259
		616.5	Hwy. 32	Arkansas state line, eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

External links

• SH-3 at OKHighways.com
• SH-3E at OKHighways.com
• SH-3W at OKHighways.com
• SH-3 at Roadklahoma