| State Highway 63 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ODOT | ||||
| Length: | 96.7 mi (155.6 km) | |||
| Existed: | November 6, 1935[1] – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: | US-69 in Kiowa | |||
| East end: | AR-8 at the Arkansas state line | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Oklahoma State Highways
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State Highway 63 (abbreviated SH-63) is a 96.7 mile (155.6 km)[2] state highway in southeastern Oklahoma. It runs from U.S. Highway 69 in Kiowa to the Arkansas state line. SH-1 forms a concurrency with SH-63 for 37.8 miles (60.8 km), nearly forty percent of the highway's length.[2] SH-63 has one spur route, designated as SH-63A.
SH-63 was added to the state highway system on November 6, 1935 as a short link highway between Talihina and SH-2. The highway was gradually extended to its present length between then and 1960. When the current incarnation of SH-1 was established, the middle of SH-63 was turned over to the new highway, leaving SH-63 in two separate parts. The two sections were connected via a concurrency in the early 1980s.
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SH-63 heads northeast from Kiowa, passing through Pittsburg and crossing under the Indian Nation Turnpike near Blanco. In Haileyville, it meets US-270/SH-1 and begins a concurrency with them. After passing through Hartshorne, US-270 splits off. Seven miles (11 km) later, the highways pass through unincorporated Higgins, then continues east for 9 miles (14 km), where they meets State Highway 2 and the two highways concur with it.[3]
The SH-1/2/63 concurrency heads south for six miles (10 km).[3] West of Buffalo Valley, SH-2 splits off to the south as SH-1/63 head east. In Talihina, the highways meet US-271, which SH-1 joins. SH-63 heads east alone, passing through Whitesboro and Muse. In Big Cedar, it crosses U.S. Highway 259. It then enters Ouachita National Forest and ends at the state line. Arkansas Highway 8 continues on to Mena.
State Highway 63 was first established on November 6, 1935 as a connection between SH-2 and US-271 in Talihina.[1] On April 1, 1936, the highway was extended east to end at the Arkansas state line.[1][4] This remained the highway's extent for the remainder of the 1930s and the 1940s.
The highway was extended west for the first time on August 4, 1952, when SH-63's western terminus was set at US-270 near Hartshorne.[1] The highway was extended further west on January 29, 1960, bringing it to US-69 in Kiowa.[1] The SH-63 of 1960 had the same basic route as that of the present day.[5] Minor realignments to the highway occurred on September 6, 1962 northwest of the northern SH-2 junction, and through Haileyville and Hartshorne on August 3, 1964.[1]
The current State Highway 1 was designated on February 5, 1968.[1] The portion of highway between Haileyville and Talihina was made solely part of SH-1. This left SH-63 in two discontinuous sections, one between Kiowa and Haileyville and one from Talihina to the Arkansas line.[6] This situation would persist for fifteen years. On July 7, 1983, SH-63 was restored between the two segments, forming the SH-1/63 concurrency.[1] No further changes have occurred to the highway since.
| County | Location | Mile[2] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pittsburg |
Kiowa | 0.0 | US-69 | Western terminus |
| Haileyville | 21.9 | US-270 / SH-1 | Western end of US-270/SH-1 concurrency | |
| Hartshorne | 24.6 | US-270 | Eastern end of US-270 concurrency | |
| Latimer |
39.9 | SH-2 | Northern end of SH-2 concurrency | |
| 46.0 | SH-2 | Southern end of SH-2 concurrency | ||
| 57.9 | SH-63A | Southern terminus of SH-63A | ||
| Le Flore |
Talihina | 59.2 | SH-82 | Southern terminus of SH-82 |
| 59.7 | SH-1 | Eastern end of SH-1 concurrency | ||
| Big Cedar | 85.4 | US-271 | ||
| 96.7 | Hwy. 8 | Eastern terminus, Arkansas state line | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/Former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
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SH-63 has one lettered spur, SH-63A. SH-63A begins at SH-1/63 two miles (3 km) west of Talihina. It heads north for ¼ mile before forking into two separate highways. The west fork goes to the Choctaw Nation hospital, while the east fork goes to the Oklahoma Veterans Center.[7] The west fork is exactly 1.00 mile (1.61 km) long, and the southern and eastern forks together are 1.40 miles (2.25 km), for a total combined length of 2.40 miles (3.86 km).[8]
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