Oklahoma State Highway 39

State Highway 39 marker

State Highway 39
Route information
Maintained by ODOT
Length: 68.4 mi[1] (110.1 km)
Existed: ca. 1936[2] – present
Major junctions
West end: US-62 / US-277 / SH-9 east of Chickasha
East end: US-377 / SH-3E / SH-99 east of Konawa
mainline becomes SH-56
Highway system
← SH-38I‑40 →

State Highway 39, abbreviated as SH-39, is a state highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is 68.4 miles (110.1 km) in length. It runs east–west through the central part of the state, beginning at unincorporated Tabler, east of Chickasha, and ending east of Konawa. Along the way, SH-39 serves the counties of Grady, McClain, Cleveland, Pottawatomie, and Seminole. It currently has no lettered spurs.

SH-39 was built in 1923 but not added to the state highway system until approximately 1936. Originally connecting Tabler to Purcell, SH-39 was extended to the east over the next five years, first to Asher and then to Konawa.

Route description

SH-39 shield on SH-24 near their intersection.

The highway begins at the concurrency of U.S. Highway 62 (US-62)/US-277/State Highway 9 (SH-9) near the unincorporated community of Tabler, east of Chickasha. The road begins traveling east from there, intersecting SH-76 ten miles (16 km) later west of Dibble. From Dibble, it continues east, meeting the eastern terminus of SH-59 and intersecting SH-24 in the unincorporated town of Woody Chapel. It then continues east to Purcell.[3]

In Purcell, SH-39 passes under Interstate 35, but does not have a junction with it. The highway soon encounters US-77/SH-74 just east of the interstate. Here, it turns northward and begins an overlap with the two highways through Purcell. SH-74 splits off after a few blocks while SH-39 and US-77 turn eastward and cross over the Canadian River on the James C. Nance Memorial Bridge. After crossing the river, the highways arrive in the town of Lexington and US-77 splits off to the northeast.[3]

SH-39 continues eastward, serving the Lexington prison and overlapping for less than a mile with SH-102. In the town of Asher, the highway intersects SH-3W and SH-59 again. Eleven miles (18 km) later, the highway meets SH-9A in Konawa. The highway ends four miles (6.4 km) east of Konawa at US-377/SH-3E/SH-99. The mainline of the highway becomes SH-56.[3]

History

The road that would become SH-39 was built in 1923,[4] but it was not assigned a state route number until at least late 1936, first appearing on the 1937 state map.[2] Originally, the route's eastern terminus was at US-77 in Purcell.[2] By April 1939, it had been extended eastward to end at Asher.[5] The route first reached its current termini in 1941 (although at the time, SH-99 passed through Konawa).[6] A short gap existed west of Asher in the SH-39 designation between 1946 and 1947;[7] by 1948 this gap had been filled. The final change to SH-39 occurred in 1968 or 1969, when SH-99 was rerouted to bypass Konawa, and SH-39 was extended east of town to end at the present junction.[8] No changes have been made since.

Spurs

SH-39 once had one spur route, SH-39B. It ran along what is now May Avenue from SH-39's junction with SH-59 to SH-74B east of Cole, Oklahoma.[9]

Junction list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmDestinationsNotes
GradyTabler0.00.0 US-62 / US-277 / SH-9Western terminus
McClainDibble9.615.4 SH-76
 14.924.0 SH-59Western terminus of SH-59
Woody Chapel18.930.4 SH-24
Purcell26.342.3 US-77 / SH-74Southern terminus of US-77/SH-74 concurrency
27.444.1 SH-74Northern terminus of SH-74 concurrency
ClevelandLexington28.746.2 US-77Eastern terminus of US-77 concurrency
Pottawatomie 46.975.5 SH-102Western terminus of SH-102 concurrency
 47.175.8 SH-102Eastern terminus of SH-102 concurrency
Asher53.085.3 US-177 / SH-3W / SH-59
SeminoleKonawa63.4102.0 SH-9ASouthern terminus of SH-9A
 68.4110.1 US-377 / SH-3E / SH-99Eastern terminus
 68.4110.1 SH-56 continues east
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Google (January 25, 2013). "Oklahoma State Highway 39" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Map Showing Condition of the State Highway System and Landing Fields (PDF) (Map) (April 1937 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Official State Map (PDF) (Map) (2011–12 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  4. ↑ Burns, Hoyt. Early History of the Town of Washington, Oklahoma. Del City, Oklahoma: Del City Publishing Co., Inc.
  5. ↑ Map Showing Condition of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (April 1939 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
  6. ↑ Map Showing Condition of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (January 1942 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
  7. ↑ (Untitled 1947 state map) (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
  8. ↑ Oklahoma (PDF) (Map) (1969 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
  9. ↑ Map of McClain County. Date unknown. Washington High School library. Referenced February 13, 2006 (UTC).

External links

Route map: Bing