Interstate from OKC to Denver?

[Kerry]

Yes, count on someone who will spend money we don't have!

That is the big problem. We are broke and can't afford it.

[BG918]

Don't count on Coburn or Inhofe, that's for sure.

Exactly why it won't happen until another Sen. Kerr (who helped connect Oklahoma to the Gulf), Gov. Nigh (who originally proposed the 'Northwest Passage') or someone visionary takes office. We have not had a major statewide project in decades. Though I think upgrading US 75/69 between Dallas and Tulsa would be a higher priority.

[earlywinegareth]

"In the early 1980s, Governor George Nigh was able to obtain $97.1 million to upgrade the highway between Oklahoma City and Colorado..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_State_Highway_3

Building an interstate would be incredibly expensive, and there's really not enuf traffic to make it viable.

[hipsterdoofus]

Building an interstate would be incredibly expensive, and there's really not enuf traffic to make it viable.

Precisely! I don't disagree that it would be nice for those of us who may want to make a run to the Denver area for vacation, but I don't think that would ever justify it.... Dreaming about how it would be nice is one thing, griping at people for not doing it is another.

[swilki]

That is the big problem. We are broke and can't afford it.

not trying to justify constructing this highway, because we are indeed broke. But isn't Oklahoma considered a donor state with regards to federal highway tax dollars??? We really need to get that money back in the state to fix all our current problems with our highways.

[SoonerDave]

You are right SoonerDave - having driven from OKC to Florida many times we usually have to use 2 lane divided roads to get from I-10 to I-20. There is very little connecting I-20 to I-40. We used the I-22 route last year and it was a huge time saver but we started in Atlanta. If we had to start here in Jax we wouldn't be able to use it. It would be nice if I-85 went from Montgomery, AL to Tallahassee, FL.

I've driven the I-20/I-75 route to Florida through Atlanta three times in the last decade, and each time Atlanta was a little worse than the time before. Each time, I swore I wouldn't go through Atlanta again, and every time I've made that promise, I look at the alternatives coming out of Birmingham, AL and discover there really aren't any - and back through Atlanta I go! Arrgh! Just not crazy about trekking through relatively rural stretches of state highway or older US highway in the deep south with an out-of-state tag and get tagged in a speed trap. I've come across some real nightmare stories that some of those small towns tag out-of-staters with tickets on the order of several hundred dollars, set up tiny stretches of road with a dropped, unmarked speed limit and just start cherry picking drivers. No thanks.

Sorry, that's a topic drift, but the absence of a reliable, full interstate from Birmingham to I-10 or at least the Valdosta area is just kinda startling..

[Kerry]

I've driven the I-20/I-75 route to Florida through Atlanta three times in the last decade, and each time Atlanta was a little worse than the time before. Each time, I swore I wouldn't go through Atlanta again, and every time I've made that promise, I look at the alternatives coming out of Birmingham, AL and discover there really aren't any - and back through Atlanta I go! Arrgh! Just not crazy about trekking through relatively rural stretches of state highway or older US highway in the deep south with an out-of-state tag and get tagged in a speed trap. I've come across some real nightmare stories that some of those small towns tag out-of-staters with tickets on the order of several hundred dollars, set up tiny stretches of road with a dropped, unmarked speed limit and just start cherry picking drivers. No thanks.

Sorry, that's a topic drift, but the absence of a reliable, full interstate from Birmingham to I-10 or at least the Valdosta area is just kinda startling..

You have probably seen My Cousin Venny too many times. We tried going south out of Birmingham one time to Montgomery and then down to Dothan and Tallahassee. Montgomery was the scariest part of the trip. The main problem is that takes soooooo looooooong. You have to slow down for every town. Twice I have taken back roads to try and make a short cut and the first time I got stuck behind a logging truck for 20 miles with no way to pass and the second time I had to go 45 mph behind a pickup loaded with rolls of hay for half an hour.

[kevinpate]

Kerry, on the many many trips I and coworkers used to make to McAlester, we'd call those DB's, our designated blockers.

[Larry OKC]

not trying to justify constructing this highway, because we are indeed broke. But isn't Oklahoma considered a donor state with regards to federal highway tax dollars??? We really need to get that money back in the state to fix all our current problems with our highways.

That certainly used to be the case, but seem to recall reading somewhere that we turned the corner on that and now getting more than we are putting in. Of course that doesn't make up for the decades where we were a donor state.

[KayneMo]

How come George Nigh's Northwest Passage never came to be?

[Snowman]

How come George Nigh's Northwest Passage never came to be?

he was only able to get around a 100 million (todays value $256,997,557.66 accounting for inflation) but it was used to upgrade state highway 3, just not to interstate standards.

[KayneMo]

If there were an interstate built between Denver and Oklahoma City, do you think people traveling between the 2 states would increase? How would the economies be affected also?

[Kerry]

I don't know about to and from Denver, but Pueblo to Shreveport (via OKC and Texarkana) would make sense.

[Bill Robertson]

That's a whole lot of money to be spent on a road that goes through the middle of nowhere. There's a whole lot of nothing between OKC and Denver..might be the worst stretch of that in America if they built such a road. Seems like there would be more efficient uses of the money.

I thought that was the idea of an interstate. To quickly get you through the "nothing" to where you want to end up.

[Bill Robertson]

Being selfish I would love to see such a road. I'm a Cardinals fan and we travel to St Louis a couple of times a year. It's nice to have a straight shot there. I'm also an Avalanche fan and being able to do the same to Denver would be great.

[kevinpate]

... Pueblo to Shreveport (via OKC and Texarkana) would make sense.

Where's the freakin' Like button when ya need one?

[Jesseda]

i would love to seea interstate from dever to shreveport (middle okc. i would probably do a road trip to denver if we had that road, also it might help out with the n.w part of oklahoma.. new jobs like gas stations, restaurants along the interstate.. I wish this could be in the idea- planning box for development

[HOT ROD]

plus it could help revitalize NW Oklahoma and W Kansas. Maybe it should be a toll road all the way, like I-95 from Baltimore-NY.

Imagine seeing the freeway signs, DENVER (and Denver 600) from OKC and Denver people seeing OKLA CITY (and Okla City 600). .... Long drive, my man.

[Snowman]

plus it could help revitalize NW Oklahoma and W Kansas. Maybe it should be a toll road all the way, like I-95 from Baltimore-NY.

Imagine seeing the freeway signs, DENVER (and Denver 600) from OKC and Denver people seeing OKLA CITY (and Okla City 600). .... Long drive, my man.

If one was made it probably would tie into i25 near Pueblo since then you are picking up the most cities without interstate quality roads between the two off highway 50 in Colorado and Kansas, it would almost certainly be a toll road given the federal highway budget is overwhelmed trying to maintaining the current system.

[HOT ROD]

Im ok with that, snowman. But I doubt the 3 states would go for it at this time.

[Spartan]

How come George Nigh's Northwest Passage never came to be?

Because it's a passage to nowhere.

[Video Expert]

Your best case scenario would be this- Eventually, there are plans already in the works long range to extend I-49 from Shreveport to Kansas City through Texarkana along the US 71 corridor. So, that would take care of the Shreveport to Texarkana leg. Then, there would need to be a four lane built from Texarkana NW to to Hugo. I would unfortunately have to call this the "Pipe Dream Expressway". If we were able to somehow get this built, one would most likely be forced to take the Indian Nation to Henryetta...unless SH 3 is eventually upgraded totally to four lane status to Shawnee. From there, I-40 is the ticket to Amarillo, where you could see US 287 upgraded North to Limon, where the existing I-70 would serve as the last leg. This route has already been studied by the State of Texas for commercial travel between Texas and Denver. The alternate route over to Pueblo is also a possibility. Left out would be any interstate through NW OK though, in my opinion. Not enough population or traffic to justify a totally new road where Woodward is your only decent size city, unless that pesky OTA gets close to their bond due date. At that point, anything is possible. The last thing they will ever do is let those bonds expire (in 2028 I believe), where by state law, all our toll roads then become free. The Turner makes way too much money for them to ever let that happen.

[HOT ROD]

Maybe many wont like this idea, but maybe we should make I-49 go up through Tulsa, then let Kansas extend it to Kansas city? We already have the Interstate Road already built - just maybe as Turnpike, we could just connect to Texark then sign it as I-49 thru Tulsa then on up through Bartlesville then hand it off to Kansas.

We could still/later work on the NW passage from OKC to Colorado as a separate deal - everyone wins; Tulsa finally gets an Interstate Freeway to a major city besides OKC and OKC could 'complete' it's crossroads position.

[soonerliberal]

There simply isn't the demand. You can drive from Boise City to Guymon and only see 30 cars come by on the opposite direction.

[BG918]

Maybe many wont like this idea, but maybe we should make I-49 go up through Tulsa, then let Kansas extend it to Kansas city? We already have the Interstate Road already built - just maybe as Turnpike, we could just connect to Texark then sign it as I-49 thru Tulsa then on up through Bartlesville then hand it off to Kansas.

We could still/later work on the NW passage from OKC to Colorado as a separate deal - everyone wins; Tulsa finally gets an Interstate Freeway to a major city besides OKC and OKC could 'complete' it's crossroads position.

This has been discussed before. There is a long-range plan for I-45 from Houston to Dallas to follow the US 75 corridor north of Dallas into Oklahoma. That would eventually connect to Tulsa bypassing the small towns and then eventually either joining US 71 or continuing along the 75 or 169 alignment to Kansas City. The state hasn't done anything though so I don't see this happening anytime soon. That will happen before an interstate is built to Denver.

I-49 through Arkansas will not happen for a long time either. Building an interstate through the mountains would be extremely expensive.