New Tulsa Interstate (US-412)

[Swake]

Last year Jim Inhoff on his way out of office passed a bill to authorize upgrading US-412 to an Interstate from I-35 to I-49 in Arkansas to connect Tulsa and NW Arkansas. I thought this would take a long time, but Oklahoma is actually doing this pretty much now with federal money.

The largest section of the highway in Oklahoma from I-35 to Catoosa is Interstate quality now with one exception and could be signed at any time. The one exception is an at grade road called Diamond Head Rd by Lake Keystone. An interchange for that road is scheduled to be built in 2029.

The part of the highway from Catoosa to the Cherokee Turnpike is where the road needs big upgrades. My assumption was this would take decades, but Oklahoma got a federal grant and is doing it now, all at once:
https://oklahoma.gov/odot/progress-a...signation.html

$139 million for improvements. 8 new interchanges and six more new bridges. Design work is underway now with construction set to start in mid 2025 and be done by 2028.

When the Arkansas side could be connected at Siloam Springs is another question, but Tulsa could be ready for a new Interstate designation within five years or so.

[BoulderSooner]

Last year Jim Inhoff on his way out of office passed a bill to authorize upgrading US-412 to an Interstate from I-35 to I-49 in Arkansas to connect Tulsa and NW Arkansas. I thought this would take a long time, but Oklahoma is actually doing this pretty much now with federal money.

The largest section of the highway in Oklahoma from I-35 to Catoosa is Interstate quality now with one exception and could be signed at any time. The one exception is an at grade road called Diamond Head Rd by Lake Keystone. An interchange for that road is scheduled to be built in 2029.

The part of the highway from Catoosa to the Cherokee Turnpike is where the road needs big upgrades. My assumption was this would take decades, but Oklahoma got a federal grant and is doing it now, all at once:
https://oklahoma.gov/odot/progress-a...signation.html

$139 million for improvements. 8 new interchanges and six more new bridges. Design work is underway now with construction set to start in mid 2025 and be done by 2028.

When the Arkansas side could be connected at Siloam Springs is another question, but Tulsa could be ready for a new Interstate designation within five years or so.

i don't believe it can be signed as an interstate until both ends connect to an interstate

[unfundedrick]

i don't believe it can be signed as an interstate until both ends connect to an interstate

Check out Interstate 27 in Texas. It starts in Amarillo and ends at Lubbock. There is no connection to another interstate in Lubbock and ends there.

[scottk]

Check out Interstate 27 in Texas. It starts in Amarillo and ends at Lubbock. There is no connection to another interstate in Lubbock and ends there.

I-44 is the same, ending by itself in Wichita Falls.

As for 412, assuming it gets interstate status within the next decade, I assume OTA will still have control and collect tolls over the Cherokee and Cimarron Turnpike portions much like HE Bailey, Will Rogers and Turner Turnpikes that are signed with Interstate 44?

[Swake]

I-44 is the same, ending by itself in Wichita Falls.

As for 412, assuming it gets interstate status within the next decade, I assume OTA will still have control and collect tolls over the Cherokee and Cimarron Turnpike portions much like HE Bailey, Will Rogers and Turner Turnpikes that are signed with Interstate 44?

There's a floating four mile long section of I-49 on the south side of Ft Smith not connected to any other highway, interstate or not. It's very strange, but it is signed.

As for the turnpikes, of course they will be part of the new interstate. I'm pretty sure that there's a state law that all major highways in and out of Tulsa connecting to the outside world have to be tolled at some point.

[Laramie]

Good use of the Mega Grant funds.

[Scott5114]

Signs put up in Tulsa over the last year or so have been showing "Springdale" as a destination instead of "Siloam Springs" and this is why.

According to the system for assigning Interstate numbers, this road can get any even number between 46 and 62 inclusive (although 48, 60, and 62 are less likely due to nearby existing highways with the same number). There is even a chance it could even get the prestigious numbers 50 or 60 (numbers ending in 0 tend to be longer, more major routes; 50 and 60 were never assigned because they would have ended up too close to the US routes with those numbers).

[poe]

Check out Interstate 27 in Texas. It starts in Amarillo and ends at Lubbock. There is no connection to another interstate in Lubbock and ends there.

Correct! And I believe they want to extend 27 to Midland, where it will meet up with I-20.

[Snowman]

i don't believe it can be signed as an interstate until both ends connect to an interstate

If it connects to another interstate on one side or both generally effects which number it will be designated, granted there are exceptions, likely where it got extended years after the number was designated. Plus looking at i49 or i69 seem fine to sign segments long before the entire route is completed.

[MagzOK]

Correct! And I believe they want to extend 27 to Midland, where it will meet up with I-20.

There was talk of an interstate from Midland to Lubbock back in the 80s and 90s in Midland when I was a kid. I27 between AMA and LBB has been there for a very long time. As it is now, the local highways that run between the two are four lane -- parts with a median and parts with a middle turn lane all the way down. I think the latest news is that I27 corridor will be extend from Amarillo to Raton, NM, and then from Lubbock down to Laredo.

[BoulderSooner]

Check out Interstate 27 in Texas. It starts in Amarillo and ends at Lubbock. There is no connection to another interstate in Lubbock and ends there.

my bad i misunderstood / didn't remember correctly from I22 Birmingham to Memphis
from that it looks like once the Oklahoma site is interstate standard they can brand it all the way to the ark border .. and then when ark does their side they can brand their side as well ..

[BoulderSooner]

Signs put up in Tulsa over the last year or so have been showing "Springdale" as a destination instead of "Siloam Springs" and this is why.

According to the system for assigning Interstate numbers, this road can get any even number between 46 and 62 inclusive (although 48, 60, and 62 are less likely due to nearby existing highways with the same number). There is even a chance it could even get the prestigious numbers 50 or 60 (numbers ending in 0 tend to be longer, more major routes; 50 and 60 were never assigned because they would have ended up too close to the US routes with those numbers).

it will be strange to have a 46 or 48 south of I 44 i see where north carolina just took I 42 off the board

[Mesta Parker]

Great news that OK will upgrade US-412 in interstate standards over the next several years! Unfortunately, the major congestion is in Siloam Springs and Springdale/Tontitown Arkansas and there are no plans in the immediate future for an Arkansas upgrade. The quote below is from the Arkansas Democratic Gazette in Feb '22.

"A bypass is being considered around Siloam Springs as part of the U.S. 412 study. The current alignment runs through the city. In Oklahoma, the route likely would follow the current U.S. 412 route through the Tulsa metro area.
The interstate project is not part of the long-term transportation plans for either state and Arkansas already has plenty of projects either ready to go or planned, according to Arkansas Highway Commissioner Philip Taldo.
"The actual concept itself, I think it's a great concept," Taldo said. "I think it's good for both Oklahoma and Arkansas, but we're just heavy on good projects right now."
He said implementing the concept could take a while.
"The only way we can really identify the scope or cost is, it has to be studied," Taldo said. "We were really clear to them that they're at the back of the line as far as funding for Arkansas projects because we've got 20 years' worth of projects already queued up, not the least of which is I-49. It's going to have to take its place behind these projects that have been waiting for a long time."
The Arkansas Department of Transportation is planning to break ground this fall on a project to extend I-49 in Arkansas another 13 miles south across the River Valley, building a section of interstate from Arkansas 22 near Barling in Sebastian County to the interchange of Interstate 40 and I-49 at Alma in Crawford County."

[Scott5114]

i don't believe it can be signed as an interstate until both ends connect to an interstate

The normal approval process does strongly prefer this; however, as this is a Congressionally-designated corridor, none of the normal rules apply. In similar cases, such as I-69, the project is broken into "segments of independent utility". Each of these is a segment of road that would be useful on its own. Generally, as each SIU is finished, the shields go up, even when they don't connect to other interstates or even one another.

it will be strange to have a 46 or 48 south of I 44 i see where north carolina just took I 42 off the board

Yes, unfortunately, because I-44 will cross the path of US-412, at least half of the route will be "out of grid". ODOT and ARDOT could theoretically ask for a second I-42 (there are two each of 76, 84, 86, 87, 88), there are so many other available numbers it would be better to just pick one of those. Personally, I'm hoping for I-50.

[Just the facts]

It might end up bring something like I-344. See I-385 in South Carolina or 575 and 985 in Atlanta metro.

[scottk]

Great news that OK will upgrade US-412 in interstate standards over the next several years! Unfortunately, the major congestion is in Siloam Springs and Springdale/Tontitown Arkansas and there are no plans in the immediate future for an Arkansas upgrade. The quote below is from the Arkansas Democratic Gazette in Feb '22.

"A bypass is being considered around Siloam Springs as part of the U.S. 412 study. The current alignment runs through the city. In Oklahoma, the route likely would follow the current U.S. 412 route through the Tulsa metro area.
The interstate project is not part of the long-term transportation plans for either state and Arkansas already has plenty of projects either ready to go or planned, according to Arkansas Highway Commissioner Philip Taldo.
"The actual concept itself, I think it's a great concept," Taldo said. "I think it's good for both Oklahoma and Arkansas, but we're just heavy on good projects right now."
He said implementing the concept could take a while.
"The only way we can really identify the scope or cost is, it has to be studied," Taldo said. "We were really clear to them that they're at the back of the line as far as funding for Arkansas projects because we've got 20 years' worth of projects already queued up, not the least of which is I-49. It's going to have to take its place behind these projects that have been waiting for a long time."
The Arkansas Department of Transportation is planning to break ground this fall on a project to extend I-49 in Arkansas another 13 miles south across the River Valley, building a section of interstate from Arkansas 22 near Barling in Sebastian County to the interchange of Interstate 40 and I-49 at Alma in Crawford County."

Frustrating that Arkansas doesn't see this as a priority. IT's 20 MILES from the border to the existing I-49 in Springdale. This essentially connects Oklahoma's 2nd Largest Metro, Tulsa, to Arkansas's 2nd Largest metro (Fayetteville/NWA), it would benefit commerce both ways with Walmart and U of A on the Arkansas side, and Tulsa on the other. From a percentage stand point, Oklahoma has done the heavy lifting with 70 miles from border to I-44 in Tulsa, compared to Arkansas's needed 20 miles. Outside of Little Rock, what other projects would take priority over this one? Anyone who has traveled on 412 through NWA knows how difficult it is going east-west as soon as you hit the state line.

[BoulderSooner]

The normal approval process does strongly prefer this; however, as this is a Congressionally-designated corridor, none of the normal rules apply. In similar cases, such as I-69, the project is broken into "segments of independent utility". Each of these is a segment of road that would be useful on its own. Generally, as each SIU is finished, the shields go up, even when they don't connect to other interstates or even one another.



Yes, unfortunately, because I-44 will cross the path of US-412, at least half of the route will be "out of grid". ODOT and ARDOT could theoretically ask for a second I-42 (there are two each of 76, 84, 86, 87, 88), there are so many other available numbers it would be better to just pick one of those. Personally, I'm hoping for I-50.

thank you for the info .. a second I42 really does seem to make the most sense ..

[BoulderSooner]

Frustrating that Arkansas doesn't see this as a priority. IT's 20 MILES from the border to the existing I-49 in Springdale. This essentially connects Oklahoma's 2nd Largest Metro, Tulsa, to Arkansas's 2nd Largest metro (Fayetteville/NWA), it would benefit commerce both ways with Walmart and U of A on the Arkansas side, and Tulsa on the other. From a percentage stand point, Oklahoma has done the heavy lifting with 70 miles from border to I-44 in Tulsa, compared to Arkansas's needed 20 miles. Outside of Little Rock, what other projects would take priority over this one? Anyone who has traveled on 412 through NWA knows how difficult it is going east-west as soon as you hit the state line.

they have been trying to finish I49 for a long long time and this next 13 mile phase is a huge deal as it includes a bridge across the arkansas river

[Swake]

they have been trying to finish I49 for a long long time and this next 13 mile phase is a huge deal as it includes a bridge across the arkansas river

It's hard to see how connecting Texarkana and Ft Smith could be a higher priority than Tulsa and NW Arkansas. Especially since in the next 10-20 years NW Arkansas will have more people than metro Little Rock.

[BG918]

It's hard to see how connecting Texarkana and Ft Smith could be a higher priority than Tulsa and NW Arkansas. Especially since in the next 10-20 years NW Arkansas will have more people than metro Little Rock.

The AR state government would rather promote LR than try to improve commerce for NWA.

[RodH]

I-49 is not just Texarkana to Ft. Smith it is the last gap of a New Orleans to Kansas City route. In addition to I-49, AR also has authorizations for I-57 from Little Rock to southeast MO and I-69 from near Memphis to Shreveport.

[Laramie]

The new section of I-49 will be 13.6 miles long and cost an estimated $787 million. It requires a new bridge over the Arkansas River expected to cost $300 million to $400 million. The work is expected to be done in several phases.--Northwest Arkansas Democrat, February 7, 2022

Project: $787 million - 13.6 miles long

[Swake]

The new section of I-49 will be 13.6 miles long and cost an estimated $787 million. It requires a new bridge over the Arkansas River expected to cost $300 million to $400 million. The work is expected to be done in several phases.--Northwest Arkansas Democrat, February 7, 2022

Project: $787 million - 13.6 miles long

The NW Arkansas - Tulsa interstate in your graphic is not I-49. Two different highways.

[Scott5114]

It might end up bring something like I-344. See I-385 in South Carolina or 575 and 985 in Atlanta metro.

Extremely unlikely—the longest three-digit route in the system is I-476, which is 129 miles long. Perry to Springdale is roughly 181 miles.

Because the major routes get two-digit numbers, politicians generally prefer them for what essentially boils down to marketing reasons.

[BG918]

I-50 makes the most sense since US 50 does not go through AR or OK. Hopefully one day I-45 will be extended north from Dallas to Tulsa and take the place of US 69/75