Dallas And Tulsa Need To Be Connected With An Interstate

For the life of me, I don't know why this hasn't happened yet. I just completed a road trip to Tulsa from Dallas. To get there, I essentially had to use two different roads to get to it from the other. Right now, the only major metro in Oklahoma that Dallas is connected to with an interstate corridor is Oklahoma City.

It's way past time for a change.

In the first place, if they were going to build U.S. Highway 75 into a full-fledged freeway in South Tulsa as well as all of North Texas up north of Dallas, then shouldn't the idea of an interstate connection be considered? After all, you can connect all the dots together. This process should have been done years ago; at least, in the 1980s. But we can all make up for that. First off, the North Texas stretch of U.S. 75 is already under reconstruction in key areas to improve the flow of traffic as well as update a road that previously was in bad condition. So I expect the stretch from McKinney to Sherman will eventually be brought to interstate grade. In Oklahoma, U.S. 75 can be brought up to corridor standards from the state line northward and incorporate a new routing west of a point from near the current Platter interchange around the west side of Calera and rejoining the road just barely south of the new U.S. 70 Bypass interchange. The Oklahoma Information Center and a weigh station for trucks would have to both be moved to a new location, likely along that stretch. The road through Durant is pretty much near interstate standards now and will need new signage. What happens north of where the freeway currently terminates (at the Bryan/Atoka county line)? That's up to the folks in Oklahoma where to route a potential interstate from that point to meet the U.S. 75/OK 67 interchange at Glenpool.

Here's my take: Northbound before Atoka, some portions of the existing road can be fixed by removing the at-grade crossings and driveways. Some new road will need to be built for the mainlanes, and there will need to be roads on either side of the roadway. Near Tushka, a new alignment will be needed to go west of Tushka and Atoka before paralleling U.S. 73/OK 3 to near Coalgate. Then the road can move northeast from there to the communities of Stuart and Dustin before meeting the Indian Nation Turnpike some 6 miles south of Interstate 40. This can be done by reconfiguring portions of the existing turnpike to accommodate a southbound left exit from the future interstate and a flyover mainline northbound bridge over said exit. The northbound turnpike traffic would be shifted to eventually merge with the northbound future interstate before travelers reach Henryetta. As the for Indian Nation Turnpike, its new terminus would be at the future interstate, and the new road would be free in that five-to-six-mile stretch.

So what we do at Henryetta, where U.S. 75 ceases to be a freeway and quickly approaches two traffic signals after I-40? Yes, it's tricky, but not impossible. The city would have to move several businesses and realign Main Street to tie into Trudgeon Street and create a grade separation at Trudgeon to create an entry/exit interchange far enough away from the I-40 shuffle for safety reasons. Side streets to accommodate businesses along the existing road can be put in to encourage development along the potential new freeway. North of that location, they'd also have to then realign the mainlanes to go away from 75's current alignment and create both a new freeway artery and a new connection to the old road via the U.S. 266 exit. Further north, there are some hills, so they'd likely have to do a little blasting to ensure a smooth interstate that won't be so hilly up to the east side of Okmulgee. Once the traveler approaches the south end of Glenpool, the road can curve northwestward to a point around the current U.S. 75 near 161st Street. Non-freeway sections would need to be shifted and grade separations would have to happen at potential interchanges. Then you'll have your connection with Tulsa.

And the number designation? Easy enough. Interstate 45. Yep. Currently terminates in Dallas but can be extended to connect with Interstate 44 in Tulsa. This will lead me to Part 2 of this thought, and that is what Dallas needs to do with I-345, the aging elevated connection between I-45 and U.S. 75 that takes travelers close to Downtown Dallas and offers an important through route. Some folks are actually lobbying for a teardown. I, on the other hand, am against it, and I'll tell you why in the next blog post.