Interstate 44 (I-44) is a major

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

in the central

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Although it is nominally an east–west road as it is even-numbered, it follows a more southwest–northeast alignment. Its western terminus is in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accord ...

, at a concurrency with U.S. Route 277 (US 277), US 281, and US 287; its eastern terminus is at I-70 in St. Louis, Missouri. I-44 is one of five Interstates built to bypass US 66; this highway covers the section between

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

and St. Louis. Virtually the entire length of I-44 east of

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an esti ...

, was once US 66, which was upgraded from two to four lanes from 1949 to 1955. The section of I-44 west of Springfield was built farther south than US 66 in order to connect Missouri's section with the already completed Will Rogers Turnpike, which Oklahoma wished to carry their part of I-44.

Route description

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Texas

In the US state of Texas, I-44 has a short, but regionally important, stretch, connecting Wichita Falls with Oklahoma. The route runs almost due north to the Texas–Oklahoma state line at the Red River. In Wichita Falls, I-44 runs concurrently with US 277, US 281, and US 287 and is known locally as the "Central Freeway". There are plans to extend I-44 to Abilene, Texas, to connect I-44 to the I-20/I-10 corridor. I-44 provides access to downtown Wichita Falls and

Sheppard Air Force Base Sheppard Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located north of the central business district of Wichita Falls, in Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the largest training base and most diversified in Air Education ...

Oklahoma

I-44 in Oklahoma is mostly three separate

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implement ...

s; it is

parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster o ...

ed by former US 66 from Oklahoma City to the Missouri state line. In southwestern Oklahoma, I-44 is the

H. E. Bailey Turnpike The H. E. Bailey Turnpike is an toll road in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The route, opened on April 23, 1964, is a four-lane limited access highway that connects Oklahoma City to Lawton in its northern section and ...

and is mainly north–south. In the Oklahoma City area, I-44 is either six or eight lanes; it runs concurrent with

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

for about in Oklahoma City. From Oklahoma City, I-44 runs northeast–southwest as the

Turner Turnpike The Turner Turnpike is a toll road in central Oklahoma, connecting its two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Authorized by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1947 and opened in May 1953, it is the oldest of the state's eleven turnpikes.Everet ...

towards

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

. After I-44 leaves Tulsa, it becomes the Will Rogers Turnpike to the Missouri state line.

Missouri

I-44 enters Missouri southwest of Joplin near the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. It misses the Kansas border by less than . The first exit in Missouri is for US 166. I-44 continues through the southern part of Joplin, where it runs concurrently with the new Missouri segment of

I-49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway that exists in multiple segments: the original portion entirely within the state of Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from I-220 in Shreveport to the Arkansas s ...

. East of Joplin, I-49 splits off on its own alignment to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

. I-44 then continues east on the former US 166 to

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

. At the northeast part of Mount Vernon, I-44 heads northeast, while old US 166 continued east on Route 174. The section of road to Halltown is a completely new road, not bypassing any previous highways. At Halltown, the road follows the general pathway of US 66 all the way to downtown St. Louis. I-44 passes through Springfield on the north side of the city and continues northeast. At Waynesville, I-44 enters a very hilly and curvy area until it passes Rolla. Although the road still passes through some hilly areas, none are as steep as that particular stretch. At Pacific, I-44 widens to six lanes, later to eight lanes. The Interstate passes through the suburbs of St. Louis and then into downtown St. Louis, passing the

Gateway Arch The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary arch, it is the world's tallest arch and Missouri's tallest accessible building. Some sources consider ...

before finally terminating near the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

, continuing from there as I-70 from the west end of the

Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge (known as the New Mississippi River Bridge until its formal naming in 2013 and informally known as the "Stan Span") is a bridge across the Mississippi River in the United States between St. Clair County, ...

. Until a future second span of the new bridge is completed, there will be no way for I-44 traffic to utilize the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial span without first exiting to surface streets. I-44 traffic wishing to continue northeast and east must use the Poplar Street Bridge and I-55/I-64 to cross the

. At some places, an "Alternate I-44" is posted. One such ran between Rolla and Springfield via US 60 and US 63, and another ran via US 63 and US 50 between Rolla and Union. These were completed to provide traffic relief during road work. The latter of these alternate routes detoured traffic around three-hour delays due to road work near

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

History

I-44 was originally signed in 1958 as an Interstate designation of the

linking Oklahoma City and Tulsa and the Will Rogers Turnpike linking Tulsa and the Missouri state line southwest of Joplin, along with the US 66 bypass in Tulsa that linked that city with the two turnpikes and the continued four-lane highway from the Missouri border to an interchange with US 71 south of Joplin previously designated as US 166. As US 66 was being bypassed by I-44, the Route 66 Association requested the designation Interstate 66 for I-44 from St. Louis to Oklahoma City; The

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction throughout the United ...

(AASHTO) rejected the request. At the time the I-44 designation was assigned in Oklahoma in the 1950s, Oklahoma signed the milemarkers west to east starting at Turner Turnpike's Oklahoma City terminus at the I-44/I-35 interchange (near Edmond). I-44 was extended in 1982 southwest of Oklahoma City along the existing

, thus raising the milemarkers by about 100. The addition of the new section was unusual in that it is a more north–south segment and did not directly connect to the previous western end at I-35. It now extends south of I-40, an exception to the Interstate numbering rules and its end point does not connect to another Interstate Highway. What was once I-244 around St. Louis is currently part of that city's I-270/ I-255 beltway. During the historic 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak, an F5

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, alt ...

crossed I-44. This particular tornado had the fastest tornado wind speeds on record. The interstate was severely damaged where the tornado crossed it. In the end, this tornado was blamed for 36 deaths. A section of I-44 was moved slightly north between Powellville and Doolittle, Missouri. The old road is highly visible for eastbound traffic near Powellville. , the rocks carved away for the new roadbed have virtually no

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge The Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge (known as the New Mississippi River Bridge until its formal naming in 2013 and informally known as the "Stan Span") is a bridge across the Mississippi River in the United States between St. Clair County, ...

, I-44 was extended about north to end at I-70 at the bridge.

Junction list

;Texas : in Wichita Falls. I-44/US 287 travels concurrently through Wichita Falls. I-44/US 277/US 281 travels concurrently to west-southwest of

Randlett, Oklahoma Randlett is a town in Cotton County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 438 at the 2010 census, a decline of 14.3 percent from 511 in 2000. History The town of Randlett was named for James F. Randlett, an agent for the Comanche and Kiowa ...

. ;Oklahoma : west of Randlett : in Walters : northwest of

Geronimo Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache b ...

. The highways travel concurrently to east of

Medicine Park Medicine Park is a town in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States, situated in the Wichita Mountains near the entrance to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. Medicine Park has a long history as a vintage cobblestone resort town. Medicine Park ...

. : in Lawton. The highways travel concurrently to east of

. : in Elgin : in Chickasha : in Chickasha : in Newcastle. I-44/US 62 travels concurrently to

. : in Oklahoma City : in Oklahoma City : in Oklahoma City : in Oklahoma City. The highways travel concurrently through northeast Oklahoma City. : in

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five Va ...

: on the

Sapulpa Sapulpa is a city in Creek and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 20,544 at the 2010 United States census, compared to 19,166 at the 2000 census. The population as of 2022 is 22,205. As of 2019, the estimated popul ...

– Oakhurst line : in

: in Tulsa : in Tulsa : in Tulsa. I-44/US 412 travels concurrently to the Tulsa– Fair Oaks line : in Big Cabin : in Vinita : northeast of Afton ;Missouri : west-northwest of

Loma Linda Loma Linda (Spanish for "Beautiful Hill") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 24,791 at the 2020 census, up from 23,261 at the 2010 census. The central area of the ...

: south-southwest of Duenweg. The highways travel concurrently to Fidelity. : in Springfield : in Springfield : in Rolla : south-southwest of Villa Ridge. The highways travel concurrently to the

Sunset Hills Sunset Hills is a city in south St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 8,496 at the 2010 census. Geography Sunset Hills is located at 38°32'8" North, 90°24'14" West (38.535570, -90.403759). According to the United ...

– Kirkwood city line. : in Sunset Hills : on the Sunset Hills–Kirkwood city line : in St. Louis. The highways travel concurrently through St. Louis : in St. Louis : in St. Louis

Auxiliary routes

I-44 has two auxiliary routes. In

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region wit ...

, there is an I-244 and an unsigned I-444. There was also another

auxiliary route In road transportation in the United States, a special route is a road in a numbered highway system that diverts a specific segment of related traffic away from another road. They are featured in many highway systems; most are found in the In ...

located in St. Louis, Missouri, but was decommissioned in 1974. It is now signed as I-270.

Business routes

All business loops of I-44 are located in Missouri. They serve Joplin, Sarcoxie,

, Springfield,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

, Waynesville– St. Robert, Rolla, and Pacific. A business spur links I-44 with Fort Leonard Wood.

References

External links

*
Interstate 44 on Interstate-guide.com
{{Authority control 44 044 Roads in Greater St. Louis