state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...
in central
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
Wewoka
Wewoka is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,271 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Seminole County.
Founded by a Black Seminole, John Coheia, and Black Seminoles in January 1849, Wewoka is the c ...
.
Route description
SH-59 begins at SH-39 north of Criner and immediately heads due south through that town. It turns due east six miles (9.6 km) north of Lindsay, serving Payne instead. After a concurrency with SH-24, SH-59 crosses SH-74 and has an interchange 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 Mexico–Uni ...
.
Shortly after passing under the interstate, it meets US-77 south of Wayne, and passes through the small towns of Rosedale and Byars. Five miles (8 km) east of Byars, it meets U.S. Highway 177 and turns northward to join with it. SH-3W joins the concurrency five miles later.
The three highways cross over the
South Canadian River
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Pottawatomie Co. just south of
Asher
Asher ( ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah, and Jacob's eighth son overall. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher.
Name
The text of the Torah states that the name אָ ...
. In Asher, SH-59 meets SH-39 a second time, and six miles (10 km) later it splits off from US-177 and SH-3W to head east again, through St. Louis, Oklahoma and Maud. It forms a concurrency with US-377/ SH-99/SH-3E south of
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...
, before splitting off near Bowlegs. It meets US-270 west of
Wewoka
Wewoka is a city in Seminole County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 3,271 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Seminole County.
Founded by a Black Seminole, John Coheia, and Black Seminoles in January 1849, Wewoka is the c ...
, and then ends two miles (3 km) later.
History
SH-59 was first added to the state highway system in 1932 and was entirely contained within McClain County, running from Wayne to State Highway 18 (present-day US-177). It was extended eastward to end at SH-48 (present-day US-377/SH-99) north of Bowlegs in 1947 or 1948. It was extended to its present eastern terminus in 1965 or 1966, and no significant changes have been made since.
Spurs
SH-59A
SH-59A runs from US-177/SH-59 east to connect with SH-3W south of SH-59's own connection with the highway. This allows eastbound travelers to more easily access Ada. It is long.
SH-59B
SH-59B runs from SH-59 south to connect with SH-19 just east of Lindsay. It is long.
SH-59B
A second SH-59B runs east from SH-102 through Macomb, ending at US-177 / SH-3W north of Asher, a distance of . (Neither Mapquest nor Google Maps show these endpoints; they instead indicate 59B runs from the vicinity of the Pottawatomie/Cleveland County line, well west of SH-102, east past that road to US-177. Google additionally shows 59B running past US-177 a short additional distance east to Oklahoma State Highway 18.) The highway's entire length lies in Pottawatomie County. SH-59B does not directly connect to SH-59.