Interstate 44

Interstate 44 (abbreviated I-44) is an interstate highway in the central United States. Its western terminus is in Wichita Falls, Texas at an intersection with U.S. Highway 287; its eastern terminus is in St. Louis, Missouri at Interstate 55. Interstate 44 is one of five interstates built to bypass U.S. Route 66; this highway covers the section between St. Louis and Oklahoma City.

Length


Miles	km
15	24	Texas
329	530	Oklahoma
290	467	Missouri

634	1021	Total

Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

Intersections with other interstates

Spur routes

Tulsa, Oklahoma - I-244, I-444 (unsigned)
St. Louis, Missouri - I-244 decommissioned in 1974, made part of I-270)

History

I-44 was originally instituted as an Interstate designation of the Turner Turnpike linking Oklahoma City and Tulsa. At the time the I-44 designation was assigned the road was extended north of the Tulsa area to St. Louis. This meant that historically the milemarkers counted up from the I-44/I-35 interchange in Oklahoma City (near Edmond).

At this time, the milemarkers in the Tulsa area were in the 90s range. Rather than having their own numbers, I-244 and (designated, but unsigned) I-444 started their numbering based on what milemarker the highways were at when they branched off. Therefore, one exit along I-444 was labeled "94D". When the I-444 signs were removed from the highway and the "94" numbers were removed from the other markers (their gore signs simply bore the letter suffixes "A", "B", and "C") the 94D marking remained. The number became even more out of place when the markings were changed (see below). To those not knowing the history of the highways, the exit number remained an inexplicable anomaly. ^*

I-44 was later extended southwest of Oklahoma City along the existing H.E. Bailey Turnpike, thus raising the milemarkers by about 100. The new section was also a violation of the Interstate numbering grid, as it extended south of I-40. (The "44" number indicated that it should lie north of I-40 for its entire length.)

During the historic Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak, an F5 tornado hit Interstate 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.

Notes

I-44 in Oklahoma is a toll road most of the way, paralleled by former U.S. 66.
As U.S. 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. AASHTO rejected the request.McNichol, Dan. The Roads that Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc, 2006.
I-244 in Tulsa, Oklahoma has its own loop route, I-444. I-244 and I-444 together form a square around Tulsa's downtown known locally as the "Inner Dispersal Loop". But while some maps show the "444" designation, it is signed only with the names of the U.S. and state routes it also carries: U.S. 75, U.S. 64, and Oklahoma State Highway 51.
What was once I-244 around St. Louis is currently part of that city's I-270/I-255 beltway.
Business Loop I-44 and Business Spur I-44 at the Fort Leonard Wood exit intersect.
- Missouri posts the end of I-44 at Interstate 55. The official end, though, is at the Missouri-Illinois state line on the Poplar Street Bridge. Plans for a New Mississippi River Bridge will reroute Interstate 70 across this bridge, and I-44 will be re-routed (or extended) to continue north on old I-70 to the junction with the new I-70 where it crosses the Mississippi River.
References

Interstate 44
Interstate 44