State Highway 39 (Oklahoma)
SH-39 was built in 1923 but not added to the state highway system until approximately 1936. Originally connecting Tabler to Purcell, SH-39 was extended to the east over the next five years, first to Asher and then to Konawa.
Route description
The highway begins at the concurrency of U.S. Highway 62 (US-62)/US-277/State Highway 9 (SH-9) near the unincorporated community of Tabler, east of Chickasha. The road begins traveling east from there, intersecting SH-76 ten miles (16 km) later west of Dibble. From Dibble, it continues east, meeting the eastern terminus of SH-59 and intersecting SH-24 in the unincorporated town of Woody Chapel. It then continues east to Purcell.
In Purcell, SH-39 passes under Interstate 35, but does not have a junction with it. The highway soon encounters US-77/SH-74 just east of the interstate. Here, it turns northward and begins an overlap with the two highways through Purcell. SH-74 splits off after a few blocks while SH-39 and US-77 turn eastward and cross over the Canadian River on the James C. Nance Memorial Bridge. After crossing the river, the highways arrive in the town of Lexington and US-77 splits off to the northeast.
SH-39 continues eastward, serving the Lexington prison and overlapping for less than a mile with SH-102. In the town of Asher, the highway intersects SH-3W and SH-59 again. Eleven miles (18 km) later, the highway meets SH-9A in Konawa. The highway ends four miles (6.4 km) east of Konawa at US-377/SH-3E/SH-99. The mainline of the highway becomes SH-56.
History
The road that would become SH-39 was built in 1923, but it was not assigned a state route number until at least late 1936, first appearing on the 1937 state map. Originally, the route's eastern terminus was at US-77 in Purcell. By April 1939, it had been extended eastward to end at Asher. The route first reached its current termini in 1941 (although at the time, SH-99 passed through Konawa). A short gap existed west of Asher in the SH-39 designation between 1946 and 1947; by 1948 this gap had been filled. The final change to SH-39 occurred in 1968 or 1969, when SH-99 was rerouted to bypass Konawa, and SH-39 was extended east of town to end at the present junction. No changes have been made since.
Spurs
SH-39 once had one spur route, SH-39B. It ran along what is now May Avenue from SH-39's junction with SH-59 to SH-74B east of Cole, Oklahoma.
Junction list
County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grady | Tabler | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 62 / US 277 / SH-9 | Western terminus |
McClain | Dibble | 9.6 | 15.4 | SH-76 | |
| 14.9 | 24.0 | SH-59 east | Western terminus of SH-59 | |
Woody Chapel | 18.9 | 30.4 | SH-24 | ||
Purcell | 26.3 | 42.3 | US 77 / SH-74 south (Green Avenue) to I-35 | Western end of US-77/SH-74 concurrency | |
27.4 | 44.1 | SH-74 north (Green Avenue) | Eastern end of SH-74 concurrency | ||
Cleveland | Lexington | 28.7 | 46.2 | US 77 south | Eastern end of US-77 concurrency |
Pottawatomie | | 46.9 | 75.5 | SH-102 north (Drummond Road) | Western end of SH-102 concurrency |
| 47.1 | 75.8 | SH-102 south | Eastern end of SH-102 concurrency | |
Asher | 53.0 | 85.3 | US 177 / SH-3W / SH-59 | ||
Seminole | Konawa | 63.4 | 102.0 | SH-9A north | Southern terminus of SH-9A |
| 68.4 | 110.1 | SH-56 north / US 377 / SH-3E / SH-99 | Eastern terminus; road continues as SH-56 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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References
- ^ Map Showing Condition of the State Highway System and Landing Fields (PDF) (Map) (April 1937 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
- ^ "Oklahoma State Highway 39" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ^ Official State Map (PDF) (Map) (2011–12 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
- ^ Burns, Hoyt. Early History of the Town of Washington, Oklahoma. Del City, Oklahoma: Del City Publishing Co., Inc.
- ^ Map Showing Condition of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (April 1939 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
- ^ Map Showing Condition of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (January 1942 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
- ^ (Untitled 1947 state map) (PDF) (Map). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
- ^ Oklahoma (PDF) (Map) (1969 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways.
- ^ Map of McClain County. Date unknown. Washington High School library. Referenced February 13, 2006 (UTC).