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Oklahoma State Highway 4

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State Highway 4
OK 4 mainline in red
Route information
Maintained by ODOT OTA
History	1941–present (western SH-4)[1] 1963–present (eastern SH-4)[2]
Section 1
Length	37.3 mi (60.0 km)
South end	US 62 / US 277 / SH-9 south of Newcastle
North end	Edmond Road / NW 178th Street in Piedmont
Section 2
Length	12.01 mi[3] (19.33 km)
West end	US 259inSmithville
East end	AR 4 at the Arkansas state line
Location
Country	United States
State	Oklahoma
Highway system
Oklahoma State Highway System Interstate US State Turnpikes
← SH-3 → SH-5

State Highway 4, abbreviated as SH-4orOK-4, is a designation for two distinct highways maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. One of them serves as an important route through the suburbs west of Oklahoma City, while the other connects US-259 to the Arkansas state line west of Cove, Arkansas. SH-4 has no lettered spur routes.

The two SH-4s were never connected. The Central Oklahoma highway was established in 1941 and gradually extended to its present extent between then and 2003. The Eastern Oklahoma highway was originally numbered SH-21, and was renumbered to SH-4 in 1963.

Route description[edit]

Central Oklahoma[edit]

The western Highway 4 is 37.3 miles (60.0 km) long.^{[citation needed]} It begins at the eastern terminus of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike Spur south of Newcastle, Oklahoma. Beyond the western terminus of the tolled spur, SH-4 turns northward as a two-lane road until it reaches SH-37, where it expands to four lanes. Seven miles (11 km) later, it joins with SH-152 in the town of Mustang.^[4] One mile (1.6 km) later, SH-4 continues northward along Mustang Road toward Interstate 40 and Yukon.^[4]

After crossing I-40, SH-4 becomes a two-lane road once again until entering Yukon, at which point it becomes a four-lane road again. It meets SH-66, once Route 66, in Yukon. Seven miles (11 km) later, it meets the Northwest Expressway (SH-3).^[4] It lasts for just three miles (4.8 km) longer until ending at Edmond Road in Piedmont.^[4]

Just after crossing SH-3, there is a standard distance sign listing Piedmont and "END OF ROUTE", giving the distance to the terminus of SH-4. This is a relative rarity on Oklahoma highways.

Eastern Oklahoma[edit]

The eastern Highway 4 is 12.01 miles (19.33 km) long.^[3] It begins at US-259 and goes generally east–west, passing through the unincorporated communities of Smithville and Watson. After crossing the Arkansas state line, it becomes Highway 4.

History[edit]

Central Oklahoma[edit]

The western SH-4 was assigned in 1941 to a previously unnumbered roadway between U.S. Highway 66inYukon and Piedmont.^[1][5] A continuation of SH-4 east to North May Avenue in Oklahoma City along Ranchwood Boulevard and NW 10th Street had been designated as a farm-to-market road four years earlier.^[6][7] In 1954, SH-4 was extended eastward along the farm-to-market road to a terminus at State Highway 3 and State Highway 74 (May Avenue) southwest of downtown Oklahoma City.^[8][9]

SH-4 remained unchanged until 1979 when it was truncated to its former southern terminus at US-66 in Yukon.^[10] The route was then extended to Mustang in 1982, following Ranchwood Boulevard and Mustang Road south to a new terminus at State Highway 152.^[11] Construction on a southward extension of SH-4 to State Highway 37 near Tuttle began in 2001^[12] and was completed a year later, as was a new segment between SH-37 and the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (Interstate 44).^[13] SH-4 was originally signed only as far south as SH-37; the designation was extended south to I-44 in early 2003.

On August 9, 2021, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission voted to approve the addition of the State Highway 4 designation to the H.E. Bailey Spur.

Eastern Oklahoma[edit]

What is now the eastern SH-4 became part of State Highway 21 in 1927 when SH-21 was rerouted north of Bethel to follow modern U.S. Highway 259 and SH-4 to the Arkansas state line.^[14][15] The SH-21 designation was removed in 1963 and replaced with SH-4 from Smithville east to the state line near Watson. Only minor realignments, such as the straightening of the roadway near Smithville and the replacement of a historic truss bridge by a modern span have occurred since.^[2]

Junction list[edit]

Central Oklahoma[edit]

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
McClain	​			US 62 / US 277 / SH-9	Southern terminus
See H. E. Bailey Norman Spur
Grady	​	0.00	0.00	H.E. Bailey Spur – Blanchard, Norman	Tolled
	​			I-44 (H.E. Bailey Turnpike) – Oklahoma City, Chickasha, Lawton
	​			CR 1226 west	Last free junction southbound
	Tuttle	4.0	6.4	SH-37
Canadian	Mustang	9.6	15.4	SH-152 east	Southern terminus of SH-152 concurrency
		10.6	17.1	SH-152 west	Northern terminus of SH-152 concurrency
	Oklahoma City	16.1	25.9	I-40 / US 270 – Amarillo, Oklahoma City	I-40 EB exit 138A, WB exit 139
	Yukon	19.2	30.9	SH-66 east (Main Street east)	Southern terminus of SH-66 concurrency
		19.5	31.4	SH-66 west (Main Street west)	Northern terminus of SH-66 concurrency; Main St. is former US 66
	Oklahoma City	26.2	42.2	SH-3 (Northwest Expressway)
	Piedmont	29.5	47.5	NW 178th Street / Edmond Road	Northern terminus; road continues as Piedmont Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus        Tolled       Route transition

Eastern Oklahoma[edit]

The entire route is in McCurtain County. ^[16]

Location[16]	mi[3]	km	Destinations	Notes
Smithville	0.00	0.00	US 259	Western terminus
​	12.01	19.33	AR 4 east	Continuation into Arkansas
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Eastern SH-4 at OKHighways
• Western SH-4 at OKHighways