State Highway 9, abbreviated as SH-9, OK-9, or simply Highway 9, is a major east–west highway in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Spanning across the central part of the state, SH-9 begins at the Texas state line west of Vinson, Oklahoma, and ends at the Arkansas state line near Fort Smith, Arkansas. State Highway 9 is a major highway around the Norman area. At 348.1 miles (560.2 km),[1][2][3] SH-9 is Oklahoma's second-longest state highway (second to State Highway 3).
 State Highway 9 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by ODOT | ||||
| Length | 348.1 mi[1][2][3] (560.2 km) | |||
| Existed | August 24, 1924[4]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  SH 203 at the Texas state line near Vinson | |||
| East end |   I-540 / US 271 at the Arkansas state line near Fort Smith, AR | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Oklahoma | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
| ||||
Route description
editWest of Interstate 35
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From the western terminus at State Highway 203 along the Texas border, the highway travels due east for five miles (8.0 km) and intersects with SH-30 between Madge and Vinson.[5] SH-9 continues east for 23 miles (37 km)[5] without intersecting another highway until meeting US-283 and SH-34 two miles (3.2 km) north of Mangum. The highway overlaps the other two routes for four miles (6.4 km), going north, before splitting off and heading east again through Granite and Lone Wolf. East of Lone Wolf, the highway forms a concurrency with SH-44. Near Hobart, SH-9 overlaps US-183 for 4 miles (6.4 km)(again going northward) before splitting off again.[5]
Continuing east, SH-9 passes through Gotebo, Mountain View, and Carnegie. Around Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, the highway begins nine miles (14 km) of travel to the south. There, the route links up with the concurrent U.S. Highways 62 and 281. While US-281 will split off in Anadarko, SH-9 and US-62 remain concurrent until Newcastle. In Chickasha, US-277 joins to form another three-route concurrency with US-62 and SH-9. On the eastern edge of Chickasha, US-62/277/SH-9 have an interchange with I-44, or more commonly known as the H.E. Bailey Turnpike.[5]
Traveling northeast from Chickasha, US-62/277/SH-9 are routed to the town of Blanchard. Four miles later, SH-9 splits away from the two U.S. routes at a diamond interchange that also serves as the eastern terminus of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike Spur. SH-9 remains without any concurrent routes until Goldsby. The section of road east of US-62/277, recently upgraded to a four-lane divided highway, provides a link from the H.E. Bailey Turnpike Spur to Interstate 35. At the interstate, SH-9 merges onto I-35 northbound to cross the Canadian River into Norman.[5]
East of Interstate 35
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Through Norman, Highway 9 serves as a major artery providing access to the University of Oklahoma campus (in particular, the Lloyd Noble Center). Around the area, the route is a four-lane divided expressway (with surface crossings and stoplights). There is an interchange with US-77, and after 108th Avenue SE, the road becomes a two lane highway again.[6]
SH-9 continues eastward, passing Lake Thunderbird State Park, before reaching the towns of Tecumseh and Seminole. The road intersects the Indian Nation Turnpike near Hanna, and US-69 near Eufaula. SH-9 provides access to the south side of Lake Eufaula before reaching Stigler.[5]
SH-9 overlaps US-59 for 5 miles (8.0 km), after which the road becomes concurrent with US-271. Both remain concurrent, until the highway ends at the Arkansas border. After passing the Arkansas state line, State Highway 9 becomes I-540, and US-271 continues over the state line concurrent with the Interstate.[5]
History
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Officially designated on August 24, 1924,[4] the original route encompassed all of current SH-9 west of Blanchard. East of Blanchard, SH-9 followed a more northerly route. Bypassing Norman, SH-9 ran north to Oklahoma City before going east through Harrah, Meeker, Prague, Henryetta, and Checotah. The highway ended at the original SH-3 in Spiro. Upon the creation of the United States Numbered Routes system in 1926, the section between Oklahoma City and Warner was overlaid with US-266.[7] Four years later in 1930, SH-9 was truncated to Chickasha.[4] By this time, much of the route had become part of US-62.[8]
On 1935-08-27, the route was extended eastward,[4] taking over the original SH-37. SH-9's eastern terminus became SH-48 near Seminole.[9] On 1937-08-25, the route was brought further east to end at US-69 in Eufaula.[4] Part of the newly commissioned section was rescinded on 1937-10-19,[4] when a small segment just east of SH-48 and the entire Hughes County portion were dropped from the highway.[10] These sections were re-added on 1938-09-27.[4]
SH-9 was extended eastward twice in the route's history. The first extension occurred on 1941-02-26,[4] and extended SH-9 to SH-2 at Whitefield.[11] The final extension brought SH-9 to the Arkansas state line on 1941-11-12.[4] The only major realignment in SH-9's history since 1941 was the Norman expressway bypass, which was designated as SH-9 on 1971-11-08.[4]
After the I-40 bridge disaster, parts of SH-9 in eastern Oklahoma served as an emergency detour for eastbound I-40 traffic. All eastbound traffic was routed along the section of SH-9 between SH-2 in Whitefield and US-59. In addition, the section of SH-9 between US-59 and the Arkansas state line were used for eastbound traffic for commercial trucks.[12]
Discussions to widen SH-9 to four lanes east of US-77 in Norman began in 2008. The City of Norman and ODOT have conflict in their proposals for the design of the widened highway. ODOT has proposed a 16-foot (4.9 m) paved median, with 12-foot (3.7 m) shoulders to accommodate bicyclists. Norman's proposal includes a grass median and a separate bike path along the north side of the right-of-way, running from 24th Avenue S.E. to Lake Thunderbird. ODOT criticized the city's plan as too expensive. The city then proposed, with a narrower raised concrete median and separate bike path.[13] By 2014, the plan for the widening had been finalized and work had begun from US 77 eastward.[14] As of 2026, SH-9 has been widened to four lanes to 108th Avenue S.E. Future plans call for the highway to be widened to four lanes from Pecan Creek to SH-102.[15]
The I-35 and SH-9 West interchange in Goldsby was reconfigured into a diverging diamond interchange in November 2025.[16] The new design is expected to "accommodate large volumes of turning traffic by shifting traffic to the left side of a divided roadway through a series of coordinated signals for safer and more efficient left turns."[17] This follows a large project that reconfigured the I-35 exit at West Lindsey Street into a single point urban interchange and the SH-9 east exit to a trumpet interchange in Norman. That project started in March 2015 and was completed and opened in October 2017.[18]
Junction list
edit| County | Location | mi[1][2][3] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harmon | | 0.00 | 0.00 |  SH 203 west – Wellington | Continuation into Texas |
| | 4.9 | 7.9 |  SH-30 – Erick, Hollis | ||
| Greer | | 28.3 | 45.5 |    US 283 south / SH-34 south – Mangum, Altus | Western end of US-283/SH-34 concurrency |
| | 32.0 | 51.5 |  US 283 north / SH-34 north | Eastern end of US-283/SH-34 concurrency | |
| Granite | 39.2 | 63.1 |  SH-6 – Elk City, Altus | ||
| North Fork Red River | Bridge | ||||
| Kiowa | Lone Wolf | 47.6 | 76.6 |  SH-44 south – Altus | Western end of SH-44 concurrency |
| | 50.8 | 81.8 | SH-44 north – Sentinel | Eastern end of SH-44 concurrency | |
| Hobart | 55.9 | 90.0 |    SH-9 Bus. west – Business District | Southern terminus of SH-9 Bus. | |
| 57.9 | 93.2 |  US 183 south – Roosevelt | Southern end of US-183 concurrency | ||
| | 58.9 | 94.8 |  SH-9 Bus. east | Eastern terminus of SH-9 Bus. | |
| | 61.9 | 99.6 | US 183 north – Rocky, Cordell | Northern end of US-183 concurrency | |
| Gotebo | 72.9 | 117.3 |  SH-54 – Weatherford | ||
| Mountain View | 80.0 | 128.7 |  SH-115 north | Western end of SH-115 concurrency | |
| | 81.2 | 130.7 | SH-115 south – Saddle Mountain | Eastern end of SH-115 concurrency | |
| Caddo | Carnegie | 88.5 | 142.4 |  SH-58 (Carnegie Street) – Hydro, Lawton | |
| Fort Cobb | 98.2 | 158.0 |  SH-146 north – Binger | Southern terminus of SH-146 | |
| | 106.3 | 171.1 |   US 62 west / US 281 south – Apache, Lawton | Western end of US-62/281 concurrency | |
| Anadarko | 114.7 | 184.6 |  US 281 north / SH-8 north (First Street) | Eastern end of US-281 concurrency, western end of SH-8 concurrency | |
| 115.3 | 185.6 | SH-8 south (SE Seventh Street) | Eastern end of SH-8 concurrency | ||
| Grady | Chickasha | 131.1 | 211.0 |   US 81 north – El Reno, Chickasha Municipal Airport | Western end of US-81 concurrency |
| 132.8 | 213.7 |  US 81 south / US 277 south (4th Street) | Eastern end of US-81 concurrency, southern end of US-277 concurrency | ||
| 134.4 | 216.3 |  I-44 (H.E. Bailey Turnpike) – Lawton, Oklahoma City | Diamond interchange; I-44 exit 83 | ||
| | 136.1 | 219.0 |  SH-92 north – Tuttle, Friend | Southern terminus of SH-92 | |
| Tabler | 139.6 | 224.7 |  SH-39 east – Purcell | Western terminus of SH-39 | |
| McClain | Blanchard | 150.4 | 242.0 |  SH-76 south – Lindsay | Southern end of SH-76 concurrency |
| 151.4 | 243.7 | SH-76 north (Main Street) | |||
| Blanchard–Newcastle line | 156.1 | 251.2 | US 62 east / US 277 north – Oklahoma City, Newcastle | Diamond interchange; eastern end of US-62/US-277 concurrency | |
| Newcastle |   SH-4 Toll north / H.E. Bailey Turnpike (Spur) – Mustang, Chickasha | Interchange; left exit westbound, left entrance eastbound; southern terminus of SH-4/H.E. Bailey Tpke. Norman Spur | |||
| Newcastle–Goldsby line | 162.1 | 260.9 |   I-35 south – Dallas, Fort Worth | Diverging diamond interchange; I-35 exit 106; southern end of I-35 concurrency | |
| Canadian River | Samuel King McCall Memorial Bridge | ||||
| Cleveland | Norman | 163.7 | 263.4 |  I-35 north – Oklahoma City | Trumpet interchange; I-35 exit 108A; northern end of I-35 concurrency |
| 168.0 | 270.4 |  US 77 – Norman, Purcell | Parclo interchange | ||
| Pottawatomie | | 190.6 | 306.7 |  SH-102 | |
| Tecumseh |    Broadway Avenue to US 177 north / US 270 west (SH-3W west) | ||||
| 198.4 | 319.3 |  US 177 / SH-3W – Ada | Interchange; no direct access to US-177 north/SH-3W west | ||
| US 270 west to US 177 north / SH-3W west – Shawnee, Oklahoma City | Interchange; Western end of US-270 concurrency; westbound exit and eastbound left entrance | ||||
| | 203.6 | 327.7 |  SH-9A south – Harjo, Maud | Western end of SH-9A concurrency | |
| Earlsboro | 204.8 | 329.6 | SH-9A north – Earlsboro | Eastern end of SH-9A concurrency | |
| Seminole | Seminole | 212.5 | 342.0 |  SH-3E west – Shawnee | Western end of SH-3E concurrency |
| 214.5 | 345.2 |   US 377 north / SH-99 north (Jimmie Austin Avenue) – Prague, Stroud US 377 south / SH-99 south / SH-3E east (Milt Phillips Avenue) – Ada, Seminole | Eastern end of SH-3E concurrency | ||
| US 270 east (Harvey Road) | Eastern end of US-270 concurrency | ||||
| | 224.6 | 361.5 |  SH-56 – Okemah, Wewoka | ||
| Hughes | | 228.0 | 366.9 |  SH-48 – Bearden, Holdenville | |
| | 235.0 | 378.2 |  SH-27 north – Okemah | Southern terminus of SH-27 | |
| Wetumka | 237.3 | 381.9 |  US 75 – Tulsa, Durant | ||
| Dustin | 250.5 | 403.1 |  SH-84 north – Weleetka | Southern terminus of SH-84 | |
| McIntosh | | 256.3 | 412.5 |  SH-375 Toll (Turnpike) – McAlester, Hugo, Henryetta, Tulsa | INT exit 92 |
| | 259.2 | 417.1 |  SH-52 south – Hanna | Northern terminus of SH-52 | |
| Eufaula | 276.4 | 444.8 |  US 69 – McAlester, Muskogee | Parclo interchange | |
| 277.1 | 445.9 | US 69 Bus. north (Main Street north) | Northern end of US-69 Bus. concurrency | ||
| 278.1 | 447.6 | US 69 Bus. south (Main Street south) | Southern end of US-69 Bus. concurrency | ||
| Eufaula Lake | Bridge | ||||
| Pittsburg | Longtown | 281.5 | 453.0 | SH-9A west – Carlton Landing, McAlester | Eastern terminus of SH-9A |
| Haskell | Enterprise | 291.9 | 469.8 |  SH-71 – Quinton, Eufaula Dam | |
| Whitefield | 300.3 | 483.3 |  SH-2 – Muskogee, Kinta | ||
| Stigler | 306.8 | 493.7 |  SH-82 south (S.E. 3rd Street) | Northern terminus of SH-82 | |
| | 316.6 | 509.5 |  SH-26 south – McCurtain | Northern terminus of SH-26 | |
| Le Flore | | 328.2 | 528.2 |    US 59 north to I-40 – Sallisaw | Western end of US-59 concurrency |
| | 333.7 | 537.0 |  US 59 south / US 271 south – Poteau | Eastern end of US-59 concurrency, western end of US-271 concurrency | |
| | 343.2 | 552.3 | SH-9A east – Arkoma | Western terminus of SH-9A | |
| Pocola | 345.4 | 555.9 |  SH-112 south (Pocola Boulevard) – Poteau | Western end of SH-112 concurrency | |
| 347.4 | 559.1 | SH-112 north – Arkoma | West end of freeway; eastern end of SH-112 concurrency | ||
| 348.1 | 560.2 | US 271 north | Continuation north into Arkansas; eastern end of US-271 concurrency | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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Spurs
editState Highway 9 creates three spur highways throughout the state. Additionally, it has two business routes, serving towns the main route bypasses. These routes are:
- Business SH-9, a three-mile (5 km) loop through Hobart.
- Another instance of Business SH-9 that loops through Gotebo. (This is not shown on the state highway map.)
- SH-9A is a designation for three distinct highways:
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Oklahoma State Highway 9" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Oklahoma State Highway 9" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
- 1 2 3 "Oklahoma State Highway 9" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Oklahoma Department of Transportation. "Memorial Dedication and Revision History". Retrieved November 4, 2007.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 2007 Centennial State Map (Map). Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
- ↑ 2024 Oklahoma State Map (Map). Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
- ↑ Oklahoma State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (1927 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
- ↑ Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (1931 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
- ↑ Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System and Landing Fields (PDF) (Map) (1936 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
- ↑ Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (1938 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
- ↑ Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (1941 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Highways. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
- ↑ "I–40 Webbers Falls Local Detour Route & Map". Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
- ↑ Cannon, Jane Glen (September 17, 2008). "Highway widening talks continue". The Oklahoman. p. VI 1.
- ↑ "State Details Widening Plan For Oklahoma Highway 9". KGOU. October 29, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ↑ "SH-9 from Pecan Creek to SH-102". sh9.transportationplanroom.com. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ↑ "ODOT opens I-35, SH-9W ahead of schedule". The Newcastle Pacer. December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
- ↑ "ODOT selects new interchange design for I-35 and SH-9 West in McClain County". Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
- ↑ "I-35/SH-9/Lindsey Street Project". Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.