 State Highway 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byODOT | ||||
| Length | 209.7 mi[2] (337.5 km) | |||
| Existed | 1968[1]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   US 177 /SH-199 east ofMannsville | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end |  AR 88 at the Arkansas state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Oklahoma | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State Highway 1, sometimes abbreviated asSH-1, is a 209.7-mile (337 km)[2] highway maintained by theU.S. state ofOklahoma. It travels through the southeastern part of the state, nicknamedLittle Dixie. SH-1 is signed east and west.
SH-1 eastbound begins atUS-177/SH-199 betweenMannsville andMadill. It then winds northward to the town ofRavia, and becomes concurrent withSH-7 at throughMill Creek. Highway 7 splits off to the west soon after and SH-1 continues northward toHickory, Oklahoma andRoff.
InFitzhugh SH-1 becomes a multilane highway. It then becomes a freeway serving as part of a beltway aroundAda. Through Ada it is briefly concurrent withUS-377/SH-99.
After leaving Ada the highway becomes gradually more hilly and curvy, and turns northeast. Between the towns ofAllen andCalvin, the road roughly follows the south bank of theCanadian River, though the river is not actually visible from the road.
At Calvin, the road becomes concurrent withUS-270 and intersects withUS-75.
Through some parts of this section of the highway, the SH-1 signage is omitted in favor of US-270 signs.
Continuing east, the highway passes just north ofStuart, Oklahoma and throughArpelar. It then intersects with theIndian Nation Turnpike just west of theMcAlester city limits. Through McAlester the street is also signed asCarl Albert Parkway.
East of McAlester the road continues as a four-lane road (much of it divided) connecting many small towns east of the city:Krebs,Alderson,Bache,Dow,Haileyville, andHartshorne.
West of Hartshorne US-270 splits off from SH-1 and it continues east concurrent withSH-63. For 6 miles (9.7 km) SH-1 and SH-63 overlapState Highway 2. Here the road continues east and becomes even more hilly and curvy as it heads toward theWinding Stair Mountains. From this point forward, the road contains a large number of hairpin turns – some even as drastic as 180-degrees. AtTalihina SH-63 splits off to the south andUS-271 merges on to the highway for 8 miles (13 km).
8 miles (12.8 km) northeast of Talihina, SH-1 splits off of US-271. This begins the final 26 miles (41 km) of the highway, officially named theTalimena Drive because it runs from Talihina toMena, Arkansas. This highway, a National Scenic Byway since January 2005, runs through theOuachita National Forest and the Winding Stair Mountains, and has no shoulders. It features special 'vistas' – parking lots placed off the road at especially scenic parts of the highway. At either end of the Talimena Drive, signs are posted stating that the highway is closed during cold and foggy conditions, and that no snow control is provided.
The height of the mountain peaks on the Drive causes the oaks and pines to grow so much slower and shorter than the rest of Southeast Oklahoma. On a hot summer day, the winds on the Talimena Drive may be a good 10 degrees cooler than other nearby locations.
SH-1 ends at theArkansas state line. The roadbed continues on asHighway 88, toward Queen Wilhelmina State Park and the city of Mena, Arkansas.
State Highway 1 was historically an entrance into Indian Territory from the state of Arkansas. The Oklahoma Choctaw came to these mountain tops in the early 1830s. Stage coach robbers, train robbers and bank robbers all came to hide on these mountain peaks bringing in their horses for much needed breaks. Horse Thief Springs is marked at its vista where one can still rest before continuing down the Drive.
SH-1 is the latest of many Oklahoma state highways assigned the number 1. The current route opened in 1969.[3] In this case, the number 1 was assigned due to the scenery along the highway.[4]
| County | Location | mi[2] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall | | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 177 /SH-199 | Western terminus |
| Johnston | Ravia | 8.0 | 12.9 |  SH-22 | Western terminus of SH-22 |
| | 17.2 | 27.7 |  SH-7 | Southern end of SH-7 concurrency | |
| Murray | | 28.2 | 45.4 | SH-7 | Northern end of SH-7 concurrency |
| Pontotoc | | 40.5 | 65.2 |   Chickasaw Turnpike | Eastern terminus of Chickasaw Turnpike |
| Ada | 50.2 | 80.8 |  SH-3 | Interchange, southern end of SH-3 concurrency | |
| 50.7 | 81.6 | Reeves Road | Westbound exit only | ||
| 51.4 | 82.7 |   SH-3W /SH-19 | Interchange, SH-3 splits into SH-3W and SH-3E, eastern terminus of SH-19 | ||
| 52.2 | 84.0 |    US 377 /SH-3E /SH-99 | Interchange, western end of US-377/SH-99 concurrency | ||
| 55.7 | 89.6 | US 377 /SH-99 | Eastern end of US-377/SH-99 concurrency | ||
| Allen | 73.4 | 118.1 |  SH-48 | Western end of SH-48 concurrency | |
| Hughes | Atwood | 80.5 | 129.6 | SH-48 | Eastern end of SH-48 concurrency |
| Calvin | 86.1 | 138.6 |   US 75 /US 270 | Western end of US-270 concurrency | |
| | 95.9 | 154.3 |  SH-31A | Northern terminus of SH-31A | |
| Pittsburg | | 111.4 | 179.3 |   Indian Nation Turnpike | Interchange |
| McAlester | 115.1 | 185.2 |  SH-31 | Western end of SH-31 concurrency | |
| 115.8 | 186.4 |   US 69 Bus. | |||
| 117.5 | 189.1 | US 69 | Interchange | ||
| 117.8 | 189.6 | SH-31 | Eastern end of SH-31 concurrency | ||
| Haileyville | 128.8 | 207.3 |  SH-63 | Western end of SH-63 concurrency | |
| Hartshorne | 131.5 | 211.6 | US 270 | Eastern end of US-270 concurrency | |
| Latimer | | 146.8 | 236.3 |  SH-2 | Northern end of SH-2 concurrency |
| | 152.8 | 245.9 | SH-2 | Southern end of SH-2 concurrency | |
| | 164.8 | 265.2 |  SH-63A | Southern terminus of SH-63A | |
| Le Flore | Talihina | 166.1 | 267.3 |  SH-82 | Southern terminus of SH-82 |
| 166.6 | 268.1 |  US 271 /SH-63 | Eastern end of SH-63 concurrency, western end of US-271 concurrency | ||
| | 174.7 | 281.2 | US 271 | Talimena Drive begins, eastern end of US-271 concurrency | |
| | 195.0 | 313.8 |  US 259 | ||
| Oklahoma–Arkansas state line | 209.7 | 337.5 | AR 88 continues into Arkansas | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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