Oklahoma State Highway 79 Explained

State:OK
Type:SH
Route:79
Maint:ODOT
Map:Ok-79 path.svg
Length Mi:4.43
Length Ref:[1]
Length Round:2
Established:ca. 1938
Direction A:South
Direction B:North
Terminus A: at the Texas state line
Terminus B: west of Waurika
Previous Type:SH
Previous Route:78
Next Type:SH
Next Route:80

State Highway 79 (abbreviated SH-79 or OK-79) is a state highway in Jefferson County, Oklahoma. It runs for 4.43miles as a continuation of Texas State Highway 79 to U.S. Highway 70 on the outskirts of Waurika. It has no lettered spur routes.

SH-79 was first commissioned in 1938, and has had the same route since then.

Route description

Oklahoma's State Highway 79 begins where Texas's State Highway 79 crosses over the Red River from Clay County, Texas into Jefferson County, Oklahoma. Beginning in 1939, a multiple-span pony truss bridge carried the highway across the river. This bridge was replaced by a new bridge in 2018. [2] Upon reaching the shore, the highway continues on a northeast trajectory, rising out of the Red River valley.[3] The highway then comes to an end at US-70 on the southwest outskirts of Waurika.[1]

History

State Highway 79 is first shown on the April 1939 state highway map. It has the same extent on that map as it does today, although it had a dirt surface.[4] By 1941, the whole route had been upgraded to asphalt.[5]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Oklahoma Department of Transportation. 2008 Control Section Maps. Jefferson. 2010-03-16.
  2. Web site: Halsey . Torin . Highway 79 Bridge Work at Red River . 2024-11-22 . Times Record News . en-US.
  3. DeLorme. Oklahoma Atlas and Gazetteer. 61. 1:200,000. 2006.
  4. Oklahoma Department of Highways. Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System. April 1939. 2010-03-17.
  5. Oklahoma Department of Highways. Map Showing Condition of Improvement of the State Highway System. April 1941. 2010-03-17.