Oklahoma State Highway 73 Explained

State:OK
Type:SH
Route:73
Map:Ok-73 path.png
Maint:ODOT
Length Mi:24.5
Direction A:West
Direction B:East
Terminus A: north of Elk City
Terminus B: in Clinton
Previous Type:SH
Previous Route:72
Next Type:SH
Next Route:74

State Highway 73 (abbreviated SH-73 or OK-73) is a 24½ mi[1] (39.4 km) state highway mostly in Custer Co., Oklahoma, although a stretch of about four-fifths of a mile (1.3 km) of its eastbound lane lies in Roger Mills Co. SH-73 has no lettered spur routes.

Route description

State Highway 73 begins at State Highway 34 south of Hammon. The western terminus of the highway occurs at a jog in the Roger Mills–Custer county line; north of the intersection, SH-34 runs along the north–south boundary, and at the intersection, the boundary makes a ninety-degree turn to head east–west. The first 0.8miles of SH-73 straddles the county line.[2] The county line makes another turn after this to return to a north–south orientation, and SH-73 fully enters Custer County.

In Custer County, SH-73 travels through hilly terrain and crosses both Panther Creek and Little Panther Creek, tributaries of Foss Lake. SH-73 serves the southwestern portion of the lake, and runs along the edges of Foss State Park. The highway provides connections to four campgrounds along the lakeshore.[2] Near the southeast corner of the lake, the route intersects SH-44.

SH-73 turns south along SH-44, forming a concurrency. The two routes curve southwest to cross Oak Creek. SH-44/73 travel together for 2miles[3] before SH-73 splits off, returning to a due east course. The highway parallels I-40, which runs to the south of SH-73. SH-73 then bridges the Washita River. West of Clinton, the highway crosses a set of railroad tracks at the unincorporated locale of Ralph.[2] State Highway 73 then enters Clinton, where it comes to an end at an intersection with I-40's Clinton business loop.

References

  1. Web site: Stuve. Eric. OK-73. OKHighways.com.
  2. DeLorme. Oklahoma Atlas and Gazetteer. 1:200,000. 2006.
  3. Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Oklahoma Official State Map. 2008.

External links