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Interstate 44 (I-44) is an Interstate Highway in the central United States. Its western terminus is in Wichita Falls, Texas at concurrency with US 277, US 281 and US 287; its eastern terminus is in St. Louis at Interstate 55 (the Federal Highway Administration considers its end to be at the Missouri–Illinois state line ). Interstate 44 is one of five interstates built to bypass U.S. Route 66; this highway covers the section between St. Louis and Oklahoma City. Virtually the entire length of the Interstate east of Springfield, Missouri was once US 66 which was upgraded from two to four lanes between 1949 and 1955. The section of I-44 west of Springfield was built further south than US 66 in order to connect Missouri's section with the already completed Will Rogers Turnpike, which Oklahoma wished to carry their part of I-44.

Interstate 44 is referenced in the song "Convoy" by C.W. McCall.

Route description

 * TX
 * 15
 * 24
 * OK
 * 329
 * 530
 * MO
 * 290
 * 467
 * Total
 * 634
 * 1021
 * }
 * Total
 * 634
 * 1021
 * }

Texas
I-44 begins near exit 1 in Wichita Falls concurrent with US 277, US 281 and US 287. US 281 and US 287 continue to the south while US 277 leaves the concurrency at exit 1, which also provides access to US 82. I-44 heads north through Wichita Falls to an interchange with US 287 and Spur 325. US 287 leaves the concurrency as a freeway to the west while Spur 325 leaves the interchange towards the northeast providing access to Sheppard Air Force Base and Wichita Falls Municipal Airport. I-44 continues to the north as it leaves the Wichita Falls city limits at Bacon Switch Road. The freeway enters the Burkburnett city limits south of an interchange at FM 3429. Heading north through the city, I-44 has interchanges with SH 240 and Spur 383. After passing Spur 383, I-44 begins to head towards the northeast before its final interchange in Texas at Loop 267. I-44 leaves the state of Texas at its crossing of the Red River and enters Oklahoma.

Oklahoma
I-44 crosses the Red River near Burkburnett, Texas. It is a freeway until Exit 5, which is the last free exit before the start of the southern section of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike. At Exit 30, the tolls end and I-44 becomes a freeway again through Lawton and Fort Sill until Exit 46. The northern section of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike carries I-44 north, serving Chickasha, before ending at U.S. Highway 62 (Exit 107) in Newcastle.

From Newcastle, I-44 heads north through rural parts of Oklahoma City before serving as the western terminus of Interstate 240. It then indirectly serves Will Rogers World Airport by connecting to S.W. 59th St. (which becomes S.W. 54th St before reaching the airport) and SH-152, the Airport Road freeway. I-44 meets Interstate 40 west of downtown, at an interchange sometimes referred to as the Amarillo Junction. I-44 then passes west of the state fairgrounds and continues north to provide access to Bethany and Warr Acres. It then turns more eastbound to meet Interstate 35, which it overlaps to the Turner Turnpike interchange.

I-44 then follows the Turner Turnpike to Sapulpa, where it becomes a freeway after meeting the Creek Turnpike. I-44 bypasses downtown Tulsa; Interstate 244 serves the downtown areas. After meeting the Creek Turnpike again on the east side of the city, I-44 becomes a turnpike once again, gaining the Will Rogers Turnpike designation.

The Will Rogers Turnpike section serves many northeast Oklahoma towns, including Claremore, Vinita (where it passes under the world's largest McDonald's), and Miami. After passing Miami, I-44 crosses the state line into Missouri.

Missouri


Interstate 44 enters Missouri in Newton County, at the eastern terminus of the Will Rogers Turnpike, at a point near the corner of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas. A marker is erected at the point, which can be visited on State Line Road after exiting at US-166. I-44 misses the state of Kansas by less than 200 yd. The first interchange in Missouri is the eastern terminus of both U.S. Route 166 and U.S. Route 400. The road then runs through southern Joplin and begins a concurrency with US 71 at Exit 11 just after entering Jasper County. The freeway turns to a more eastern heading (the old US 166 alignment), and then US 71 splits off to the north at Exit 18.

I-44 then enters Lawrence County. Near Mount Vernon, the highway curves to the northeast. The section of road to Halltown is a completely new road, not bypassing any previous highways. At Halltown, the road curves back to due east, beginning to follow the general pathway of old U.S. Route 66 (which it will do all the way to downtown St. Louis). The highway then runs around the western and northern sides of Springfield, serving as the western terminus of the James River Freeway, as well as crossing both Route 13 and US 65. The interstate continues northeast, bypassing Lebanon.

In Pulaski County, I-44 enters the Mark Twain National Forest, leaving it to provide access to Waynesville, St. Robert, and Fort Leonard Wood before entering the forest again. The freeway leaves the forest in Phelps County west of Rolla. I-44 then runs through Rolla, where it meets US 63. It continues its northeast course, passing near St. James, Cuba, Bourbon, Sullivan, and Saint Clair.

I-44 then runs north of Pacific before moving into St. Louis County. I-44 then bisects Eureka before serving as the southern boundary of Route 66 State Park (the former site of Times Beach, known for the dioxin contamination and subsequent demolition and Superfund cleanup). I-44 then runs through unincorporated territory before entering Fenton and having an interchange with Interstate 270 in Sunset Hills. I-44 then runs through Crestwood, Kirkwood, Oakland, Webster Groves, and Shrewsbury before entering the city of St. Louis. I-44 runs on a due east course through St. Louis before ending at Interstate 55.

History
As U.S. 66 was being bypassed by I-44, the Route 66 Association requested the designation Interstate 66 for what is now I-44 from St. Louis to Oklahoma City. AASHTO rejected the request.

I-44 was originally signed in 1958 as an Interstate designation of the Turner Turnpike, linking Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and the Will Rogers Turnpike linking Tulsa and the Missouri state line southwest of Joplin. Also signed as I-44 was the US 66 bypass in Tulsa that linked that city with the two turnpikes, and the continued four-lane highway from the Missouri border to an interchange with US 71 south of Joplin, which was previously designated as US 166. From 1958 to 1982, the eastern terminus of I-44 was at I-35 in Oklahoma City, the current eastern terminus of the Turner Turnpike.

I-44 was assigned to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike in 1982, when I-44 was assigned to the west and north legs of I-240 (then a semi-beltway around Oklahoma City) and the H.E. Bailey Turnpike as part of Oklahoma's "Diamond Jubilee" celebrations. Before I-44 was assigned to it, the freeway connector to the north end of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike was named the Will Rogers Expressway. The freeway section through Lawton was the Pioneer Expressway. The new section was also a violation of the Interstate numbering grid, as it extended south of I-40. (The "44" number indicated that it should lie north of I-40 for its entire length.)

During the historic 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak, an F5 tornado hit Interstate 44. This particular tornado had the fastest tornado wind speeds on record. The interstate was severely damaged where the tornado crossed it. In the end, this tornado was blamed for 36 deaths.

A section of I-44 was moved slightly north between Powellville, Missouri and Doolittle. The old road is highly visible for eastbound traffic near Powellville. , the rocks carved away for the new roadbed have virtually no lichen, reflecting that this construction occurred rather recently.

Auxiliary routes

 * Tulsa, Oklahoma - I-244, I-444 (unsigned)
 * St. Louis, Missouri - I-244 decommissioned in 1974, today signed as I-270.

Business routes
Main article: Business routes of Interstate 44.

All business loops of Interstate 44 are located in Missouri. They serve Joplin, Sarcoxie, Mount Vernon, Springfield, Lebanon, Waynesville-St. Robert, Rolla, and Pacific. A business spur links I-44 with Fort Leonard Wood.

Alternate I-44
At some places, an "Alternate I-44" is posted. One such ran between Rolla and Springfield via US-60 and US-63 and another ran via US-63 and US-50 between Rolla and Union. These were done to provide traffic relief during road work. The latter of these alternate routes detoured traffic around three hour delays due to road work near Cuba.

Missouri
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