I-44

About I-44

Also known as Will Rogers Turnpike.

From Wichita Falls, TX (US 277/281) to St. Louis, MO (I-55/I-64/I-70)

Interstate 44 is a diagonal route running about 633 miles from Wichita Falls, Texas, northeast across Oklahoma and Missouri to St. Louis. It crosses a corner of north Texas, traverses the full width of Oklahoma through Lawton, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa, then continues into southwestern Missouri through Joplin and Springfield before reaching the St. Louis area. The route serves as a primary diagonal link between the southern plains and the middle Mississippi River valley.

Across Oklahoma much of the route is the Turner Turnpike and the Will Rogers Turnpike, toll roads that predate the Interstate system and were incorporated into I-44. In Missouri the route follows the corridor of old US 66 through the Ozarks, passing through rolling wooded terrain between Joplin and St. Louis. The mix of toll and free segments and the long history of the underlying roads give the corridor a varied character along its length.

Interstate 44 carries heavy truck traffic between the Texas plains, the Oklahoma cities, and the St. Louis gateway, in addition to regional and commuter travel near Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and St. Louis. It is one of the few two-digit Interstates that runs entirely on a diagonal rather than a strict north-south or east-west line.

State-by-state mileage

State	Miles
Texas	15.4
Oklahoma	328.5
Missouri	290.2
Total	634.1

History

Interstate 44 was established in 1958, with planning that folded the existing Oklahoma turnpikes into the new Interstate corridor. In Missouri it largely followed and replaced the alignment of US 66 through the Ozarks, and the route was completed across its three states over the following years.

Major cities and places

Notable features

• Turner Turnpike
• Will Rogers Turnpike

Did you know

• Established in 1958 and runs on a diagonal across all three of its states.
• Incorporates the Turner Turnpike and Will Rogers Turnpike in Oklahoma.
• Follows much of the historic US 66 corridor through the Missouri Ozarks.
• I-444 in Tulsa is an unsigned auxiliary route forming part of the downtown loop.