End of US highway 266
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US 266 seems like a strange little highway...
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...all of which lead to the question: why is this even a US route?
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An understanding of the history is helpful: in 1926 there was no US 62. West of Henryetta, US 266 followed what is now US 62 for another 90 miles or so, ending at its junction with US 66 in Oklahoma City. This description was in AASHO's Apr. 1927 route log:
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The remaining portion was still important, but since it no longer connected with its implied parent, perhaps its designation should have been changed to x62 or x64. Since it was US 62 that subsumed its former segment, US 162 probably would have been most appropriate, although US 262 might have been less confusing to motorists.
When I-40 was completed through the area in the 1970s, it replaced the functionality of US 266, so that would have been a good time to change it to a state route. On the other hand: ever since US 66 was decommissioned in 1985, US 266 is one of the only surviving routes that recalls the memory of US 66 (the other being its sibling, US 166). These photos show signage for drivers on US 266 as they approach its west terminus, as well as signage at the actual junction:
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Those signs are/were posted where US 266 intersects US 62-75. Both of those highways are routed on I-40 as they approach Henryetta from the west. Then they head north together to Okmulgee, on a segment which allows travelers northbound on the Indian Nation Turnpike to continue on to Tulsa. Following are some photos that show the west beginning of US 266 as seen from both southbound and northbound US 62-75, respectively:
There, we were looking south on US 75 (which is also westbound US 62); the west beginning of US 266 is to the left. That intersection has always been the terminus, but straight ahead is a newer road, connecting to the Indian Nation Turnpike. Originally, US 62-75 continued to the right, through downtown Henryetta. This photo was taken heading eastward out of Henryetta, via historic northbound US 75/eastbound US 62:
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US 62-75 continued by turning left, and US 266 began straight ahead... and it still does, even though US 62-75 has been rerouted to the right. The first eastbound confirming marker is barely visible in the distance; it is shown close-up here:
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From there, US 266 roughly parallels I-40 all the way to its eastern terminus in Warner. But before I-40 was built, US 266 came into town via what is now Old State Highway 2 and 3rd Avenue. And until the early 1930s, US 64 did not cut across town diagonally, but rather stayed on 8th Street. So US 266 originally ended on 3rd Av at 8th:
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That is looking north on 3rd, and 8th is the crossroad. US 266 originally ended there at US 64. A couple blocks to the left, US 64 used a now-vacated curve to head north on Culwell. But in the 1930s US 64 was changed to use its modern routing through town, so US 266 was extended a block or so ahead. Traffic wanting eastbound US 64 was directed to curve right at the wye visible just ahead, but drivers destined for westbound US 64 would have stayed straight on 3rd, with the US 266 designation ending at US 64:
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Traffic heading east on US 64 would have used the slip ramp at far left to turn onto US 266. But westbound US 64 traffic wanting US 266 probably would not have reached this intersection, instead turning off about a block to the right via the wye road shown here:
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When I-40 was constructed through the Warner area, apparently an interchange could not be built at the location of US 266's original alignment. So US 266 was changed to its modern configuration south of town; AASHTO acknowledged moving the US 266 designation to this new facility at their June 1973 meeting:
US 64 continues to the left there, while straight ahead is the east beginning of US 266. Initially it heads south through an interchange with I-40. After about three miles, it begins heading westward -- and soon crosses the path of I-40 again. Here is the perspective from westbound US 64:
Research and/or photo credits: Robert Brooks; Paul Dienhart; Nathan Edgars; Jeremy Lance; Jeff Morrison; Dale Sanderson; Michael Summa; Charles Turner
Page originally created 2000;
last updated Nov. 21, 2024.
last updated Nov. 21, 2024.