Historic US highway endpoints in Oklahoma City, OK
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1927-1965
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US 266 was among the original 1926 routes; at the time its west end was in Oklahoma City, but already by 1930, US 266 no longer reached that far west:
c. 1929, OK DoT
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However, that same year, both US 270 and US 277 were commissioned. The west terminus of US 270 was at the same intersection where US 266 had ended:
c. 1930, OK DoT
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US 277's endpoint is covered below, but first: the intersection of Lincoln Boulevard and 23rd Street has changed tremendously since US 266 ended there in the late 1920s, and US 270 ended there during the early '30s. Things were already different by the time of this photo (probably from the 1970s)...
(date and attribution unknown, courtesy of Jeremy Lance)
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...but at least US highway traffic was still routed through there (that is no longer the case). Lincoln is now divided into one-ways that straddle the State Capitol; 23rd is below grade; and cloverleafs connect the two. This photo was looking north on Lincoln:
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Nelson, Apr. 2006
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Ahead was northbound US 77 and eastbound US 66; to the west (left) on 23rd was southbound 77/westbound 66; and to the right on 23rd was the west beginning of US 266, and later, US 270. This photo was taken from the southbound Lincoln overpass, looking east along 23rd:
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Nelson, Apr. 2006
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This was northbound US 77/eastbound US 66, which went north (left) on Lincoln. Ahead was the west beginning of US 266, and then US 270, which was extended further west out of OKC in 1934.
From its current endpoint, US 277 originally continued due north on Meridian Road (overlapped with US 62). Part of the bridge that traffic used to cross the Canadian River is still standing, just west of the modern I-44 bridges. At the time, the airport was only on the west side of Meridian, so US 62-277 simply continued due north (straight through what is now the middle of the airport). At Newcastle Road, the routes went northeast, and then east on 29th Street.
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This shot was taken looking that direction at Robinson Avenue, which historically served as US 77:
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Todd, 2000
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At that point, 29th carried US 62-277. US 277 ended there, but US 62 turned left onto Robinson, to be overlapped with US 77 into downtown. This photo was looking north on Robinson:
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Todd, 2000
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The traffic light is at 29th. That was northbound US 77, and once beyond that signal, that was eastbound US 62 as well. Westbound US 62 was to the left. Also that direction was the original north beginning of US 277.
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Research and/or photo credits: Jeremy Lance; Steven Nelson; Dale Sanderson; Cary Todd
Page originally created 2006;
last updated Feb. 19, 2021.
last updated Feb. 19, 2021.
