Will new exits off the Turner Turnpike improve the fortunes of Route 66 towns in Oklahoma?

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s Access Oklahoma initiative plans to add 14 new exits from its toll-road system, including several near Route 66 towns between Oklahoma City and Tulsa.

The Oklahoman examined that stretch of Route 66, especially the small town of Davenport, which hopes the new access from Interstate 44 will bring them new businesses and residents.

According to the newspaper, these new access points will be added along or near Route 66 in the next 15 years or so:

  • N 3503 road at Davenport
  • South 481st Street at Depew
  • Post Road near Arcadia
  • Highway 102 at Wellston
  • Highway 16 near Bristow
  • Old State Highway 66 near Heyburn
  • Highway 99 in Stroud

Village officials in Davenport and Depew are optimistic:

Wes Mattheyer, Davenport’s mayor, looks forward to when travelers along the Turner Turnpike will see an exit advising them they can get gas and food in his town. 

“It will be a game changer,” Mattheyer said. “It will give our small community a shot in the arm all the way from revenue coming off the turnpike and using our businesses. Instead of just getting by, we might have extra revenue to add police officers.” 

Depew, another Route 66 town bypassed by the turnpike, has a largely intact Main Street waiting to be discovered by travelers who will someday have the option of exiting into the town of 442 residents.

Many of the storefronts are empty, though Mayor Diona Marker has high hopes for a recently opened café, florist and gift shop. 

“It would definitely help us,” Marker said. “We don’t have a lot of small businesses in town. Any extra traffic it can bring to the businesses we have will help.” 

Davenport and Depew saw their populations shrink in the years following the opening of the Turner Turnpike. Boosted by the nearby discovery of oil, Davenport’s population peaked at 1,072 but was down to 801 in 2020. Depew’s population peaked at 1,126 in 1930 and now stands at 446. 

Officials also noted response times by emergency vehicles likely will improve these towns because of the improved tollway access.

A Davenport businessman also noted the town is seeing more residents commuting to Oklahoma City, and that likely will increase with the new exit.

Rhys Martin, president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, stated in a Facebook post:

Each of these new planned interstate exits between Tulsa and Oklahoma City will give people a chance to experience communities they otherwise would’ve bypassed entirely. The hope for me, of course, is that they’ll wonder what else they’re missing and make time for the old highway.

In any case, it will undoubtedly be good economically for these towns and it’s nice to see both Depew and Davenport in a news article.

I admit I’m torn on what this development will mean to those towns. Because using the tollway is more expensive and less convenient in some cases, I long have maintained the nearby towns have done better than most along Route 66 because a lot more people use the free highway than usual.

It seems the towns near the tollways of Interstate 44 have done considerably better than the western Oklahoma towns along Interstate 40, which allows free access and has fewer alternative roads.

I’m skeptical, but I’m hoping Martin and the folks in Davenport and Depew are right.

(Image of a mural in Davenport, Oklahoma, by the Mural and Sign Art Museum via Flickr)

One thought on “Will new exits off the Turner Turnpike improve the fortunes of Route 66 towns in Oklahoma?

  1. ” I long have maintained the nearby towns have done better than most along Route 66 because a lot more people use the free highway than usual.”

    Hmm…I had not thought of that angle. I guess my immediate reaction is that those who seek a free highway will still do so, plus you’ll pick up a few travelers form the toll road. That would be my hope anyway.

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