, Oklahoma City and west

Cemetery Rd. SB at I-40 Exit 26.

Poor, ugly attempt, EB at Exit 32 for Elk City.

OK 54 SB at I-40 Exit 80.


I just like the way this looks, heading west from El Reno.


Country Club Rd. NB at I-40 Exit 123 in El Reno. Actually, this and every remaining photo on this page is shared with US 270, but not every assembly says so.


SB, same place.


The EB Exit 125 ramp has button copy for US 81, but the star of the show is that instead of a Historic US 66 shield, there's just a plain one at the bottom of the ramp. While the sign is clearly too new to date to when US 66 was still around, this kind of error will always be welcome.


EB courtesy Matt Kleiman. I don't think Mustang Road would be found in New Jersey. Oklahoma used the black square background as well back when it had circle shields, but I call them New Jersey shields because, well, which state do I know better?


WB in the same area, heading all the way out to mile 131. The first sign should be two signs, and Kilpatrick Tpk. should not be its own destination. If you made the shield so illegible it can't be read, redesign the shield or eliminate it altogether. OK 92 is missing from the second sign, which has identical destinations to OK 4.


State-name shields are so pervasive in Oklahoma that they've even made it onto overhead street signs. This is on MacArthur Blvd. NB at Exit 144.

Agnew Ave. NB and Villa Ave. SB at Exit 148A.


Fighting the rain for EB button copy on down the Exit 149 ramp. Western Ave. NORTH was once on the left sign, and the right sign said SOUTH underneath. Those are my educated guesses, and I'm sticking to them. I haven't investigated why Western Ave. was pulled off the left BGS.


A long WB run and down the Exit 148A ramp, where unfortunately, the rain got the best of a couple of photos. In less than three miles, there are three exits where a sign has a right arrow (indicating to exit there), but then the exit actually occurs at the next assembly, where another sign has the exact same arrow. Dear Oklahoma: You are wrong. Use 1/4 MILE, use NEXT RIGHT, but please save the arrow for just the last sign at the exit. By the way, does anyone else not like the aesthetic of exit tabs having a complete border separate from the main sign?

Robinson Ave. SB at Sheridan Ave. approaching I-40 exit 150B.


Things get a little strangeas I continue EB, and you get another instance of two arrow signs for one exit. Missing from the Harvey Ave. signs is either Hudson Ave. (only one block east of Walker Ave., which was signed on Exit 150A) or SW 4th St. In the last photo, the I-40 reassurance pullthrough slid so far to the left that it's off the edge of the traveled way, though at least the arrows are parallel instead of bowlegged. Also on that sign is a nice state-name shield, but not on the newer sign next to it. The Lincoln Blvd. exit was closed because there's a freeway being constructed right across it - future I-40 will run down by the railroad tracks to try to reconnect two parts of the city together. Check it out via the big link at the bottom of the page.


Finishing the EB run. In the last photo, courtesy Matt Kleiman, there is no button copy at all but there are some shrunken arrows to try and not help you. The height warning underneath the center sign appears to be for the sign gantry itself, a definite first if that's the case. The rightmost sign would look a lot better if the arrow were smaller, black, and inside the EXIT ONLY legend (which would look better if it were on the bottom of the sign with no green space underneath).


I said so much in the last paragraph, I had to separate this sign to deal with it in its own paragraph. First of all, this photo isn't out of order, because I-40 borrows I-35's exit numbers when they multiplex. Secondly, that appears to be a US 62 shield next to the I-44 - the old I-35 shield held up just fine, so why didn't this? Thirdly, those are some pretty messed-up arrows - the aesthetic (second time I used that word on this page!) problems are that the tails either need to be shorter or much longer, and the arrow heads are also too wide for their height. Fourthly, Ft Smith should be Ft. Smith, with the period a common omission from new signs. Fifthly, and no we're not done criticizing yet, Wichita and Tulsa aren't centered, and I can't even tell which one is the problem. Sixthly, and I'm skipping any criticism of the US shield shapes because my fingers are getting tired, the 127 in the rightmost EXIT tab should be the same size as "EXIT." And finally, regardless of its overly round shape, the bigger problem with the US 270 shield is that its right edge should be aligned with the "h" in Ft Smith, just as the left edge of the I-40 shield is aligned with the F. I have a different set of criticisms on the I-40 page that I came up with after forgetting I wrote these, and there's actually some unique ones on both of these pages. I'm sure there's more to be hated.

Future I-40 in Oklahoma City
Back to I-40 main page
Business I-40, Erick
US 283/Business I-40, Sayre
OK 34/Business I-40, Elk City
Business I-40, El Reno
Exit 125 to US 81/Business I-40, El Reno
Exit 32 or 125 to old US 66 (I-40's predecessor)

Exit 147 to I-44
Exit 151B to I-35
Exit 151C to I-235
Onto US 62
Back to Oklahoma Roads
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