U.S. Route 266

U.S. Highway 266 (US-266) is an east–west United States highway. It is only 43 miles[1] (69 km) long, and lies entirely within the state of Oklahoma. The highway no longer meets the former route of its parent, U.S. Highway 66, and is closely paralleled by Interstate 40, which replaced US-266 (along with accompanying routes US-62 from Oklahoma City to Henryetta and US-64 from Warner to the Arkansas border west of Fort Smith, Arkansas) as the major east–west highway east of Oklahoma City during the 1960s.

U.S. Route 266
US 266 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US-66
Maintained by ODOT
Length	43.09 mi[1] (69.35 km)
Existed	1926–present
Major junctions
West end	US-75 / US-62 in Henryetta, OK
	US-69 in Checotah, OK I-40 near Warner, OK
East end	US-64 / SH-2 in Warner, OK
Location
Counties	Okmulgee, McIntosh, Muskogee
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Oklahoma State Highway System Interstate U.S. State Turnpikes ← US-259 SH-266 →

The highway's eastern terminus is in Warner, Oklahoma at an intersection with U.S. Highway 64, concurrent with State Highway 2. Its western terminus is in Henryetta, Oklahoma at an intersection with U.S. Highway 75 and U.S. Highway 62.

Route description

The eastern end of US-266 and SH-2 near Warner.

US-266 begins at US-62/US-75 on the northeast side of Henryetta, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Interstate 40.[2] The highway heads east from this point, quickly crossing into the town of Dewar, which it bisects.[3] As it leaves Dewar, US-266 turns northeast, crossing Coal Creek and the Deep Fork River. The highway bypasses Hoffman to the east, providing access via Hoffman Road.[4] The route then passes through the southeastern outskirts of Grayson.[3] The highway then turns due east. Immediately after the curve, the highway serves as the southern terminus of SH-52's northern section. US-266 then continues east into McIntosh County.

US-266 continues due east, running parallel to the Deep Fork Arm of Eufaula Lake, the reservoir's northernmost arm.[4] South of Council Hill, the highway intersects SH-72 at its southern terminus. US-266 turns south-southeast, continuing the alignment of SH-72. The route then turns back to the east and heads into the city of Checotah. On the west side of town, US-266 has an interchange with the modern freeway route of US-69. Further east, in downtown Checotah, the route intersects the old alignment of US-69, US-69 Business. The highway heads due east out of Checotah, descending a ridge and passing just south of its summit, Mt. Nebo.[4] The highway passes under Interstate 40 just before crossing into Muskogee County.

Just under 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the McIntosh–Muskogee county line, US-266 intersects the southern SH-2.[5] US-266 begins a concurrency with the state route, traveling northwest to an interchange with I-40, numbered as Exit 278. The highways then curve around to due north to pass through Warner. On the north edge of Warner lies an intersection with US-64, where both US-266 and SH-2 end. Continuing straight puts the traveler on westbound US-64 bound for Tulsa, while turning right brings the motorist onto eastbound US-64 toward Fort Smith, Arkansas.

History

Prior to the inception of the U.S. highway system, SH-9 covered much of the corridor from Oklahoma City to Spiro.[6] Upon the US route system's inception, US-266 replaced SH-9 from its junction with US-66 at 23rd Street and Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City to US-64 in Warner.[7] By 1930, along with changes to several other branches of US-66,[8] the route was truncated at Henryetta. The segment from Oklahoma City to Henryetta became part of U.S. Highway 62, which was commissioned in 1930.

Junction list

The entire route is in Oklahoma.

County	Location	mi[1][9][10]	km	Destinations	Notes
Okmulgee	Henryetta–Dewar line	0.00	0.00	US-75 / US-62 to I-40 – Okmulgee	Western terminus; road continues as Dewar Avenue
	Grayson	7.3	11.7	SH-52 north – Morris	Southern terminus of SH-52
McIntosh	​	19.9	32.0	SH-72 north	Southern terminus of SH-72
	Checotah	26.5	42.6	US-69 – Muskogee, McAlester	Interchange
		27.35	44.02	US-69 Bus. (Broadway Street)
Muskogee	​	40.40	65.02	SH-2 south – Porum	Western end of SH-2 concurrency
	​	41.5	66.8	I-40 – Ft. Smith, Oklahoma City	I-40 exit 278
	Warner	43.09	69.35	SH-2 end / US-64	Eastern terminus of US-266; eastern end of SH-2 concurrency; northern terminus of SH-2; road continues as US-64 west
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

1. Oklahoma Department of Transportation. "State Highway System: Log of U.S. Highway 266" (PDF). Retrieved January 1, 2008.
2. Official State Map (PDF) (Map) (2009–10 ed.). Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
3. Oklahoma Department of Transportation (n.d.). Control Section Maps: Okmulgee County (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
4. Oklahoma Atlas and Gazetteer (Map). 1:200,000. DeLorme. 2006.
5. Oklahoma Department of Transportation (n.d.). Control Section Maps: Muskogee County (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Department of Transportation. Retrieved June 10, 2010.
6. Oklahoma State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (1925 ed.). Oklahoma State Highway Department. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
7. Oklahoma State Highway System (PDF) (Map) (1927 ed.). Oklahoma State Highway Department. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
8. "U.S. 666: "Beast of a Highway"?". Federal Highway Administration.
9. Google (June 9, 2010). "I" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
10. Google (June 9, 2010). "II" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved June 9, 2010.

External links

Template:Attached KML/U.S. Route 266

KML is from Wikidata

• US-266 at USEnds.com
• US-266 at OKHighways.com