All photos on this page are courtesy Jeremy Lance.


The shield atop the page is the old style, being phased out for copies of this new style. Y'know, OK just ditched its circular route markers for a state outline, and now they're getting rid of state-outline Turnpike shields for... circular route markers. Good job. Clap. Clap.

Clap. Muskogee Turnpike is a toll road maintained by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA), beginning just before this sign when OK 51 leaves the Broken Arrow Expressway outside Tulsa. On the free bypass of Muskogee, co-signed OK 165, the Turnpike is signed North-South, but otherwise is West-East.


Not only did the OTA miss replacing this shield, it's NJDOT-style! Well, that's misleading, because Oklahoma has also kept the background on their BGS shields from time to time, but I'm from New Jersey and so it looks weird when someone else does it. The other interesting part of this photo is in the yellow area below the sign. Normally, on toll roads, you wouldn't expect a refund, but on the Muskogee Tpk., if you travel less than the full length of the turnpike from the mainline toll barrier, you get a refund. Except at this exit. Why does it sound like that system somehow benefits the OTA?


Um, the idea behind maximum and minimum limits is that they're limits. Of course, in most states there's some leeway, but I don't see why it's worth pointing out here. Ideally, all roads would be posted at the limit above which enforcement begins. That would raise a lot of New Jersey highways to 75 MPH, for example, but it would also finally get speed limit compliance and remove complaints of arbitrary ticketing.

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