3-digit Interstates from I-44

I-144 (preliminary numbering) Missouri (link)

Interstate 144 was Missouri's July 31, 1958 proposal to AASHO for part of what is now I-270. In that plan, the St. Louis beltway comprised three numbers (going clockwise): I-255 from the the Illinois line to I-55; I-144 from I-55 to I-70; and I-270 from I-70 to the Illinois line.

On Nov. 10, 1958, AASHO approved Missouri's numbering plan, provided I-144 was changed to I-244, to reflect its role as a bypass rather than a spur. [8]

See also: Missouri Interstate Route Numbering (Stephen Summers)

I-244 (numbered as another interstate) Missouri (link)

Interstate 244 was once the numbering for a 20-mile stretch of today's I-270 between I-55 and I-70 in St. Louis. [7] Missouri's original proposed number for this segment was I-144, but AASHO directed the change to I-244 on Nov. 10, 1958. [8]

The approved numbering plan was then I-255 from the the Illinois line to I-55; I-244 from I-55 to I-70; and I-270 from I-70 to the Illinois line. However, when the beltway was completed south to US 50/I-44 in 1974, the state discarded the 244 numbering, absorbing it into a longer I-270. [5]

Since the I-270/I-255 roadway is continuous, why not use one number for the entire route? If that were done, there would be a confusing interchange near Collinsville, Illinois, where I-270 would intersect itself. (In fact, circa 1980 the all-around 270 numbering was planned, and the leftover part was to be called I-870.

I-244 Oklahoma (link)

15.75 miles [1]; north loop of I-44 in Tulsa. Interstate 244 shares part of its route with the mysteriously expanding US 412. Unconstructed in 1965; mostly done by 1976, except for the western section between I-44 and US 75.

It's officially the M.L. King Expressway, but most people still call the western half the Red Fork Expressway (after a part of west Tulsa) and the east half the Crosstown [4].

Dylan Wilbanks writes:

"I-244 is a real oddity -- it runs through downtown while its mother road (I-44) takes a suburban route. The main reason seems to be that the 51st St Bridge and its connecting freeway was built first. The road was hooked into the Turner Turnpike, which became I-44, and there's never been a push to flip-flop the freeways. What's worse is that I-44 is four laned while I-244 is six laned! I-44 gets stacked up with semis while 244 runs at 65 through the poor black north side." [6]

I-444 (not signed as interstate) Oklahoma (link)

2.51 miles [1]; serves downtown Tulsa; our only interstate divisible by 111. If you hate using impersonal numbers, call Interstate 444 by its catchy name -- the Inner Dispersal Loop [4].

Interstate 444 wasunder construction in the mid-1970s. Like Texas' I-345, I-444 is not signed. Tulsa drivers only see signs for US 75, US 64, and OK 51 -- not I-444. [3]

Mark Adkinson reports that the I-444 shield has been removed from the Oklahoma official state map: "(I have always said it never really existed.)"

Dylan Wilbanks added that the highway was never signed because Oklahoma was not able to get federal funds to do so in the early 1980s. [6]

However, a mapping supervisor from Oklahoma DOT spoke to the Division Engineer in Tulsa to get a more official answer. To avoid confusing motorists by adding a 444 number to an area with I-44 and I-244, the DOT decided to use the existing US 75 designation. I-444 is officially an interstate highway, but just not signed that way. [9]

Sources

Route Log and Finder List - Interstate Highways, FHWA, Oct. 31, 2002.
Brooks, Robert. "I-444 in Tulsa." Email to Kurumi, March 6, 1997.
"MarkA"
Launer, Louis J.
Wilbanks, Dylan. "I-240, I-235, I-244, I-444, I-705." Personal email, Oct. 14, 1999.
Backlin, David. "3di correction." Personal email, July 26, 2000.
Summers, Stephen. "Missouri Interstate Route Numbering." http://www.nwindianahwys.homestead.com/MISO.html. (27 July 2003)
Renbarger, Thom. "I-444 in Tulsa, Oklahoma." Personal email, June 23, 2003.