Oklahoma State Highway 10

Highway in Oklahoma

State Highway 10 (abbreviated SH 10) is a state highway in northeastern Oklahoma. It makes a 233.1 mile (375 km) crescent through the northeast corner of the state, running from SH 99 in Osage County to Interstate 40 (I 40) near Gore. It has two lettered spur routes. SH 10 first appeared as part of the original highway system designated in 1924. The route originally served eastern Oklahoma as a border to border route, connecting the Red River near Hugo to the Missouri state line near Joplin, Missouri. Much of the southern half of the route was dropped in 1941, while western extensions throughout the 1940s brought the highway to its current routing.

Highway 10 begins at State Highway 99 northwest of the unincorporated town of Bigheart. The highway runs northeast of this point through sparsely populated Osage County. The route runs across the dam forming Lake Hulah and runs through its eponymous unincorporated community. East of this, it crosses into Washington County, where it skirts Copan Lake. The route then proceeds to the town of Copan, where it intersects US 75. SH 10 progresses east to Nowata County, entering the county near Wann, before meeting US 169 around Elliot. It forms a concurrency with US 169 through the town of Lenapah, and splits off and heads due east from there. It does not intersect any highways or pass through any sizeable towns until Welch, where it meets US 59/SH 2. It then continues east to Miami, Oklahoma where it overlaps with US 59/69 and meets State Highway 125. After passing through Miami and passing the northern terminus of State Highway 137, SH 10 reaches its northeasternmost point at the western terminus of SH 10C (see below). After this point, all of SH 10 is north–south. SH 10 has a brief concurrency with U. S. Highway 60 near Wyandotte. At Wyandotte, the route turns to the south once more for 16 mile (26 km) to its junction with SH 25. From this junction, the route turns to the west for the three mile (4.8 km) stretch to Grove. By 1927, however, the northern terminus had been relocated to Miami. The Miami terminus lasted until January 30, 1930, when the highway was truncated to the US 60 junction near Wyandotte. at Welch on April 14, 1941. This gap would persist until August 3, 1981, when SH 10 was extended east from Copan to US 169, filling the gap. The section of SH 10 east of Gore was pressed into service as a detour for I 40 traffic after the collapse of its bridge over the Arkansas River on May 26, 2002. The detour significantly impacted the town of Gore. Local firefighters directed traffic there 24 hours a day, with daytime temperatures approaching Businesses in Gore reported loss of revenue due to the traffic; one gas station reported a 30% decline in revenue while traffic was detoured through town. Delays of thirty to fifty minutes on the 12 mile (19 km) detour were typical, although trains passing through Gore could lengthen wait times by 15 minutes.

SH 10A (6.3 mi) runs from SH 10 north of Gore to SH 100 near Lake Tenkiller. SH 10C (4.4 mi) is a short branch of SH 10 in Ottawa County. Its western terminus is at SH 10, and its eastern terminus is at the Missouri state line, north of Seneca, Missouri. It continues as Missouri Supplemental Route U which runs less than a mile before it ends at Route 43 north of Seneca, Missouri. The highway is relatively straight, though hilly, and no communities are located on the highway.