Why getting to, from and around OKC is a breeze

January 9, 2019

 Bike lane By Car Close to the geographic center of the United States, Oklahoma City is the only city in the nation with two intersecting interstate highways that reach the entire length of the nation: Interstate 40 extends from the east coast to the west, while Interstate 35 stretches from the northern to southern borders. As a result, traveling by car to and from basically every part of the country is very doable. This is  especially true since, in addition to I-40 and I-35, Oklahoma City is also served by I-44, which connects OKC to St. Louis, Missouri, to the northeast and Wichita Falls, Texas, to the southwest. In addition, traveling around the OKC metropolitan area itself is typically far easier and less congested than getting around most comparably sized cities. The "stop and go" commuter patterns of other major cities are seldom found here since the city has a freeway network—most of which has six to eight lanes—that  connects it to every major city in the region. For that reason, it is often possible to get from any part of the OKC Metro area to downtown in 30 minutes or less by freeway. Plus, it’s usually easy for drivers to navigate their way to pretty much any destination in the metro area since OKC streets are on a N–S–E–W grid network where the major streets are separated by one mile. By AirWill Rogers World Airport, the state’s principal commercial airport, provides non-stop service to 22 airports in 19 cities, including some on both the east and west coasts. The airport is currently completing the second phase of an expansion plan, which will ultimately include increasing its non-stop options. Wiley Post Airport, located in the West Oklahoma City suburb of Bethany, is the FAA-designated reliever airport for Will Rogers. It is also the primary general and corporate aviation airport for the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. By RailAmtrak serves Oklahoma City via the Heartland Flyer, which provides daily service to Fort Worth, Texas, and access to the nation’s rail system. As of December 2018, OKC began offering streetcar service, which consists of seven cars that operate on two loops, six days a week with varying schedules. This system provides easy access to Downtown, Automobile Alley, Midtown and Bricktown and the various dining, hotels and attractions that can be found in those locations.   By Transit EMBARK buses serve much of the Oklahoma City metro area. Each route’s hours of operation vary, but many popular routes run about every 30 minutes during the weekday and every 60 minutes on Saturday.   By Bike   A bike-share program, Spokies provides a fun, affordable and convenient way to travel about and experience Downtown OKC.   In addition, for biking enthusiasts, a variety of public bike paths are available throughout the city.   By River   Oklahoma River Cruises offers a variety of specialty cruises and regularly scheduled river transit trips Wednesday - Sunday from April to December from four landings. Trip times and fares vary depending on destination and all cruisers are ADA accessible.