State Highway 97, sometimes abbreviated to SH-97 or OK-97, is a 19.86 miles (32 km) state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

, maintained by the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 state of Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. It connects two town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

s in the northeast part of the state: Sapulpa

Sapulpa, Oklahoma

Sapulpa is a city in Creek and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 20,544 at the 2010 United States census, compared to 19,166 at the 2000 census...

 and Sand Springs

Sand Springs, Oklahoma

Sand Springs is a city in Osage and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 18,906 in the 2010 U. S. Census, compared to 17,451 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1911, by Oklahoma philanthropist...

. Several communities of West Tulsa are along the road between these two towns, including Pretty Water, Allen, and Prattville

Prattville, Oklahoma

Prattville is a community in Sand Springs, Oklahoma on SH-97. Prattville is located 10 miles west of Tulsa, and can be found on the south banks of the Arkansas River.-History:...

.

SH-97 has existed since 1952. The highway had a lettered spur, SH-97T, for one year, but it is no longer on the state highway system.

Route description

State Highway 97 begins in Sapulpa at an intersection that serves as the terminus of two other highways—U.S. Route 75 Alternate

U.S. Route 75 Alternate (Beggs–Sapulpa, Oklahoma)

U.S. 75 Alternate is a highway near Tulsa. The southern terminus is at U.S. Highway 75 and SH-16 east of Beggs. The northern terminus is signed at State Highway 66 and State Highway 97 in Sapulpa...

 and State Highway 33

State Highway 33 (Oklahoma)

Oklahoma's State Highway 33 is a major highway that traverses most of the state, and at one time traversed the entire state. Its general orientation is west to east. All mileages listed herein are from the western terminus of the highway at the Texas state line.-Roger Mills County:SH-33 begins...

 (SH-66 also passes through the intersection). From this point, the highway heads north toward the Turner Turnpike

Turner Turnpike

The Governor Roy J. Turner Turnpike is a toll road in central Oklahoma, connecting its two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. It was authorized by the Oklahoma Legislature in 1947 and opened in May, 1953, it is the oldest of the state's ten turnpikes. The route is signed as Interstate 44 for...

 (I-44), which it has an interchange with. At the northern outskirts of Sapulpa, it serves as the western terminus of SH-166, a short spur route. The highway then passes through unincorporated areas of northeast Creek County

Creek County, Oklahoma

Creek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2010, the population was 69,967. Its county seat is Sapulpa.-Geography:According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water....

.

At W. 61st Street S., the road crosses into Tulsa County

Tulsa County, Oklahoma

Tulsa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population is 603,403. Its county seat is Tulsa.-History of Tulsa County:The history of Tulsa County greatly overlaps the history of the city of Tulsa...

. About one mile (1.6 km) north of the county line, SH-97 enters Prattville

Prattville, Oklahoma

Prattville is a community in Sand Springs, Oklahoma on SH-97. Prattville is located 10 miles west of Tulsa, and can be found on the south banks of the Arkansas River.-History:...

, a neighborhood of Sand Springs. At the north end of the town, the highway intersects SH-51 and begins a concurrency with it. The two routes cross the Arkansas River

Arkansas River

The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...

 into the main part of Sand Springs

Sand Springs, Oklahoma

Sand Springs is a city in Osage and Tulsa counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A suburb of Tulsa, it is located predominantly in Tulsa County. The population was 18,906 in the 2010 U. S. Census, compared to 17,451 at the 2000 census. The city was founded in 1911, by Oklahoma philanthropist...

 together. SH-97 then has an interchange with the Sand Springs Expressway, a freeway which carries US-64 and US-412; SH-51 merges onto the eastbound freeway, bound for downtown Tulsa

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

.

SH-97 continues straight ahead on N. Wilson Avenue, then turns onto W. 2nd Street and passes through downtown Sand Springs. The highway turns back to the north at McKinley Avenue. The highway continues north out of town until reaching a T intersection, where it continues by turning right. (The left turn at this intersection is former SH-97T; see below). The highway continues north through southeast Osage County

Osage County, Oklahoma

Osage County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Coterminous with the Osage Indian Reservation, it is the home of the federally recognized Osage Nation. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,472 a 6.8 percent increase from 2000, when the population was 44,437...

 to the Zink Ranch. The highway ends at Rock School Road in front of the ranch.

History

State Highway 97 was originally commissioned on February 3, 1952. At this time, the highway extended from Sapulpa (at its present-day southern terminus, where it intersected what was then US-66) to the southern SH-51 junction, which also carried US-64 (as the Keystone Expressway had not yet been built). The highway was extended north into Osage County on October 15, 1956. The only changes that have occurred since then are relatively minor changes in alignment through Sand Springs and Sapulpa.

SH-97T

The newest state highway in Oklahoma was a truck bypass off of SH-97, State Highway 97T. This highway was decommissioned one year after it was designated, and no new Oklahoma state highways have been created since.

Junction list