By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma lawmakers are giving late country music star Toby Keith a final red Solo cup toast in honor of his lifelong contributions to Oklahoma and beyond.
The Senate on Thursday passed House Concurrent Resolution 1019 to name the new east-west connector turnpike in the Norman to salute the singer, who sang “Red Solo Cup.” Keith, 62, died in 2024 after a battle with cancer.
The roadway named after the Moore High School graduate extends from Interstate 44 east to I-35 near Indian Hills Road, continuing east and north to I- 40 at the Kickapoo Turnpike. It will be called the Toby Keith Expressway.
Keith’s hits include “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” and “American Soldier.”
He sold more than 40 million albums, produced over 20 number one singles and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the resolution said.
“Beyond his musical accomplishments, Toby Keith was a proud and vocal patriot who dedicated significant time and resources to supporting members of the United States Armed Forces with no financial benefit to himself, performing more than 300 shows on multiple USO tours in combat zones and uplifting American service members stationed overseas,” according to the measure.
Sen. Lisa Standridge, R-Norman, said Keith, a longtime Norman resident, was the state’s greatest country and western star who was unapologetic about what he believed in.
He spent time as a roughneck in the oil fields, played defensive end for the Oklahoma City Drillers and was a successful businessman and philanthropist, she said.
“He was a near constant figure on the sidelines of University of Oklahoma football games,” Standridge said.
His open patriotism was one of the things that set him apart, she said.
“Toby Keith sang about loving his country and he lived it day in and day out,” she said.
The measure, which previously passed the state House, does not require the governor’s signature.
The 28-mile east-west connector is estimated to cost $3 billion, said Lisa Shearer-Salim, an Oklahoma Turnpike Authority spokesperson.
Construction on it is about to begin, and the estimated completion date is 2033, she said.
It is part of a $8.2 billion, 15-year turnpike system improvement project, dubbed Advancing and Connecting Communities and Economies Safely Statewide.
