Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

Oklahoma’s location makes the state an
easily accessible profit center with connections
to more than eighty million people within
a 500-mile radius. Equidistant between
New York City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, and
Canada, the state is in a perfect position to
serve the nation, North America, and the
world. Oklahoma is well suited to deliver
and receive goods from around the globe
through a comprehensive network of air,
ground, water, and rail transportation systems.
The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation
System links ports in northeast Oklahoma
with New Orleans and the entire world.
Inside the state, the Oklahoma Department
of Transportation has embarked upon an
eight-year plan to improve the infrastructure,
including an aggressive initiative to repair
all structurally deficient highway bridges.
International airports in Oklahoma City and
Tulsa and 149 public-use airports around
the state provide worldwide access. Twenty
rail operators provide Class I and II service
throughout the state.
The business friendly atmosphere of the
state has been enhanced by an Oklahoma
Department of Commerce program called
“LocateOK.” The agency highlights projectready
certified sites that are immediately
available for sale or lease, ready to build
on with all utilities in place, or pre-permitted
or planned. Even state regulatory hurdles
have been cleared for a prospective employer
that wants to launch its business without
years of delay. LocateOK is far better than
the old method of just providing new
and expanding businesses with a list of
available properties.
Opposite page: Will Rogers World Airport,
Oklahoma City.
Below: Tulsa Air and Space Museum.
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