Okay, so I want to park somewhere next to I-40 eastbound and walk up on an on-ramp and just walk along the stretch. I want to do some pictures and I have an idea for the style of pictures to do for a video. I will also want the song, I'm thinking the last song played on the Titanic by the group of men out on the ship's deck..its a sad song, but I don't know the name of it. I want something emotionally sad soundtrack, but its hard to remember all the music I've heard in my life without being able to hear anything new. So, I just have to figure it out and pay/download a music soundtrack. I really think that I-40 need a tribute and I want to try (Metro and Will isn't interested) before its too late. Now, if only the weather will get warm again. I'm looking at the forecast for later this week, I think Friday or Saturday will approach nearly 70, so that might be the best time to start on the eastbound. Then westbound as soon that closes.

I'm sure there are a lot of homeless bums walking along the stretch, so it should be okay for me to temporarily go up there for pictures. If police stops me, I'll just show them my KOCO and OKCTalk cards. :-) I really have a great idea. Its important, because I-40, that stretch, are historically history a part of our lives for generations.

No, I am not doing this for The Oklahoman (newspaper). :-P

I found one area that shows poor planning. If you need to take I-40 east and you're entering from May, you have to go a full 2 miles to get to an onramp now! I was trying to go 40-east coming from Mathis Brothers and you drive almost half the length of the thing before you can get on the highway! There are 2 exits FROM the highway in that same span of space. So there's one thing that was not improved. It's actually faster to swing back around to Meridian and get on now.

I found one area that shows poor planning. If you need to take I-40 east and you're entering from May, you have to go a full 2 miles to get to an onramp now! I was trying to go 40-east coming from Mathis Brothers and you drive almost half the length of the thing before you can get on the highway! There are 2 exits FROM the highway in that same span of space. So there's one thing that was not improved. It's actually faster to swing back around to Meridian and get on now.

:LolLolLol

You may not be aware, but the stretch of I-40 was (and is being) moved to the south.

I found one area that shows poor planning. If you need to take I-40 east and you're entering from May, you have to go a full 2 miles to get to an onramp now! I was trying to go 40-east coming from Mathis Brothers and you drive almost half the length of the thing before you can get on the highway! There are 2 exits FROM the highway in that same span of space. So there's one thing that was not improved. It's actually faster to swing back around to Meridian and get on now.

From May, you only have to travel to Pennsylvania (full exchange) to get on I-40 eastbound. Last I recall, there's only a mile between those two major streets. Remember, Agnew is Villa, which is the half mile street...

Two things:

1) The west edge of the bridge appears to already be gone and they're tearing up more of it now as I write.

2) The new on ramp from I 35 had to be partially torn up due to poor construction (I think). There was a huge bump on it (it sunk down suddenly). They have torn up the new concrete at that section and are replacing it right now.

I give it at least two weeks before we're on the westbound lanes.

1) The west edge of the bridge appears to already be gone and they're tearing up more of it now as I write.

The east edge? of the the old eastbound I-40? where it elevates to make the connection with the bridge?

2) The new on ramp from I 35 had to be partially torn up due to poor construction (I think). There was a huge bump on it (it sunk down suddenly). They have torn up the new concrete at that section and are replacing it right now.



I don't think it was flaw in construction. I think the bump was where the new ramp met the old ramp.(Not a flaw in the new ramp itself I should say).

I will also want the song, I'm thinking the last song played on the Titanic by the group of men out on the ship's deck..its a sad song, but I don't know the name of it.Most accounts say the last song played on the Titanic as it sank was "Nearer My God To Thee" but at least one source claims it was a ragtime dance tune...

The east edge? of the the old eastbound I-40? where it elevates to make the connection with the bridge?

East edge, yes. Sorry for that mistake. So, to clarify: the east edge of the old I-40 is being dismantled already. Much of it was already gone this morning.

I don't think it was flaw in construction. I think the bump was where the new ramp met the old ramp.(Not a flaw in the new ramp itself I should say).

Not sure...but I do know they have removed new concrete that was placed there. Perhaps it was new concrete to connect to the old ramp and now they don't need that connection anymore and are tearing up that portion to finish the new ramp.

East edge, yes. Sorry for that mistake. So, to clarify: the east edge of the old I-40 is being dismantled already. Much of it was already gone this morning.

Ok, was just checking ;-) That would be a great thing to get pics of--from the new Byers bridge, not while driving.

http://newsok.com/i-40-crosstown-motorists-adjusting-as-parts-of-old-elevated-roadway-are-torn-down/article/3641195

first bridge removal contract was awarded in november .. byers to western (east end of 40)

PROJECT NO.:ACIMY-XTWN(067) J.P. NUMBER:1742877 BAMS NO: 110530 CALENDAR DAYS ALLOTTED: 270
COUNTY: OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY NO.: I-40 LENGTH: 1.5910 MILES
DESCRIPTION : BRIDGE AND APPROACHES (REMOVAL)
LOCATION : I-40: DECONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGE FROM WESTERN AVE TO JUST
EAST OF BYERS AVE IN OKLAHOMA CITY.
CONTRACT AMOUNT : $ 9,660,191.37 CONTRACTOR : SHERWOOD CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.


also awarded in nov I40 repaving from May to Agnew (west end)
AWARDED: CALL ORDER: 280
PROJECT NO.:OKCY-XTWN(046) J.P. NUMBER:1742858 BAMS NO: 110504 CALENDAR DAYS ALLOTTED: 300
COUNTY: OKLAHOMA HIGHWAY NO.: I-40/AGNEW AVE LENGTH: 0.8970 MILES
DESCRIPTION : GRADE, DRAIN, SURFACE, AND BRIDGE
LOCATION : I-40: FROM WEST OF MAY AVE, EXTEND EAST IN OKLAHOMA CITY.
AGNEW AVE: FROM RENO AVE, EXTEND SOUTH.
CONTRACT AMOUNT : $ 17,699,647.18 CONTRACTOR : ALLEN CONTRACTING, INC.

looks like both of these went to bid a little early and came in under projection


and the award from the newsok article west bound blvd connection .. will be awarded on FEB 6 with 240 days until completion

Well if that's the goal, they haven't done it yet. Agnew does not have an on-ramp for 40 East bound...only an off ramp. You have to go to Penn...so yes it's only 1 mile instead of two. But that's still twice the distance and triple the lights it used to be. Westbound will have an on and off ramp at Agnew though.

I don't really understand why there isn't an onramp at Agnew. Worse case for the 40 travelers is that there would be an exit only lane that mixes on and off traffic like we have all over town already. And it's going to be light enough traffic that it really shouldn't have been a big deal. But when traffic is heavy, it's a real suck to go to Penn instead. Like I said, it's faster to go back to Meridian and get on there because of the timing of the lights, which is stupid because of how much more distance you travel going to Meridian.

Thunder - that's a facepalm statement. Of course i'm talking about the new I-40. Why would i just now be commenting on the old road? And this is the new Eastbound part, not west that hasn't moved yet.......ugh.

Agnew to Penn is only half a mile...

Why would you go from Agnew to Meridian (a distance of 2 1/2 miles)? Are you taking Reno? SW 15th St? You probably encounter at least 10 stoplights either of those routes, then get on the freeway and come 2 1/2 miles back or 3 to the eastbound entrance ramp off of Penn that you only have to drive half a mile from Agnew to get on the freeway all the while taking on two stoplights??? You make no sense.

Well if that's the goal, they haven't done it yet. Agnew does not have an on-ramp for 40 East bound...only an off ramp. You have to go to Penn...so yes it's only 1 mile instead of two. But that's still twice the distance and triple the lights it used to be. Westbound will have an on and off ramp at Agnew though.

I don't really understand why there isn't an onramp at Agnew. Worse case for the 40 travelers is that there would be an exit only lane that mixes on and off traffic like we have all over town already. And it's going to be light enough traffic that it really shouldn't have been a big deal. But when traffic is heavy, it's a real suck to go to Penn instead. Like I said, it's faster to go back to Meridian and get on there because of the timing of the lights, which is stupid because of how much more distance you travel going to Meridian.

Thunder - that's a facepalm statement. Of course i'm talking about the new I-40. Why would i just now be commenting on the old road? And this is the new Eastbound part, not west that hasn't moved yet.......ugh.

Meridian may be faster, but having to travel 1/2 mile and 1 more stoplight is not much different from what it was before.

Yesterday's Oklahoman had a letter to the editor, from the ODT spokesperson, detailing the reasons for the changes in exit philosophy. It boiled down to "the feds demanded it" in the name of reducing the severity of some safety issues...

.....that being that the on and off ramps were too close together and did not allow for enough lane change room/slowing down & speeding up which resulted in more accidents. Our new exit line-up is exactly how ramps are on I-35E getting closer to downtown Dallas. Really don't see what the big deal is.

I drive through five days a week and the off ramps are almost bare now that people understand the exits. It is so much safer than the old crosstown. I can't wait for the move over to the new west bound road.

Is anyone documenting the destruction of the old Crosstown, via pics and/or video? I know access is an issue but that's what telephoto lenses are for ;-)

From ODOT
hP0TUOJdt5w

Pretty cool video.

Amen to that
I drive through five days a week and the off ramps are almost bare now that people understand the exits. It is so much safer than the old crosstown. I can't wait for the move over to the new west bound road.

Pretty cool video.

Amen to that!

The good news about the steel from the old crosstown being repurposed is that it means that old rusting behemoth will come down rather quickly. For once, ODOT will have something to motivate them rather than their own, ever-changing 'deadlines' that never come close to being met.

I almost wish there were more issues with the two eastbound exits as that would be a big motivator to get the new boulevard done. Without that, I'm sure the schedule will crawl along for years.

I almost wish there were more issues with the two eastbound exits as that would be a big motivator to get the new boulevard done. Without that, I'm sure the schedule will crawl along for years.

We'll have to hope that the City can keep them focused and on task. With the Boulevard being a major component of C2S and downtown in general, I would hope that city leaders can keep some amount of pressure on ODOT so that it doesn't slip. May be wishful thinking, but I'm feeling dreamy...

Is the old i-40 cross town completley demolished yet?

Is the old i-40 cross town completley demolished yet?

No, the westbound lanes haven't even been switched over yet. They only started demolishing a small stretch of eastbound bridge leading to the approach and the approach itself because its in the way of the onramp coming from northbound and southbound I-235.

Is the old i-40 cross town completley demolished yet?

No, westbound lanes are still being utilized by westbound traffic. The move for the westbound lanes will happen soon though.

Last week I said it looked like they had torn up part of the new concrete for the eastern ramp for westbound traffic because there was a large bump in the middle of it (they opened that ramp very briefly a few weeks ago, then posted a bump warning sign, and then switched back to the old ramp). Anyway, I'm not sure if they tore up the new concrete because of the bump or for some other reason, but they've now replaced it. Unfortunately, it again looks as if there is going to be the same large bump.

You can tell just looking at it that the ramp has a sudden change in the angle of decline. I predict some problems are going to arise over it unless something is fixed prior to the opening of the wesbound lanes.

Maybe someone can look at it next time they drive by and see if I'm just imagining it.

Last week I said it looked like they had torn up part of the new concrete for the eastern ramp for westbound traffic because there was a large bump in the middle of it (they opened that ramp very briefly a few weeks ago, then posted a bump warning sign, and then switched back to the old ramp). Anyway, I'm not sure if they tore up the new concrete because of the bump or for some other reason, but they've now replaced it. Unfortunately, it again looks as if there is going to be the same large bump.

You can tell just looking at it that the ramp has a sudden change in the angle of decline. I predict some problems are going to arise over it unless something is fixed prior to the opening of the wesbound lanes.

Maybe someone can look at it next time they drive by and see if I'm just imagining it.

Their changing it back tonight. So I guess we will see how bad the bump is tomorrow morning.


I-35 ramp to I-40 closes tonight
The northbound I-35 off-ramp to westbound I-40 will be closed from 8 p.m. to midnight Monday as part of
Crosstown construction. Drivers should expect delays and use I-240 or I-44 as an alternate route

I think Robinson may be the primary reason westbound is being held up. Without Robinson there are zero access points to eastern and central downtown. Well, without having to go north on I-235 anyway. That's a hard concept for some people. lol

Out of curiosity, are the funds already appropriated? If so, would more time until completion give the city more time to make improvements or modifications to the boulevard?

It depends on what you mean by "appropriated". Will try to locate it but in the Oklahoman that stated that even though it is finally on ODOT's 8 year plan, they actual funding for the Boulevard isn't expected to be in-hand until a couple of years AFTER it is currently scheduled to be completed. And that is based on anticipated revenue increase that may/may not materialize.

ON EDIT: here is the article:
http://newsok.com/downtown-boulevard-included-in-oklahomas-transportation-plan/article/3490026?custom_click=headlines_widget

Downtown boulevard included in Oklahoma's transportation plan (Oklahoman, 8/30/10)

...Unlike the highway relocation, the boulevard wasn't funded in the state Transportation Department's eight-year work plan — until now.

Officials recently announced the boulevard, expected to cost about $80 million, has been funded. Mayor Mick Cornett said it gives the city reason to be optimistic that the boulevard can be finished as planned in 2014.
...
State Transportation Department Director Gary Ridley said the state was able to add the boulevard to plans partly because of additional funding expected from the state budget beginning in 2016, ...

Not sure about the safer claim as in just the past 2 working days I have encountered more traffic dead-stops in all 3 lanes due to accidents (almost causing additional accidents) on the new than I ever did on the old. this was during morning rush-hour @ 7:30. Both were in the Agnew/Penn exit area. Not sure the reason for the accidents?

Not sure about the safer claim as in just the past 2 working days I have encountered more traffic dead-stops in all 3 lanes due to accidents on the new than I ever did on the old. this was during morning rush-hour @ 7:30. Both were in the Agnew/Penn exit area. Not sure the reason for the accidents?

People not paying attention to the people trying to pay attention...is usually the cause.

While everyone still gets used to the new flow, i'm sure it will be an issue. I've yet to run into stop and go traffic on the new road though. And i used to have that every day in rush hour.

Is the old i-40 cross town completley demolished yet?

That is expected to take like eight months

Their changing it back tonight. So I guess we will see how bad the bump is tomorrow morning.



Just drove it myself. It's not nearly as bad as I thought, so I guess I was imagining it. You can definitely notice the sudden angle change if you're paying attention, but it isn't anything major and shouldn't cause problems.

It depends on what you mean by "appropriated". Will try to locate it but in the Oklahoman that stated that even though it is finally on ODOT's 8 year plan, they actual funding for the Boulevard isn't expected to be in-hand until a couple of years AFTER it is currently scheduled to be completed. And that is based on anticipated revenue increase that may/may not materialize.

ON EDIT: here is the article:
http://newsok.com/downtown-boulevard-included-in-oklahomas-transportation-plan/article/3490026?custom_click=headlines_widget

Downtown boulevard included in Oklahoma's transportation plan (Oklahoman, 8/30/10)

Larry, the article you referenced clearly states the boulevard is funded. The reference to additional appropriations by the state in 2016 indicates that the state delayed a project or projects to enable funding of the boulevard now.

Maybe that is what they meant, but that isn't the way it reads. Yes it does say it is funded but then goes on in the apparent contradiction...guess it all depends on the definition of "funded" or "appropriated". The reason why I am reading it the way i am is the state has a horrible habit of spending money based entirely on projected revenues. If you or I were to do it, it would be akin to writing a "hot check" and one could be in some trouble for doing so. Something that they can't seem to get quite right (in either direction). One year they were something like a billion dollars ahead of the forecasts and other years multi-hundreds of millions below the forecasts. Year-to-year projections are notoriously hard to pin down. But long-term ones seem to be easier (see the City's excellent track record with projecting MAPS revenues over the long-term). Financial events go thru cycles and they tend to even out over the long-term. Where the City got into trouble with the Arena improvement tax shortfall was strictly bad timing and the relative short duration (15 months).

I do like the much longer Penn off ramp and one can see the Stockyards Arch/neon sign easily from the new I-40 before even taking the Agnew exit.

If having exits in close proximity is really a safety issue, why didn't they eliminate other exits? I noticed this morning that the Agnew and Penn exit are a 1/4 mile (mol) apart which seems fairly close as it is but throw into the mix there is going to be a Boulevard exit in between the two?

I still don't understand all of the fuss other than that some people had to adjust their driving patterns a bit. We lost the Walker exit and substituted Shields for Robinson with Shields able to handle a larger volume than Robinson. I suspect that a year from now no one will even think about it being a problem.

I do like the much longer Penn off ramp and one can see the Stockyards Arch/neon sign easily from the new I-40 before even taking the Agnew exit.

If having exits in close proximity is really a safety issue, why didn't they eliminate other exits? I noticed this morning that the Agnew and Penn exit are a 1/4 mile (mol) apart which seems fairly close as it is but throw into the mix there is going to be a Boulevard exit in between the two?

Agnue and Penn do not have full on/off ramp pairs, there is a 1/2 mile difference between the two, lower volume entering/exiting Agnue/Penn than at downtown and there is much more land allocated in that area to make ramps and distributor roads.

I still don't understand all of the fuss other than that some people had to adjust their driving patterns a bit. We lost the Walker exit and substituted Shields for Robinson with Shields able to handle a larger volume than Robinson. I suspect that a year from now no one will even think about it being a problem.

The crazy thing about it is we are going to go through another cycle of it when the West side opens here in a couple of weeks. One genius writing in to the Oklahoman seems to think the old section can still be used.

http://newsok.com/article/3642005

The crazy thing about it is we are going to go through another cycle of it when the West side opens here in a couple of weeks. One genius writing in to the Oklahoman seems to think the old section can still be used.

http://newsok.com/article/3642005

That person is outright stupid....what about all of the crumbling support coulmns that are failing.....(maybe they are just not informed of the entire situation with the crosstown)

That person is outright stupid....what about all of the crumbling support coulmns that are failing.....(maybe they are just not informed of the entire situation with the crosstown)

Or the fact its an ugly elevated bridge that chokes off economic development south of it.

Agnue and Penn do not have full on/off ramp pairs, there is a 1/2 mile difference between the two, lower volume entering/exiting Agnue/Penn than at downtown and there is much more land allocated in that area to make ramps and distributor roads.

Not sure what you mean about "not have full on/off ramp pairs"? The highway sign for the Penn exit states 1/4 mile (right at the Agnew exit). Not sure how there are measuring the distances? But they can be misleading as I noticed more than once the distance to/from Tulsa/OKC is 90 miles in one direction and 120 in the other. LOL Even if it is 1/2 mile, there is the Boulevard exit already halfway constructed in between Agnew & Penn (if evenly split, that brings us back down to 1/4 mile spacing). If the 1/4 mile sign is correct the spacing between the 3 ramps is less than that (1/8th?)

Understand what you are saying about higher traffic count closer to DT (but isn't that situation exacerbated by having 2/3 fewer exits?) As far as land allocation, they could get all the land they needed to do it properly. Right?

That person is outright stupid....what about all of the crumbling support coulmns that are failing.....(maybe they are just not informed of the entire situation with the crosstown)
The writer's idea of keeping it & using it as a business route was nearly identical to the one then Mayor Humphreys suggested after the new I-40 route was selected. This was after he stated that we couldn't afford the million/yr in repairs. Not trying to pick a fight here, but the articles I have read have generally indicated there isn't anything wrong with the support columns and certainly not the steel beams since they are reusing them (got to love the irony of decades old steel from the state's longest "structurally deficient" bridge is being reused to fix hundreds of other "structurally deficient" bridges. That said, the "crumbling" seems to be concentrated on the decking???

Another fact about the crosstown is that it was built with zero shoulder clearance....let a vehicle konk out during rush hour and it's quite the mess. There is no reuse as it currently stands.

The simple fact that we have outgrown it is reason enough to replace it. Not to mention people get a birds eve view of the blighted areas leading into downtown. The new one encourages downtown traffic and it has a more scenic view of the city. People are going to cry about the lay out until it is completely finished. Then they will suddenly discover that they are getting to work/home faster then when they were using the old crosstown. Just simply because the design eliminates congestion. You can stay in one lane without have to worry about congestion from an exit backing up traffic.

The writer's idea of keeping it & using it as a business route was nearly identical to the one then Mayor Humphreys suggested after the new I-40 route was selected. This was after he stated that we couldn't afford the million/yr in repairs. Not trying to pick a fight here, but the articles I have read have generally indicated there isn't anything wrong with the support columns and certainly not the steel beams since they are reusing them (got to love the irony of decades old steel from the state's longest "structurally deficient" bridge is being reused to fix hundreds of other "structurally deficient" bridges. That said, the "crumbling" seems to be concentrated on the decking???

The "structurally deficient" label has much to do with the 'fracture critical' design of the bridge; if one component fails, that entire section of the bridge could collapse. And a crack WAS found in one of the pier beams in 1989.

The decking was a problem almost from the beginning. Barely 10 years after it opened, the entire thing had to be shut down and redecked. Also, it's been stated that roughly 1,800 of the approximately 1.900 beams will be repurposed, suggesting that at least 100 beams are believed to be unsuitable for further use. All the beams will be checked by engineers before being repurposed.

I agree, the letter writer is clueless. The sooner the old Crosstown is shut down, the safer we'll all be.

Whatever happened to the train guy that swore he would stop I-40 from being built?

Whatever happened to the train guy that swore he would stop I-40 from being built?

I think he's at the station waiting on the train.

Whatever happened to the train guy that swore he would stop I-40 from being built?

His name was Tom Elmore I believe.......probably left mad....

His name was Tom Elmore I believe.......probably left mad....

Yep, good ol Tom! I miss those days!!

The first span of eastbound bridge is completely gone now.

Hell yeah!

Any idea when the westbound traffic is going to be completely moved to the new freeway?

Any idea when the westbound traffic is going to be completely moved to the new freeway?

Mid- February last I heard.

By the time westbound is opened, the eastern connections will be almost done and the temporary crossover won't be needed anymore. lol.

Tom Elmore's still around. Last I heard from him, he was talking about a transportation bill in the House (Rep. James Lankford is on the pertinent committee) that might increase the allowed weight for tractor/trailer rigs, something Elmore has always deplored because of pavement damage.