So will the new northbound exit for 63rd also be the one for 50th, or is it a separate exit just north of that?

So will the new northbound exit for 63rd also be the one for 50th, or is it a separate exit just north of that?

When it's all said and done, it will be much north of the 50th exit, after crossing the bridge over I-44.

I-235 ramp to N. 63rd St. to close May 12; I-235 ramps to close, lanes narrow at I-44 Wednesday night (May 12); I-235 lanes to shift to new configuration Thursday morning

The following closures will impact the I-235/I-44 interchange Wednesday, May 12, and Wednesday night to shift northbound I-235/US-77 lanes to the east onto new pavement and to shift the northbound I-235/US-77 off-ramp to N. 63rd St.

The northbound I-235/US-77/Broadway Ext. off-ramp to N. 63rd St. will be closed from 9 a.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday to prepare the area for a new ramp exit configuration.

Closing from 7 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday will be:

The eastbound I-44 flyover ramp to northbound US-77/Broadway Ext.;
The westbound I-44 off-ramp to northbound US-77/Broadway Ext.:
The northbound I-235/US-77 off-ramp to westbound I-44;
Northbound I-235/US-77 will be narrowed to one lane between N. 50th St. and N. 63rd St.

When the ramps and lane open Thursday morning, motorists will have improved access to N. 63rd St. from the eastbound I-44 to northbound US-77/Broadway Ext. flyover ramp. The previously closed flyover off-ramp lanes to N. 63rd St. will be open to traffic for the first time. Drivers will need to use caution in the area as these ramp lanes will merge with traffic exiting from westbound I-44 to N. 63rd St. Additionally westbound I-44 off-ramp traffic will no longer merge with northbound I-235/US-77/Broadway Ext. traffic to access N. 63rd St., but will stay in the right off-ramp lanes.

So will the new northbound exit for 63rd also be the one for 50th, or is it a separate exit just north of that?

separate north of that exit

The EB and WB portions of I-44 of this construction site do not drain well. I dread driving through it on days like today--it's downright dangerous when you hit those high water areas with concrete barriers closed tightly in on you.

Anyone drive this today and see the ramp changes first hand? Work from home day for me today so it'll be tomorrow before I drive it.

Yes, I drove it and the 63rd off-ramp has now been shifted to the new alignment and you can also directly exit from 44 EB to 63rd.

Northbound 235 traffic is shifted onto the new northbound lanes and bridge.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051321a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051321b.jpg

Video showing the traffic flow:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RbLh__IatU

Here's what I believe will be the final sequence:

1. Demolish old 63rd off-ramp
2. Finish northbound lanes
3. Shift all traffic to northbound bridge
4. Rebuild southbound bridge
5. Shift all traffic to final lane/bridge/ramp configuration

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051321c.jpg

One thing that I've been wondering about. How will they handle WB to SB and SB to EB traffic through the half cloverleaf while the SB bridge is being demolished and rebuilt? I just can't see a logical way to route that traffic that won't be in the way of construction.

One thing that I've been wondering about. How will they handle WB to SB and SB to EB traffic through the half cloverleaf while the SB bridge is being demolished and rebuilt? I just can't see a logical way to route that traffic that won't be in the way of construction.

I have wondered the same thing...

They are going to have to leave part of the SB bridge open; perhaps they will not replace the whole thing, just expand it.

I have wondered the same thing...

They are going to have to leave part of the SB bridge open; perhaps they will not replace the whole thing, just expand it.

I assume they can build at least one new sb lane which can then be used while the old one is torn down.
This why engineers make the big bucks to coordinate these things

Perhaps they will just add onto the existing bridge; or build one or both the next lanes first, then rebuild the old section.

You can see the new cloverleafs are aligned in such a way to suggest an expansion to the west:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051321d.jpg

i think there will be 2 more bridges over I44 one for the south bound traffic and another for the clover leaf on/off ramps

From several of the project documents it looks pretty sure it will be a complete replacement.

Though given how much they have altered from phasing mentioned in documents and what they had announced publicly before on this project, even if they had told us the exact steps they planned to do recently, it would still seem like coin flip odds it actually would happen that way.

Maybe they'll build a new west section first to accommodate the two cloverleafs, then demolish and rebuild the existing bridge.

Will be interesting to watch how this unfolds.

I highly doubt they are leaving anything remaining from the old bridges/expanding existing bridges. This is their chance to replace as those are very old.
Will be interesting to watch this final piece take shape and this finally come to a conclusion

when you look at it now, it's hard to believe that the bridge was just 4 lanes wide for that amount of traffic. OMG, that's like 1/3-1/4 of what it's going to be when finished.

I believe they will leave the west side of the bridge for now to serve the loop ramps while building the middle bridge. Once that is done they will demolish the last old section and replace it completely. There should be 3 bridges when they are done; one for NB, one for SB, and one for the c/d lanes for the loop ramps.

when you look at it now, it's hard to believe that the bridge was just 4 lanes wide for that amount of traffic. OMG, that's like 1/3-1/4 of what it's going to be when finished.

I'm reminded of how Broadway Extension north of there looked prior to its rebuild in 2000-01. It had a very rural feel back then - 2 lanes in each direction and a wide, grassy median.

yes, you would have never known you were in a big city back then aside from the appearance of the skyscrapers in the skyline ....

I just took these (around 4:30PM Monday).

They have diverted NB 235 traffic over the new NB bridges and have started to demolish the eastern section of the old SB bridge.

I'm sure they will soon switch the SB 235 traffic to the NB bridges as well, leaving the western part of the SB for coverleaf access.


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051721a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051721c.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051721b.jpg

... I'm sure they will soon switch the SB 235 traffic to the NB bridges as well, leaving the western part of the SB for coverleaf access. ...

They way they set up the barrier on the new bridge so unevenly favoring southbound lanes, I would almost bet they plan to route the cloverleaf merge area temporarily over there, which would allow them to just build the bridge at once verses more sub-phases.

^

Interesting idea. Could be something like this so they can just do the entire SB bridge at once:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051721e.jpg

^

Interesting idea. Could be something like this so they can just do the entire SB bridge at once:

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235051721e.jpg

There will be 3 all-new bridges when they are done; one NB, one SB, and one collector/distribution for the cloverleaf loop ramps. This will eliminate the terrible weaving at the SB bridge. I do not believe they will do what Pete has suggested as that will make the weaving worse as there won't be any merge lane.

There will be 3 all-new bridges when they are done; one NB, one SB, and one collector/distribution for the cloverleaf loop ramps. This will eliminate the terrible weaving at the SB bridge. I do not believe they will do what Pete has suggested as that will make the weaving worse as there won't be any merge lane.

I think they will do what Pete suggested with a dedicated lane for the cloverleaf traffic. I imagine that's why the NB lanes are crammed over so far to the east rather than taking up half the new bridge.

There will be 3 all-new bridges when they are done; one NB, one SB, and one collector/distribution for the cloverleaf loop ramps. This will eliminate the terrible weaving at the SB bridge. I do not believe they will do what Pete has suggested as that will make the weaving worse as there won't be any merge lane.

The area they have partitioned on the new bridge for temporary SB traffic is a full lane wider than the old SB bridge, so there is plenty of room to have two through lanes and another lane running between the two leaves for merging like the current setup (granted now they could make the the temporary lanes modern standard width, verses the current one being like a foot narrower than modern standard). If they were not shifting the merge area there, it would make more sense to do a more even split so there was room for breakdown lane on both sides during construction, plus having the cars nearer final lanes design has some advantages in the turns and during heavy rain.

Even if they are technically different bridges, the renderings still make the SB and distributor bridge(s) look like one bridge with a permanent jersey barrier in the middle. Plus it seems questionable the old SB bridge would be the one of the old bridges they would keep for a phased approach, since the old SB bridge ends up an obstruction to both the new SB main lanes and the distributor lanes, where keeping the old NB bridge would allow building the distributor bridge first without obstruction, then construct the bridge for the main lanes.

I'll get out there again this weekend, as they are moving fast and hopefully there will be more clues about how they will be doing this.

The SB 235 bridge is really the last big piece so you can now see how they should be completely finished this fall as ODOT has previously state.

Ever since the new NB 235 to 63rd Street exit opened, it has been a cluster. I don't know if the light is broken at 63rd, but I have sat there for 10+ minutes multiple times. It'll get to the point where the exit ramp traffic nearly backs up onto NB 235, and then the workers will get out there with hand held stop/slow signs and direct traffic on 63rd.

^

All the 63rd exit traffic is now funneled into one lane.

Once they properly finish the new off-ramp, there will be at least three lanes which will make a huge difference. Also, they probably haven't recalibrated the light to accommodate all the additional traffic.

There will be 3 all-new bridges when they are done; one NB, one SB, and one collector/distribution for the cloverleaf loop ramps. This will eliminate the terrible weaving at the SB bridge. I do not believe they will do what Pete has suggested as that will make the weaving worse as there won't be any merge lane.

Its temporary anyway. They have had worse temp setups in the past. They can complete the project much faster this way and won't have resources waiting for the next phase(They can construct all the piers in one shot).

Not sure how they are going to demolish the rest of the southbound bridge as a good part of it spans active traffic on I-44.

Perhaps they'll temporarily shift traffic to the northern lanes to get that done and to build that part of the new bridge.

Not sure how they are going to demolish the rest of the southbound bridge as a good part of it spans active traffic on I-44.

Perhaps they'll temporarily shift traffic to the northern lanes to get that done and to build that part of the new bridge.

Another reason why they will probably do what you suggested. I'm sure they only want to shift I-44 over once or twice. The second time being for beam installation for new bridge.

Not sure how they are going to demolish the rest of the southbound bridge as a good part of it spans active traffic on I-44.

Perhaps they'll temporarily shift traffic to the northern lanes to get that done and to build that part of the new bridge.

I think they'll close I-44 for a weekend to do the full removal instead of shifting lanes a few times. "There are up to five full weekend closures of I-235/US-77and I-44 in the schedule to allow for bridge removals and hanging new bridge beams."

https://oklahoma.gov/odot/citizen/major-projects/ongoing-projects/i-235-i-44-interchange.html

^

That makes sense.

May have to close 44 again as part of the rebuilding process.


To date, have they completely closed 44? It would be far more problematic than 235 because there is so much through traffic, not just local commuters.

Also, how would you even reroute the 44 traffic?

^

That makes sense.

May have to close 44 again as part of the rebuilding process.


To date, have they completely closed 44? It would be far more problematic than 235 because there is so much through traffic, not just local commuters.

Also, how would you even reroute the 44 traffic?

I35 and I40 ..

They went out of there way to prevent closing I-44 completely for NB bridge construction. I-44 has been narrowed throughout most of construction even though they have haven't really needed to for the past several months.

That may have just been because they didn't want to burn one of allocated closing weekends though.

I35 and I40 ..

Yep. On a weekend, routing people via JKT/Hefner Parkway or I-35/I-40 would be fine.

Yep. On a weekend, routing people via JKT/Hefner Parkway or I-35/I-40 would be fine.

You'd have to divert them many miles away, though.

And if you allow traffic through up until the closure, tons and tons of trucks and cars will end up with nowhere to go.


This is infinitely harder than closing 235 which has virtually no through interstate traffic.

From today:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235052221a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235052221b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235052221c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235052221d.jpg

When traveling EB on 44 and taking the exit to 235, it goes from a two lane exit, merges to one lane for about 100 yards, then splits back into two lanes for the 235 NB exit left and the 235 SB exit right. Does anyone know why they merge it down to one lane for such a short distance? The exit ramp is obviously wide enough for two lanes the whole way, why the unnecessary merge?

When traveling EB on 44 and taking the exit to 235, it goes from a two lane exit, merges to one lane for about 100 yards, then splits back into two lanes for the 235 NB exit left and the 235 SB exit right. Does anyone know why they merge it down to one lane for such a short distance? The exit ramp is obviously wide enough for two lanes the whole way, why the unnecessary merge?

That is what I would like to know. The construction in that part of the intersection is long since finished so I would be surprised if it changed at this point, but it is such a disappointing miss for the overall project.

When traveling EB on 44 and taking the exit to 235, it goes from a two lane exit, merges to one lane for about 100 yards, then splits back into two lanes for the 235 NB exit left and the 235 SB exit right. Does anyone know why they merge it down to one lane for such a short distance? The exit ramp is obviously wide enough for two lanes the whole way, why the unnecessary merge?

I've been wondering the same thing. It seems like it could be re-striped easily enough.

I can't place it in my mind, but is it possible it is an early choke point to slow down traffic is a safer manner in preparation for traveling over a portion of the road that isn't finished yet? Like maybe slowing up on a straightaway instead of a curve?

Final striping will be done at the end of the project. The one lane configuration made sense when it used to end in one sb lane.

Or I'm wrong and they stupidly planned for a 1 lane bottle neck instead of having one lane go south and one lane north.

When traveling EB on 44 and taking the exit to 235, it goes from a two lane exit, merges to one lane for about 100 yards, then splits back into two lanes for the 235 NB exit left and the 235 SB exit right. Does anyone know why they merge it down to one lane for such a short distance? The exit ramp is obviously wide enough for two lanes the whole way, why the unnecessary merge?
I think it would be re-striped after the I-44 is back to 3 lanes close to the project's completion. That would enable an exit only lane and another straight or exit lane on I-44 E. As all the I-44 lanes could continue to switch between north and south during the project, it might make more sense to wait. My 2 ¢

Took these today (Wed):

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235052621a.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235052621b.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235052621c.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235052621d.jpg

Channel 25 is saying there's several closures and a traffic shift this weekend

They are closing the two remaining cloverleafs and transferring I-235 traffic to the new northbound bridge so they can demolish the old southbound bridge.

We'll see what they do with the cloverleafs as they work on the new southbound bridge. I'll get out there with my drone this weekend.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235060521a.jpg

Is the 45 mph limit in effect only when the workers are present? Every time I drive through there it feels like a free-for-all.

Will be interesting to see if they ever close I-44 to remove/rebuild the southbound 235 bridge.

Drove this today. There is temp pavement leading to the cloverleaf.

I imagine they will shift I44, demolish the rest of the bridge than shift again to build central pier.

I'll take some photos tomorrow.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235060621aa.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235060621b.jpg

Pete, thank you so much for the updated photo's on this (and other) OKC projects! I look forward each week to see your latest photos!

^^^^^

Pete, thank you so much for the updated photo's on this (and other) OKC projects! I look forward each week to see your latest photos!

You're very welcome!

It's fun for me, especially a project like this that continues to unfold week after week.

Things should really start moving fast now on this project and then all come together in the next several months.

Will southbound to east flyover ever be part of this intersection?

Will southbound to east flyover ever be part of this intersection?

Nope, just a slightly reworked cloverleaf. Same with westbound to soutbound.

They have opened the two temporary cloverleaf connections so that traffic merging onto SB 235 from WB 44 have an extra lane; that lane can also be used to access the other temporary cloverleaf extension for SB 235 to EB 44.

So, there are effectively 3 SB lanes on 235 on the northbound bridge, and 2 NB.

The former southbound bridges are traffic-free and they are working on finalizing demolition before reconstruction.

It also looks like they might keep the steel structure for the western part of the southbound bridge and re-pave it, then build a completely new bridge between it and the northbound bridge.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/235060721a.jpg