Just an FYI if you take this route in or out of the area. The notice has been on display since I think yesterday. No idea why, but my guess is they are going to dismantle or do some work on the old I40 above this area. (in the mornings I can hear them jackhammering at it from above)

Now it would be awesome if someone could film the process of this coming.down. Those steel supports have some girth!

Does this mean that everyone will be getting off at Western now (the only remaining DT exit)??

For those of you that work downtown, pass the news on to your fellow employees and devise a plan to use the street grid. Everyone doesn't have to go the same way...

For those of you that work downtown, pass the news on to your fellow employees and devise a plan to use the street grid. Everyone doesn't have to go the same way...

You expect people to not go in a straight line from point A to point B? Thats crazy talk.....lol

I expect it will take less than a week to bring the bridge down. If it takes too long, people will get used to it and prove ODOT's philosophy on highway building wrong. There's my conspiracy of the day.........lol

I'll go along with that. We are a subculture of OKC citizens. We are the only ones that know what is going on and thankfully the media has helped recently with the boulevard debacle. I would go door to door if I could and pass out information about how horrible ODOT is and how we can better improve our transportation infrastructure by informing the everyday citizen of other modes.

I wish they'd be more specific on where the closure will start and end. Going EB on Reno is fairly fast, but not sure if EKG will be open at Reno. We've been having discussions about scenarios for a couple of days.
Now is a good time for "flubber" to really exist!

I wish they'd be more specific on where the closure will start and end. Going EB on Reno is fairly fast, but not sure if EKG will be open at Reno. We've been having discussions about scenarios for a couple of days.
Now is a good time for "flubber" to really exist!

ekg is not closing at Reno .. and there has nver been a plan to do so

I wish they'd be more specific on where the closure will start and end. Going EB on Reno is fairly fast, but not sure if EKG will be open at Reno. We've been having discussions about scenarios for a couple of days.
Now is a good time for "flubber" to really exist!

EKG/Shields is closing South of Reno and North of SW 4th st. Except for local traffic if we want to get more specific about it.

If you're needing to go east from DT, why not NE 4th or the NE 8 rolling into 10th route? Possibly a way to avoid any Reno crowding? It's been a while, but when I wasn't looking to set speed records I would at times take Sooner up to NE 10th or 23rd before I turned toward DT or the capitol.

Thanks kevin and jn1780. I'll keep both options open. When I get off at 3 PM, Reno EB is a breeze. After 4:30 - not so much. My main concern was from Century Center exit to ekg to Reno - but jn answered that.
Never tried NE 4th route - will check that out!

Thanks kevin and jn1780. I'll keep both options open. When I get off at 3 PM, Reno EB is a breeze. After 4:30 - not so much. My main concern was from Century Center exit to ekg to Reno - but jn answered that.
Never tried NE 4th route - will check that out!

EB Shields is not closed, just have to make a little jog using Robinson to get there. Pretty simple.

You expect people to not go in a straight line from point A to point B? Thats crazy talk.....lol

I expect it will take less than a week to bring the bridge down. If it takes too long, people will get used to it and prove ODOT's philosophy on highway building wrong. There's my conspiracy of the day.........lol
Get ready to add to the conspiracy then...
Read more: http://newsok.com/downtown-oklahoma-city-street-to-close-for-crosstown-demolition/article/3701368#ixzz23ofBPCWd

A portion of Shields/E.K. Gaylord Boulevard will be closed from Sunday through September as crews demolish the old Crosstown Expressway bridge. A portion of Shields/E.K. Gaylord Boulevard will close for several weeks in downtown Oklahoma City as part of the demolition of the old Crosstown Expressway bridge.

Article in the Journal Record today saying this project has been delayed by several months.

Article in the Journal Record today saying this project has been delayed by several months.

Due to...?

Rain?

Uncertainty over the convention center location probably.

Here's the article:



Downtown delay: OKC pushes back reopening of Gaylord Boulevard
By: Molly M. Fleming The Journal Record July 9, 2015 0

OKLAHOMA CITY – People making their way into downtown from S. Shields Boulevard will have to deal with the road’s closed portion for a few months longer than planned. However, the future Santa Fe Station transportation hub farther north on E.K. Gaylord Boulevard is on track.

The city closed E.K. Gaylord Boulevard between Reno Avenue and SW Fourth Street in November. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the city started work on the road in March.

“They were hoping to have this opened by September 2015,” ODOT spokeswoman Lisa Shearer-Salim said. “There have been some delays on the utility relocation.”

Brenda Perry, ODOT public information manager, said the department is trying to speed up the work on its end so the project will not be further delayed. The road is expected to reopen by the fall, but she did not give an exact date. The season runs from Sept. 23 to Dec. 21.

The Shields Boulevard construction, as well as railroad bridgework near the Oklahoma City Boulevard’s east end, makes up a $40 million total project. That total includes developing the connections from Interstate 235 and I-40 to the Oklahoma City Boulevard on the east end of the corridor.

The thoroughfare’s next two portions are still in the design phase and will connect the finished west side to the east side, closer to I-35. The next two parts will go from S. Klein Avenue, where the completed east-side Oklahoma City Boulevard ends now, to S. Walker Avenue, then from S. Walker Avenue to S. Shields Boulevard. Shearer-Salim said those two areas will not be put out to bid until late 2016.

At Santa Fe Station, construction will begin this summer to turn the train depot into a multitransportation hub, including buses, streetcars, taxis and trains such as the Heartland Flyer. The renovation will also create a connection between downtown and Bricktown, as well as provide retail space. The city expects to spend $28.4 million, with multiple entities providing funds.

Oklahoma City Department of Public Works spokeswoman Shannon Cox said the project will be completed in four phases: the building, the plaza, the tunnel, and the Project 180 street work. She said work will start first on the building’s exterior. The tunnel will be the final piece. The renovation and tunnel were designed by Tap Architecture firm. The project is expected to be complete in fall 2016, Cox said.

I drove downtown from work yesterday afternoon to catch a bite to eat in Bricktown. I have to travel North on Shields when I came up to where the construction starts I noticed the road will dip down into a new intersection about 9 feet before it come back up to grade level. They have the walls so you can see this dip. I was driving there was traffic so I could not pull to the side and find a safe place to pull off and get photos. It would be great if somebody can snap some pics to see the dip in the roadway. I had no idea they planned to drop this road this deep to go under the train tracks.

I forgot to add these walls have a finished look. These wall have a finish like the walls you see while traveling down the dip section of I 40 they have a finished look and a curve as if they were following a future road.