“ Under questioning Monday by Shannon, Gatz said the entire interchange, not just a portion of the project, needed to be re-evaluated.”

If this results in a better interchange then I’m all for it.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/commissioner-questions-gov-kevin-stitts-transportation-secretary-over-delayed-road-project/article_4e38e5e8-ac3e-11eb-ac07-9b2ccbd0133b.html

So it isn't a better interchange proposed after all. Just a ramp that would have alleviated traffic from other ramps, one that about 60% the cost of which would have been paid for by the tribes, is removed. A minimum this should have been a half stack interchange to prepare the remaining road for an eventual freeway upgrade. I don't see how ODOT in any way justifies this is more beneficial for commuters.

https://oklahoma.gov/odot/citizen/newsroom/2021/november/public-input-needed-on-proposed-i-35-and-sh-9-west-interchange-i.html

As long as it isn’t option 3, I’m good with the others.

https://oklahoma.gov/odot/citizen/newsroom/2021/november/virtual-open-house-now-online-for-i-35-corridor-study-in-moore-a.html

Pretty big project but big mistake not adding additional mainline lanes. This freeway should be at minimum 5 lanes each way. Even better would be 5 free lanes each way plus 2 tolled lanes. Might seem like overkill but that would ensure this freeway flows for at least 40-50 more years with no traffic backups. If ODOT only adds one additional lane each way it will just be backed up in a few years and of course the anti car crowd will blame induced demand ignoring latent demand.

Adding interchanges at Rock Creek RD., and SW 34th ST., as well as building new service roads and converting existing to one way, rebuilding Robinson and SW 4th St. as a DDI, and new auxiliary lanes. I'd imagine this will be a several hundred million dollar project unless ODOT plans on doing these projects individually. Either way this will be a very significant project.

PS, very informative project page, ODOT has created for this project. I used to gripe at them for this but they have really improved. Cool interactive map you can use to view existing conditions and proposed. Hopefully they choose option 1.

PPS, I believe Moore has plans to grade separate the RR tracks with street on SW 4th. Would make sense to tie that project in with this one.


I wish they would do this from 2nd St. in Edmond to Seward Rd. or to the OK77 North left exit into Guthrie. Add at least one more lane on I-35 to go to 6 lanes, add overpasses and exits to each cross road without one (Danforth, Sorghum Mill, Coffee Creek, Simmons, Charter Oak) and add the frontage road. Talk about a project! Any guesses on the cost for something like that? $90-$100 mill?
I'll just be glad when the Waterloo interchange is complete.

I wish they would do this from 2nd St. in Edmond to Seward Rd. or to the OK77 North left exit into Guthrie. Add at least one more lane on I-35 to go to 6 lanes, add overpasses and exits to each cross road without one (Danforth, Sorghum Mill, Coffee Creek, Simmons, Charter Oak) and add the frontage road. Talk about a project! Any guesses on the cost for something like that? $90-$100 mill?
I'll just be glad when the Waterloo interchange is complete.
The Waterloo interchange will be a godsend once completed. ODOT will already widen I-35 to six lanes to SH-33. It would be very wise to add one way service roads. I wish ODOT would follow Texas and just adding them everywhere. It really helps with access to freeways and is a great alternative if there’s a wreck or something.

I’d something like that though would run close to half a billion dollars.

I dont see that the whole 544 thing is worth the expense. Having been to airports across the country, ours is FAAAAAR from the only one to have intersections and stoplights on the path in to the airport grounds. Half the time, the stoplights are for the maze of roads for the airport grounds themselves. Cargo road traffic. All those businesses that pop up near runways. Etc. The fact that its so fast to go down Meridian today is quite the benefit for OKC travelers.

I've heard nothing but praise for people from all over the US that come to OKC for our office...clients/employees/etc. The speed and ease of the experience is always at the top of the list. If there's one thing they would change, the rental cars would be attached to the actual airport and not need a shuttle, but that seems to be the trend in other places.

One thing this would do is add more congestion to an already packed section of the road. If you add something like this, you also need to correct the need for I-44 traffic to combine with 240 traffic and swap places. If the area had better flow-through, then this mess wouldn't exist.

I do. Lots of great airports have fully controlled access direct to the terminal and many are embarking on projects spending millions to do so like the New Orleans airport.

And this plan would already reduce almost all of the congestion by reconfiguring that entire interchange.

well if the frontage roads in norman between Tecumseh and Robinson go one way... it's only going to make things worse. I live just south of Rock Creek and the only way in and our of our edition is by the frontage road, there is no other access. so that means i'm going to have to deal with the nightmare that is robinson to go anywhere, rather than having the options now to cut back and go across 35 at Rock Creek, or drive all the way up to Tecumseh. This will be an absolute nightmare for us. Robinson is already chaotic and the changes they just made, actually look like it is just pushing the problem further away from another intersection rather than actually fixing them. If they want to make them one way in moore, fine, but norman built with the idea of them not being, and would just be causing more congestion problems rather than getting rid of any.

No it will make things better because it is a more efficient set up Just wait

No it will make things better because it is a more efficient set up Just wait

but it doesn't actually fix the real issues, which is that the Tecumseh exit is too close to the intersection for norman, that is the issue that sometimes causes slowdowns on 35... this doesn't fix that or correct any issues regarding that. It also will just shift all of the people living in my neighborhood to one single intersection, rather than the ability for them to go to rock creek, or all the way up to Tecumseh . so it's not fixing the issues at one intersection, and then just making another intersection worse... so how is that more efficient?

the issue on 19th street moore is the East/west traffic and the number of stoplights in such a close proximity. how is making these frontage roads one way, going to help alleviate the traffic that is caused by someone getting off from southbound I-35, trying to turn right (west) onto 19th street in moore, and waiting there sometimes 3-4 stop light rotations, because it's constant cars all the way to telephone road. this is an ODOT proposal that is trying to look for an issue to fix, but couldn't find one that they were able to tackle, so just made something up.

One-way frontage roads aren't necessarily meant to cut down travel times. They're primarily a safety improvement, since they eliminate cross traffic where ramps meet the frontage roads. That is, rather than frontage road traffic meeting exiting traffic head-on, exiting traffic merges with the frontage road traffic, so there's less of a speed differential. They also make it less likely that drivers will misinterpet an off-ramp as an on-ramp and end up going the wrong way on the Interstate.

There are some operational benefits to having all of the traffic going the same way, though. I lived in the apartment complex on the west-side frontage road north of Robinson for a little while, and remember what a pain in the ass the light at Robinson was, with traffic sometimes backing up all the way to Braum's. I can only imagine it's gotten worse in the twelve years since I moved out. If that road became one-way, you'd have two lanes of traffic to get through there instead of one, and wouldn't have to deal with oncoming traffic from Robinson trying to turn into the shopping center. Yes, some trips are going to end up being a lot more circuitous than they are now, but that's outweighed by the accrued safety benefits for everyone else.

My concern here is that they're pairing the frontage roads with DDIs. Historically they don't play well together, because the DDIs end up moving traffic faster than the lights at the frontage roads can handle it, causing backups that end up obstructing the flow in the DDI itself. A SPUI (like the ones at Main and Lindsey) usually works a lot better in that situation, but it requires a much larger bridge than the existing ones, so it would be a lot more expensive.

ODOT: US-177/Perkins Rd. narrows at McElroy Rd. in Stillwater Monday.
https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/odot-us-177-perkins-rd-narrows-at-mcelroy-rd-in-stillwater-monday/article_c7dc76f4-5a25-11ec-8993-c3b5dc63f094.html

https://www.stwnewspress.com/news/perkins-road-project-intended-to-decrease-congestion-increase-safety/article_e1575dde-5fb5-11ec-b3b6-0bbbbc0b9559.html

I was browsing the updated county assessor map)https://oklahomacounty.geocortex.com/Html5Viewer/Index.html?configBase=http://oklahomacounty.geocortex.com/Geocortex/Essentials/REST/sites/OKCAssessor/viewers/OKCAssessor_gvh/virtualdirectory/Resources/Config/Default) and was looking at all the new housing additions in NW OKC. They really need to get on the ball of at least securing ROW for future freeways before the land gets developed. The ball is being dropped up there.

I was browsing the updated county assessor map)https://oklahomacounty.geocortex.com/Html5Viewer/Index.html?configBase=http://oklahomacounty.geocortex.com/Geocortex/Essentials/REST/sites/OKCAssessor/viewers/OKCAssessor_gvh/virtualdirectory/Resources/Config/Default) and was looking at all the new housing additions in NW OKC. They really need to get on the ball of at least securing ROW for future freeways before the land gets developed. The ball is being dropped up there.

How can you tell where the new housing additions are on the map? I've been wondering how I can look these up on a map. You drive up the KPT, and they're almost constant.

I was browsing the updated county assessor map)https://oklahomacounty.geocortex.com/Html5Viewer/Index.html?configBase=http://oklahomacounty.geocortex.com/Geocortex/Essentials/REST/sites/OKCAssessor/viewers/OKCAssessor_gvh/virtualdirectory/Resources/Config/Default) and was looking at all the new housing additions in NW OKC. They really need to get on the ball of at least securing ROW for future freeways before the land gets developed. The ball is being dropped up there.

Exactly. Same thing happened in the SW Metro and that's why the JKT couldn't be connected to SH4 in Mustang. They were barely able to secure the ROW for the connection to SH152 and that's why it meanders.

How can you tell where the new housing additions are on the map? I've been wondering how I can look these up on a map. You drive up the KPT, and they're almost constant.
Well I’m just looking at the aerial imagery. Are you asking how to pull that up?

Well I’m just looking at the aerial imagery. Are you asking how to pull that up?

I mean on that link you posted. I've wondered how if there are any maps that show where future housing developments are going to be built.

Anyone know what they are doing on Route 66 between Luther and Wellston?

Edit: Got an answer to my question. Looks like resurface and widening.

https://www.lutherregister.news/2021/09/18/road-work-for-route-66-and-a-planned-power-outage/

I’m assuming this is ODOT responsibility but Hefner Parkway southbound just north of the Grand Ave overpass has become horrible. All three lanes are crumbling in one spot and are a large thud when driving over it in a small car.

Is there a way to reach out to ODOT easily to discuss? Anyone know who to reach out to? There doesn’t seem to anything online to report issues easily that I could find besides a phone number that didn’t work.

Otherwise this road is great but this spot needs a quick repair. Figure they can probably patch with quick dry concrete overnight if they shut it down to one lane or something. It’s just getting to be very noticeable and bad.

I’m assuming this is ODOT responsibility but Hefner Parkway southbound just north of the Grand Ave overpass has become horrible. All three lanes are crumbling in one spot and are a large thud when driving over it in a small car.

Is there a way to reach out to ODOT easily to discuss? Anyone know who to reach out to? There doesn’t seem to anything online to report issues easily that I could find besides a phone number that didn’t work.

Otherwise this road is great but this spot needs a quick repair. Figure they can probably patch with quick dry concrete overnight if they shut it down to one lane or something. It’s just getting to be very noticeable and bad.
When I report maintenance issues I email here and usually get a response in a day or so:
ODOT - MPR <mpr@odot.org>

I’m excited to see ODOTs new 8 yr plan next month. Hopefully it’ll have some new projects and expedited existing ones with the new money they should have.

When does it get released?

When does it get released?
Usually they seem to consider and approve it at their October commission meeting then it is immediately released for the public to view. They generally hold their meetings sometime during the first week of each month.

Maybe a bit off topic but I wish the OTA the turnpike people will get the plate pay straightened out. I tried the by phone and was waiting a long time with no one answering. I tried the on line but kept getting an error message. I finally sent a check out. The amount of the toll was incorrect. I gave up and paid the amount on the statement. I went through the same toll road plate pay this weekend. I hope this gets better.

Maybe a bit off topic but I wish the OTA the turnpike people will get the plate pay straightened out. I tried the by phone and was waiting a long time with no one answering. I tried the on line but kept getting an error message. I finally sent a check out. The amount of the toll was incorrect. I gave up and paid the amount on the statement. I went through the same toll road plate pay this weekend. I hope this gets better.

get a pike pass and the giant discount that comes with it

Oklahoma to Receive an Extra $191 Million in Federal Funding

https://www.roadsbridges.com/funding/news/21384200/oklahoma-to-receive-an-extra-191-million-in-federal-funding

Some big items ODOT will consider at their October 3rd commission meeting on Monday.

First is the approval of the new 8yr plan:



The commission will consider approval of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Eight-Year Construction Work Plan for Federal Fiscal Years 2023-2030. The annually updated plan contains $8.4 billion in highway improvements statewide for the next eight years. They will also be presented with the department’s Asset Preservation Plan.

Second is the project at I-40 and Douglas BLVD which will also widen I-40 to six lanes(3 each way) from this interchange to the I-240 junction.


The commission will be asked to vote on whether to award several contracts, among them a more than $170 million interchange reconstruction at I-40 and Douglas Blvd. in Oklahoma City

- https://oklahoma.gov/odot/citizen/newsroom/2022/october-transportation-commission-meeting-scheduled-for-monday--.html

Here’s the new 8yr work plan 2023-2030: https://oklahoma.gov/odot/programs-and-projects/8-year-construction-work-plan.html

And the powers that be at ODOT decided that the I-240/I-35 interchange which was scheduled to be reconstructed in 2023 has now been pushed back to 2025. There’s loads of new infrastructure funding yet they push this interchange back, which is in desperate need of a redesign. what the hell!?

Same thing with the I-35/Waterloo interchange: pushed back to 2025

Is I-44 from LHP to 235 ever getting renovated? I swear its been like that since the 90's

I just saw from your link it will be 2026 $1 million

Well forewarned, this post is going to be a bit on the negative side. The new eight year plan is very uninspiring and leaves a lot to be desired especially for the Oklahoma City metro.

I’ve looked over the whole plan and hardly anything around. OKC has been pushed up other than some service Road reconfiguration’s in Moore and Edmond. It does look like they’re going to start on the I 40/I 44 interchange a couple years ahead of schedule. Mind you that appears to come at the expense of pushing back the I-240/35 interchange by 2 years. The reconstruction of I 44 between May Avenue and I-235 is that to begin its first phase in 2030. That’s cool I guess. Another project it appears to be pushed back is the I-240/SH-152 improvements.

ODOT seems to be very quiet and changing its style lately and I wonder if that has to do with the proposed turnpike improvements. They stopped posting summaries of the commission meetings a few months back. They stopped updating their construction projects map or at least have become very inconsistent at doing so where before they were updating it once a month. I really fail to see any reason why important projects like the I-240/I-35 interchange and the Waterloo rd. Interchange were pushed back by years.

I’m sure inflation will be blamed but there is near record investment on infrastructure by the feds and Oklahoma is posting record revenue numbers. There’s no excuse. ODOT really needs to try and lobby with the state for more funds but given how it appears the OTA has been de facto merged with ODOT I’m not sure how that will go over. Perhaps ODOT is waiting to get a finalized plan on the Access Oklahoma plan before putting any effort into improving its own 8 year plan, of which this one sucks.

Is I-44 from LHP to 235 ever getting renovated? I swear its been like that since the 90's

I just saw from your link it will be 2026 $1 million
It looks like major construction is set to begin in 2030 but given how inaccurate their plans have been I’d take it with a grain of salt.

OTA is running wild all over the state building new highways every which way while ODOT scrambles to maintain the state system as it has been built. Inflation, material shortages, and all the usual havoc are making an already difficult job 100x worse. At this point forecasts are impossible. Heck, they literally started building a new interchange in Tulsa before the funding was in place to complete it. The plan is to literally have the supports for the flyovers standing for years with no ramps on top until they can pay for the ramps. That's where we're at.

There's probably a dozen major interchange projects across the state that should have been done over a decade ago. I know of several more in Tulsa that are badly needed and have daily wrecks due to the hazardous merging back and forth through heavy traffic. We literally have to wait for government handouts and space these projects 5-10 years apart. Maybe they'll figure out how to put plate pay on the ramps so we can pay for them that way...

I believe with this plan, ODOT has officially added the flyover plans for that interchange in Tulsa. Congratulations to Tulsa but Oklahoma City is the biggest city in the state and it’s basically what carries the entire state. I understand Tulsa can’t be left in the dark but I think part of the reason a lot of these projects in Oklahoma City got pushed back are due to the US-412 upgrade.

Any time I start to get excited about anything ODOT might do I look at this photo until the feeling passes.

http://photos1.blogger.com/img/177/3509/640/county%20sign.jpg

^^^^ thanks. I’m going to save that. They have seem to have gotten worse since the OTA merger.

Seriously how does something like that even happen? If I were the construction guy putting that up I’d risk being terminated and refuse to install it. Think about how many different stages that had to go through to get from where it was to where it is now.

I believe with this plan, ODOT has officially added the flyover plans for that interchange in Tulsa. Congratulations to Tulsa but Oklahoma City is the biggest city in the state and it’s basically what carries the entire state. I understand Tulsa can’t be left in the dark but I think part of the reason a lot of these projects in Oklahoma City got pushed back are due to the US-412 upgrade.

Those were moved up last year, I think with a federal grant. There have been no major changes this year to the I-44/US-75 schedule. Work part 1 wraps up in the spring. Work Parts 2 and 3 start next summer and work part 5 starts in mid 2024. The only change was that the smallest work part, number 5, moved from 2029 to 2026. All that one does is widen I-44 from the I-244 split to Union Ave and isn't even really part of the interchange. All the flyovers, the 61st St exit, widening US-75 and widening the Arkansas River bridge are in WPs 2,3 and 5.

Oklahoma is in the early changes of a road usage charge study. Not sure how this would work out or how much support from the federal government it would have. Obviously, if the long term goal is to get rid of fossil fuels, we would have to find another funding mechanism besides a gas tax. However, it does sound like it would turn every road into a turnpike.

https://oklahoma.gov/odot/about/boards-and-task-forces0/road-user-charge.html#:~:text=House%20Bill%201712%2C%20signe d%20into,address%20declining%20fuel%20tax%20revenu es.

https://www.rucwest.org/

Oklahoma is in the early changes of a road usage charge study. Not sure how this would work out or how much support from the federal government it would have. Obviously, if the long term goal is to get rid of fossil fuels, we would have to find another funding mechanism besides a gas tax. However, it does sound like it would turn every road into a turnpike.

https://oklahoma.gov/odot/about/boards-and-task-forces0/road-user-charge.html#:~:text=House%20Bill%201712%2C%20signe d%20into,address%20declining%20fuel%20tax%20revenu es.

https://www.rucwest.org/
I have zero faith in Oklahoma to implement this effectively, but I support the idea. Are there other places that have done anything similar on a state scale?

I have zero faith in Oklahoma to implement this effectively, but I support the idea. Are there other places that have done anything similar on a state scale?

I think everyone is in the study phase. My guess is that it would work like some car insurance discount programs but in reverse? There has to be some kind of incentive to get people to agree to be tracked so a tax penalty would have to be involved like healthcare insurance.

I think everyone is in the study phase. My guess is that it would work like some car insurance discount programs but in reverse? There has to be some kind of incentive to get people to agree to be tracked so a tax penalty would have to be involved like healthcare insurance.

healthcare penalty ended in 2018. If you have no health insurance you don't pay a fee.

https://www.healthcare.gov/health-coverage-exemptions/exemptions-from-the-fee/#:~:text=The%20fee%20for%20not%20having%20health%2 0insurance%20(sometimes%20called%20the,avoid%20pay ing%20a%20tax%20penalty.

Pretty disappointing to see the 35/240 interchange get pushed back even further. Such a dangerous intersection. Why this isn’t priority numero uno is beyond me.

"Stupid &^%$ conservatives" as you call them aren't the problem here. Out of control inflation is...

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/17/democrats-shrinking-infrastructure-plan-00039588

didn't realize we had been experiencing out of control inflation in oklahoma for over 10 years. interesting.

Pretty disappointing to see the 35/240 interchange get pushed back even further. Such a dangerous intersection. Why this isn’t priority numero uno is beyond me.

40 / 44 is even worse .. and bottle necks worse ..

The agenda for the October transportation committee meeting states that Phase 1B of the I-35/I-240 interchange will be bid out in December 2022 (usually the commission does NOT take December bids) and the last phase of I-235/I-44 will be bid out in January 2023.

https://www.odot.org/tcomm/agendas22/tc_agenda-202210-r.pdf (pages 93 & 95)

Plus, the contracts for I-35 at NW 63rd Street (and some of the I-35/I-44 ramps) and the widening of I-40 from Douglas to I-240 (and the Douglas interchange) were recently bid out.
As a result, there will be plenty of road construction in the metro come spring.

FYI: The I-40/Douglas project was bid out at the October 2022 meeting for $158 million.

The agenda for the October transportation committee meeting states that Phase 1B of the I-35/I-240 interchange will be bid out in December 2022.

this is 1B

https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-240-ok/#iLightbox[i-240]/1

Weird so why does the 8yr plan then show the project in 2025 if it’s on the agenda for 2023?

Weird so why does the 8yr plan then show the project in 2025 if it’s on the agenda for 2023?

that is phase II, III, and IV

40 / 44 is even worse .. and bottle necks worse ..
This! It’s awful and needed fixed yesterday.

this is 1B

https://www.interstate-guide.com/i-240-ok/#iLightbox[i-240]/1

Check out the inserts. There's one from 1976 which shows proposed future interstate routes around the metro and they include outer loop routes, though not exactly along the current routes proposed by OTA but pretty similar. The idea has always been there.

What about more road money from the Feds? Probably not, since the entire Oklahoma Congressional delegation probably believes in fiscal restraint and blames inflation on much stepped-up government spending to counter the Pandemic. So, they will probably steer more money for roads to other states, if it becomes available.

didn't realize we had been experiencing out of control inflation in oklahoma for over 10 years. interesting.

We haven't. Just in the last 2 years as we all know. He was theorizing why ODOT had recently pushed back some of the projects they had previously moved up on the schedule.

We haven't. Just in the last 2 years as we all know. He was theorizing why ODOT had recently pushed back some of the projects they had previously moved up on the schedule.
I can’t find my original comment it must have been deleted and for good reason I should have phrased it better. No, it isn’t the entire fault is to be blamed on conservatives but Oklahoma could easily better fund ODOT if they wanted to. They just choose not to in the name of low taxes.

I can’t find my original comment it must have been deleted and for good reason I should have phrased it better. No, it isn’t the entire fault is to be blamed on conservatives but Oklahoma could easily better fund ODOT if they wanted to. They just choose not to in the name of low taxes.

Well, Oklahoma could just fund the state much better across the board.

Part of the issue is the lack of federal transportation dollars in comparison to other states. Oklahoma continues to be a donor state in terms of paying more taxes to the FEDS than we get in return for transportation projects, so the state is behind from the get-go.

ODOT is starting to implement wrong way driving detection systems on major interstates:

https://www.koco.com/article/oklahoma-transportation-officials-project-wrong-way-crash/41891405#

Oklahoma continues to be a donor state in terms of paying more taxes to the FEDS than we get in return for transportation projects....

Where would you find numbers for this? I did a quick search, but I don't really know what you mean by "in return for transportation projects".


This! It’s awful and needed fixed yesterday.

This intersection is so stupid. I really think with some simple and cheap changes here the congestion could be mostly corrected.

Here's an example similar to what ODOT used to preach when trying to muster up support for a gas tax increase over the last 20-30 years here in Oklahoma to make up for the lack of federal funding:

https://www.txdot.gov/about/financial-management/federal-rate-of-return-for-texas.html

I know this is Texas, but I don't recall ODOT ever posting anything like this on their website.

Here's an article from entrans that states the Biden Administration is attempting to reverse the trend with his signature of the Transportation Act in 2021:

https://www.enotrans.org/article/highway-donor-states-r-i-p/

It was horrible in the late 90's / 2000's which is why Oklahoma legislators approved the CIP fund, their $1 Billion for transportation projects.

There are more returns on Google searches of the subject. Many states have been unhappy about it for decades as they see their transportation systems erode.

Well, Oklahoma could just fund the state much better across the board.

Part of the issue is the lack of federal transportation dollars in comparison to other states. Oklahoma continues to be a donor state in terms of paying more taxes to the FEDS than we get in return for transportation projects, so the state is behind from the get-go.
One, Oklahoma’s congressional delegation has little real influence and respect as a group.
Two, we don’t have good planning and a state commitment to help fund quality projects to gain fed support.

State leadership has been more about lifestyle than actual pragmatic leadership. Attracting businesses because we have a cheap labor pool and cheap housing is a losing strategy.