ODOT also may be expecting the East/West turnpike between Moore and Norman and I-35 to Kickapoo turnpike to take off some of the current load of this juncture's ramps.

i mean if they will get the I-44 to I-35 piece of that done as one of the first projects, I will be avoiding this interchange a lot more.

ODOT also may be expecting the East/West turnpike between Moore and Norman and I-35 to Kickapoo turnpike to take off some of the current load of this juncture's ramps.

I bet population growth will offset any of that.

I bet population growth will offset any of that.

Agreed. And if you look at the traffic on 35 in the morning, it's mostly commuter from Moore/Norman/Points South. There aren't a lot of vehicles there that tend to exit to 35 in the morning (when i go in to the office, i head up that way and turn west to 40, so i see where they go, at least from north Moore on north).

Whatever they do, it will be an improvement. And remember that the new cloverleafs will be bigger than the old ones. So it will all be part of the larger equation to keep that clover traffic out of the way and prevent it from existing in the merge mess like it is now.

You want to talk "why" about flyovers, the 44-35 junction they're working on now. I just do not understand why we are spending so much to make a right hand flyover from N35 to W44. I'm guessing they had to in order for the new 3 lane bit of S35 to fit under it, but dang that's a lot of money for such a short ramp....that's not so short anymore.

The remaining cloverleaf's, themselves, aren't the main problem. I see the flaw in the design (unless l understood it wrong) where the cloverleaf empies directly onto the main highway. These will always slow down the main highway traffic. The way l-35 is now, with separate highway segments for the loops to empty onto, is the way to go but access to 66th needs to be removed so the cloverleaf has much more room for acceleration.

Unless l'm mistaken, the EB-240 to NB l-35 loop will now empty directly to the main l-35. This will just cause more pileups for the morning commute.

That EB to NB route currently goes onto a service road and people stop and it gets backed up onto 240. I'll admit it is because of people going NB to WB that merge in and that will be reduced once the flyover is completed, but it just seems short sided. I didn't have an issue with this on 44/235 because there was a two lane separated road that SB to EB and WB to SB had to merge onto. That made it easier. It looks like on the map, they have plenty of room in every space except for the NE region.

The remaining cloverleaf's, themselves, aren't the main problem. I see the flaw in the design (unless l understood it wrong) where the cloverleaf empies directly onto the main highway. These will always slow down the main highway traffic. The way l-35 is now, with separate highway segments for the loops to empty onto, is the way to go but access to 66th needs to be removed so the cloverleaf has much more room for acceleration.

Unless l'm mistaken, the EB-240 to NB l-35 loop will now empty directly to the main l-35. This will just cause more pileups for the morning commute.

EB I-240 to NB I-35 will have it's own acceleration lane coming out of the cloverleaf ramp. That traffic will need to merge into mainline I-35 but they aren't being dumped directly into those lanes from the ramp. WB I-240 to NB I-35 will also have it's own acceleration lane too. Also, keep in mind that the northbound exit for SE 66th St will be relocated south of the interchange, so there won't be criss-crossing traffic between the interchange and SE 66th St anymore.

It seems to me that just having an acceleration lane will not be sufficient because people will inevitably jump off the acceleration lane to other lanes, especially if there is a large truck not accelerating very fast, and slow the entire highway down.

It seems to me that just having an acceleration lane will not be sufficient because people will inevitably jump off the acceleration lane to other lanes, especially if there is a large truck not accelerating very fast, and slow the entire highway down.

In fairness, this is no different than almost any other interchange. Few highway interchanges permanently add a lane from an on-ramp. And it's a far better arrangement than what exists today, since there will be no criss-crossing traffic.

I'm not talking about adding another permanent lane. As it is now, the loops have a dedicated separate roadway where cars can't change lanes onto the main highway until further down where traffic speeds are likely higher. By simply having an acceleration lane, slow traffic will move into the main highway much sooner.

I realize most interchanges are this way now but l don't see this as improving traffic flow on the main highway even at today's levels, much less 2040.

You want to talk "why" about flyovers, the 44-35 junction they're working on now. I just do not understand why we are spending so much to make a right hand flyover from N35 to W44. I'm guessing they had to in order for the new 3 lane bit of S35 to fit under it, but dang that's a lot of money for such a short ramp....that's not so short anymore.

They are doing it to eliminate the left exit and left merge, both of which are problematic. The left lane should be for faster traffic, not for people slowing down to take an exit.

Updated FHWA standards dictate no left hand exit lanes with new or reconstruction. This means that any new construction or reconstruction of interchanges that use federal dollars has to only have right-hand exits. This has been so since at least the late 1990s.

I'm not talking about adding another permanent lane. As it is now, the loops have a dedicated separate roadway where cars can't change lanes onto the main highway until further down where traffic speeds are likely higher. By simply having an acceleration lane, slow traffic will move into the main highway much sooner.

I realize most interchanges are this way now but l don't see this as improving traffic flow on the main highway even at today's levels, much less 2040.

The new interchange will still be a vast improvement vs the existing design. The traffic from that separate roadway still needs to merge into mainline I-35 at some point, and the current design doesn't encourage a fast flow of traffic onto NB I-35. Right now, you've got criss-crossing traffic at the cloverleaves (directly under the I-240 bridge), then merging traffic from the WB I-240 to NB I-35 ramp dumping into that feeder road right before it merges into I-35. On top of that, you then have criss-crossing traffic between vehicles coming off the feeder and vehicles trying to exit for SE 66th St. These conflict points all significantly slow the flow of traffic merging into NB I-35. All are either reworked or removed entirely in the new design, and combined with much larger cloverleaf ramps, this will enable traffic to flow much more freely than it currently does. I'm not saying the new design is perfect, but it's still a massive improvement over what we have currently.

I agree it will be a massive improvement. I just hate to see vast amounts of $ to be spent on the reconstruction and not do it the best possible way.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/35240010424a.jpg

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/35240010424a.jpg

I can't seem to find the post with the current project outcome. Are they just adding new east and westbound exits for 240? Seems like the flyovers for the 35 exits are more important with current traffic patterns.

http://www.odot.org/newsmedia/press/2015/I35_I240_plan_map.jpg

here you go

https://www.odot.org/newsmedia/press/2015/I35_I240_plan_map.jpg

I am guessing they are giving a dedicated lane to the eastbound I-240 to Northbound I-35 cloverleaf?
That cloverleaf merge (stop) is by FAR the WORST part of that whole interchange.
Why not a Eastbound I-240 to Northbound I-35 flyover?

I am guessing they are giving a dedicated lane to the eastbound I-240 to Northbound I-35 cloverleaf?
That cloverleaf merge (stop) is by FAR the WORST part of that whole interchange.
Why not a Eastbound I-240 to Northbound I-35 flyover?

Based on estimating the needed land considering the flyovers already there, I would say that they dont have an E I-240 > N I-35 due to Dove Science Academy being in the way.

I am guessing they are giving a dedicated lane to the eastbound I-240 to Northbound I-35 cloverleaf?
That cloverleaf merge (stop) is by FAR the WORST part of that whole interchange.
Why not a Eastbound I-240 to Northbound I-35 flyover?

yes it will ... it won't merge until well north of the bridge

Plus the yielding for the east-to-north traffic was due to south-to-west traffic. With that merge conflict gone it should be okay. ODOT is not great at planning as you can see a stub of what would have been the east-to-north ramp on the east-to-south ramp. I

Based on estimating the needed land considering the flyovers already there, I would say that they dont have an E I-240 > N I-35 due to Dove Science Academy being in the way.

Nah, that's just value engineering. Doing the bare minimum to make sure you don't have two clovers interacting with each other. Similar to I-235/I-44. Still a significant improvement though. This has been planned long before Dove was there or even Heritage college before it.

Plus the yielding for the east-to-north traffic was due to south-to-west traffic. With that merge conflict gone it should be okay. ODOT is not great at planning as you can see a stub of what would have been the east-to-north ramp on the east-to-south ramp. I

What looks like it should be a stub for the east-to-north ramp from the current east-to-south ramp is actually part of the future main eastbound lanes for I-240.

What looks like it should be a stub for the east-to-north ramp from the current east-to-south ramp is actually part of the future main eastbound lanes for I-240.

Good eye. I didnt notice the highway was going to be realigned slightly.

Hmm i guess I owe ODOT an apology lol


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/35240010424a.jpg

http://www.odot.org/newsmedia/press/2015/I35_I240_plan_map.jpg

Are they doing all of the phases together over the next couple of years, or is this going to be another neverending project completed one phase at a time such as the I-44/I-235 interchange?

Are they doing all of the phases together over the next couple of years, or is this going to be another neverending project completed one phase at a time such as the I-44/I-235 interchange?

Since it looks like only phases 2 and 3 of the juncture are on the 8 year plan probably similar to I-44/I-235 interchange (though I am not sure if they still have the phases designated as 1-4, despite kind of was more of 6 with 1 broken in to sub-phases), part of the phasing is dependency on other phases being completed to keep the juncture open the whole time, but another issue is how much of the budget they can throw at one area at any given time. Granted the plan also shows resurfacing/rehabilitating the mainlines of i240 and i35 for miles in all directions of the interchange, along with some bridges along them, so are not exactly ignoring the area when not working on the juncture itself either.

Are they doing all of the phases together over the next couple of years, or is this going to be another neverending project completed one phase at a time such as the I-44/I-235 interchange?
Every other phase of this project was supposed to get underway by 2025 last I heard.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/35240033124a.jpg

It took me a minute to orient myself... looking toward the west above. Thanks for the drone shot, Pete!

I know it doesn't look like much there, but the prep stuff is SLOWLY moving along. That's the new frontage road on the left and they're working on the new exit for Eastern (they put lights in on both sides of 240 on Eastern...arent activated yet).

You can barely see the work on the left dirt area as they start working the next phase. I'd say, it's about to start getting messy here.

As someone who takes 35 - 240 basically every day, I am VERY excited for this. That Ramp H - BR D merge is one of the worst designs I’ve ever seen.

If you haven't been lately, well 240 is ripped up east of 35 now. Merged all to the westbound lanes. It's a real mess getting through there now with traffic swerving back and forth.

I can also see that they are starting on the new rail bridge. Some of the columns are in on the north side.

They are doing the prep work for drainage/etc on the east bound side so they can get to starting on the surface. I would imagine that they can do quite a bit of it while the train bridge is being worked on and then sort of fill-in after the old one is torn down.

There's really not much of anything happening anywhere else though. Maybe this section of 240 needs to be built with the new alignment before they start working on bridges over 35?

Like I said, it's slow progress, but right now it is steady progress. Better than it had been for several years. I only hope that when they do this section, they do a better job of it than they did on the western half of 240. That road is bumpier than the old one was....and you could see it was going to be from the crappy grading the did before they laid the asphalt down. I do not understand how jobs like that get approved by the state! Not to mention they never stained any of the concrete walls and they look like total crap.

If you haven't been lately, well 240 is ripped up east of 35 now. Merged all to the westbound lanes. It's a real mess getting through there now with traffic swerving back and forth.

I can also see that they are starting on the new rail bridge. Some of the columns are in on the north side.

They are doing the prep work for drainage/etc on the east bound side so they can get to starting on the surface. I would imagine that they can do quite a bit of it while the train bridge is being worked on and then sort of fill-in after the old one is torn down.

There's really not much of anything happening anywhere else though. Maybe this section of 240 needs to be built with the new alignment before they start working on bridges over 35?

Like I said, it's slow progress, but right now it is steady progress. Better than it had been for several years. I only hope that when they do this section, they do a better job of it than they did on the western half of 240. That road is bumpier than the old one was....and you could see it was going to be from the crappy grading the did before they laid the asphalt down. I do not understand how jobs like that get approved by the state! Not to mention they never stained any of the concrete walls and they look like total crap.

I believe the project to rebuild the bridges over I-35 will be included with the one to build the flyovers. Similar to I-44/I-235, all of that work was packaged together. So probably looking at 1 to 2 years to start.

Well, the new eight year plan doesn’t come out until around September or October, But ODOT Has requested several funding for this project, It appears they have yet again pushed back construction of the main part of this project another year. It was scheduled to begin in 2026. From what I understand, the entire remaining work packages were scheduled to be let in 2025 with construction beginning the same year. That was supposed to be the same time. The current project would be wrapping up.

No, I’m not trying to talk sh!t On ODOT because they do seem Like they have vastly improved the quality of their construction and designs. They still need to have a good talking to you about their road signs. The state of Oklahoma really needs to get their act together and better fund ODOT so they can get a lot of these projects done that needed to be done years ago.

Here is the press Request for a federal grant: https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/odot/federal-grants/bridge-investment-program/2025/crossroads-of-america/narrative/Project%20Narrative.pdf

I'm still salty that the funding for that 44/35 interchange that started AFTER this project started, could have gone here to help get it done on time instead of continually dragging it out. It's like this interchange is ODOTs red headed step child for some reason.

I'm still salty that the funding for that 44/35 interchange that started AFTER this project started, could have gone here to help get it done on time instead of continually dragging it out. It's like this interchange is ODOTs red headed step child for some reason.

I mean, the Southside is the city's red-headed step-child. Why not the state's, as well?

I mean, the Southside is the city's red-headed step-child. Why not the state's, as well?

From the State of the City address:

It takes awhile, but I came into office as Mayor determined to retire old stereotypes about South OKC being overlooked by public investment. And this year it was hard not to notice how many ribbons we’ve been cutting in South OKC. Just in the last two months, we’ve opened a beautiful new senior wellness center, a new Almonte library, a revitalized Woodson Park athletic complex, and a new clubhouse and state of the art driving range at Earlywine golf course. Earlier this past year we opened a brand new fire station in far Southwest OKC. And there is so much more to come. For South OKC, MAPS 4 will bring upgrades to every neighborhood park, two new parks, new youth soccer investments at Southlakes, new placemaking at Lake Draper, a state-of-the-art youth center, a new bus rapid transit line, a new trail linking to Lake Draper, bus shelters, placemaking in Capitol Hill and Stockyards, a new animal shelter, a pedestrian bridge over the river, and beautification along key highway corridors, including aesthetic upgrades to South OKC’s three highway pedestrian bridges.

Well, the new eight year plan doesn’t come out until around September or October, But ODOT Has requested several funding for this project, It appears they have yet again pushed back construction of the main part of this project another year. It was scheduled to begin in 2026. From what I understand, the entire remaining work packages were scheduled to be let in 2025 with construction beginning the same year. That was supposed to be the same time. The current project would be wrapping up.

No, I’m not trying to talk sh!t On ODOT because they do seem Like they have vastly improved the quality of their construction and designs. They still need to have a good talking to you about their road signs. The state of Oklahoma really needs to get their act together and better fund ODOT so they can get a lot of these projects done that needed to be done years ago.

Here is the press Request for a federal grant: https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/odot/federal-grants/bridge-investment-program/2025/crossroads-of-america/narrative/Project%20Narrative.pdf

the plan is to still let them in 2025 so the schedule hasn't slipped much


Project letting will be in September 2025. Project construction will begin in January 2026 and will be complete in spring 2028.

The timeline is roughly similar to I44/I235. About 6 months between phases. I'm guessing there is about a year left on the railroad bridge.

the plan is to still let them in 2025 so the schedule hasn't slipped much
Thanks. That makes more sense than. I had read that as they had planned to not even let The project until 2026. Glad to know it’s technically still on schedule. With the way ODOT I’m sure they already have funding But this grant would sure help them be able to use some of the current elsewhere. I really wish this state would let ODOT take out bonds.

Thanks. That makes more sense than. I had read that as they had planned to not even let The project until 2026. Glad to know it’s technically still on schedule. With the way ODOT I’m sure they already have funding But this grant would sure help them be able to use some of the current elsewhere. I really wish this state would let ODOT take out bonds.

Like they did with GARVEE? Even that was pushing it.

Like they did with GARVEE? Even that was pushing it.
Yeah they would have to go to the state legislator and ask for bonds because they can’t legally take out bonds on their own.

From the State of the City address:

It takes awhile, but I came into office as Mayor determined to retire old stereotypes about South OKC being overlooked by public investment. And this year it was hard not to notice how many ribbons we’ve been cutting in South OKC. Just in the last two months, we’ve opened a beautiful new senior wellness center, a new Almonte library, a revitalized Woodson Park athletic complex, and a new clubhouse and state of the art driving range at Earlywine golf course. Earlier this past year we opened a brand new fire station in far Southwest OKC. And there is so much more to come. For South OKC, MAPS 4 will bring upgrades to every neighborhood park, two new parks, new youth soccer investments at Southlakes, new placemaking at Lake Draper, a state-of-the-art youth center, a new bus rapid transit line, a new trail linking to Lake Draper, bus shelters, placemaking in Capitol Hill and Stockyards, a new animal shelter, a pedestrian bridge over the river, and beautification along key highway corridors, including aesthetic upgrades to South OKC’s three highway pedestrian bridges.

I dont think 134th and I44 is what we mean when we say South OKC. That area is doing just fine on its own with development/etc. When people say South Side...they mean north of 89th (The OKCPS zone). Much like NE OKC, it's just not given much investment. The biggest thing done is probably the park revitalization near 29th and 44. And yes, that was pretty big and the newer fire station there. But there is a lot of work left to do to make the residents of that zone of the city feel included in planning. A lot of what the city does in this zone, is more about removing structures than rehabbing. Now, I realize that if there isn't a commercial interest that you can't force it. But incentives, small business incubators, etc. those things help a lot.

I dont think 134th and I44 is what we mean when we say South OKC. That area is doing just fine on its own with development/etc. When people say South Side...they mean north of 89th (The OKCPS zone).

I'm not sure you should use the pronoun "we" when you can't even name Woodson Park. Personally, "I", actually being a southsider, consider south of 89th South Side every bit as much as north of 89th.

I'm not sure you should use the pronoun "we" when you can't even name Woodson Park. Personally, "I", actually being a southsider, consider south of 89th South Side every bit as much as north of 89th.

Ditto. There is this old school notion that "real" south OKC is only north of 89th. Hogwash. I've lived on both sides of 89th and watch it grow and think it way past time to kick those old notions to the curb. S. OKC is developing as far (if not farther?) as 149th and it deserves all the consideration any other part of S. OKC gets

I think you're missing my point folks. I'm not trying to disconnect the two to say that far south OKC isn't developing. In fact I clearly said that it was. It's an extension of Moore on the west side as part of the MPS district and is a very attractive place to live. Lot's going on there.

My point was, that that far SW OKC area growing, shouldn't be a claim for an official to say that South OKC is getting the attention it needs. It would be like saying if NW OKC near Deer Creek is developing, then the work not being done near somewhere like 50th is ok. Or Deep Deuce counts for NE OKC. I think you get the point there. The extremes do not count for the inner sections and are really their own areas in their own right. Far SW OKC at 149/May does not equal 44th and Western, for example.

I'm not saying I don't want the area north of 89th to see more investment, although there has been substantial investment (Southern Oak library remodel, Almonte library, new US Grant and Capitol Hill high schools, Senior Wellness Center, total renovation of Woodson Park). I take offense to anyone saying I'm not a Southsider and now apparently I just live in an extension of Moore just because I'm in the MPS footprint. Are the people between 80th and 74th west of Penn considered Westsiders because they are in part of the Western Heights school district?

Hopefully you can let us identify how we want to and we can get back to discussing the l-35 / l-240 exchange. Sorry for the hijacking of the thread.

The I-35/I-240 interchange keeps getting screwed over and pushed back regardless of whatever else is happening on south OKC. This interchange was pretty much supposed to be done now or close to it.

I think you're missing my point folks. I'm not trying to disconnect the two to say that far south OKC isn't developing. In fact I clearly said that it was. It's an extension of Moore on the west side as part of the MPS district and is a very attractive place to live. Lot's going on there.

My point was, that that far SW OKC area growing, shouldn't be a claim for an official to say that South OKC is getting the attention it needs. It would be like saying if NW OKC near Deer Creek is developing, then the work not being done near somewhere like 50th is ok. Or Deep Deuce counts for NE OKC. I think you get the point there. The extremes do not count for the inner sections and are really their own areas in their own right. Far SW OKC at 149/May does not equal 44th and Western, for example.

So I would call the area you're talking about the Inner Southside, and would define it as the area bordered by I-40 on the north end, Eastern ave on the eastern side, 89th St on the south side, and Portland on the west end. I live in this area and we have gotten a several flashy improvements over the last decade - like the addition of sidewalks along arterial streets, improvements at parks throughout the area (including the massive overhaul of Woodson Park), the construction of facilities like the Southern Oaks Health & Wellness campus, the Almonte library, and the Pete White Health & Wellness campus, and the road diet and bike lanes that they added to Walker between SW Grand and downtown... but it still feels like we get less attention than other areas of the city, and when we do, it's often half-assed. I mean, the walking path around Wilmont Lake has been washed out for nearly a decade now, heavily used arterials like 59th are in dire need of a proper rebuild (not the awfully cheaply done mill-and-surface job they did a few years before the pandemic), there's still TONS of sidewalks needed (when they did additional sidewalks along 59th, they added some to Western too - but only for one block north and like two blocks south before they abruptly end)... TONS of neighborhoods that desperately need their city-maintained streets repaved... More additions to the trails network (in their own dedicated rights of way) that would let those relying on alternative transportation more easily access places across the southside (Except for a trail from Tinker to Draper, there's zero trails south of Grand... Imagine if there were a trail that generally followed Brock Creek from just west of Wiley Post park down to OCCC and then down to Earlywine Park, or a trail that loosely followed Lightning Creek from Oliver Park on Grand down to Lightning Park on Western, or a trail that could connect OCCC east toward the trails at Draper)... Stuff like that. Big and flashy projects are awesome, but we need some infrastructure love too!

Baralheia, yes...all that. It's a difficult and costly thing to bring things like sidewalks into areas that didn't build them when the area was built up. But that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be done for sure.

As for roads, they equally ignore the far SE section of town in terms of roads. It's too rural for sidewalks really, but when the roads are more pothole than pavement, well it's a problem. Like you said, they do some token things every once in a while to show they're "doing something", but the city still tends to like to stick to the big things and not spend so much time on the less sexy infrastructure elements. It's a bit annoying since roads were one of the biggest complaints for the last Maps program. But instead, we got a horse arena.

When i lived at 89th and sooner, I had constant conversations with my ward's representative. Most of it was completely a waste of time because simple things like getting the light on either side of the 240 bridge to be timed together was just claimed to be impossible (even though we do it all over the rest of the city and even other parts of 240), were barely acknowledged. That may have been as much the staffer filtering the conversations as the representative himself. Cornett and I had a conversation once about the fact that it was insane that in the 2020's, our water infrastructure didn't have diesel backup generators for when we had power failures. For whatever reason, that area had water issues quite a bit. We'd lose pressure every few months or the water would turn red from dirt in the lines. Overall, I had a pretty positive experience with the city offices (service center/etc). But I do wish the elected folks spent more time listening to the residents about what they are asking for (like roads).

For 240, getting the properly connected frontage roads the length of the interstate would be nice. They already screwed the pooch on that at the heart hospital and all points east. You can't spur development if you dont have access. And frontage road access is absolutely a requirement for development near an interstate. Who knows, maybe they are intentionally not letting it build near the flight path for fear of chapping Tinker's rear. Lord knows we all cave to their requests everywhere else.

Who knows, maybe they are intentionally not letting it build near the flight path for fear of chapping Tinker's rear. Lord knows we all cave to their requests everywhere else.

I get the sentiment, but to not do so seems like it would not end well for OKC.

I mean i understand....we dont want to do things to keep it off the radar (pun) of closures. But some of the folks on the Air Force side wouldn't be happy unless half of MWC and most of Del City were gone in those flight zones. That would include the areas on 240 between Douglas and Midwest Blvd too.

Speaking of southside, the new future new east-west connector maybe somewhat of a small negative for retail along I-240. Right now, if you want to shop at Moore or Norman from far southwest Oklahoma City area you either take the streets to I-35 or you back track to I-240 and take that route. The east-west connector will make Moore and Norman retail more appealing for people who live in this specific area.

Speaking of southside, the new future new east-west connector maybe somewhat of a small negative for retail along I-240. Right now, if you want to shop at Moore or Norman from far southwest Oklahoma City area you either take the streets to I-35 or you back track to I-240 and take that route. The east-west connector will make Moore and Norman retail more appealing for people who live in this specific area.
It doesn't help that the infrastructure on and along I-240 looks like sh!t either.

It doesn't help that the infrastructure on and along I-240 looks like sh!t either.

We need a like button!

It doesn't help that the infrastructure on and along I-240 looks like sh!t either.

More proof the city and state don't care at all about the southside of OKC.

Maps 3 included a trail along S May/Airport road in the implemenation plan. Which the Maps 3 subcommittee completely disregarded. Mike Adams put up a fight but the whole committee was against him and since no media coverage to let residents in south OKC know what was going on the city got away with it. I called the city and was connected to a "planner" and no one can tell when the outer south trail loop will be completed. Its clear its not a priority for the city.

Question/observation on the interchange: having driven through this section a lot over the last year, I have observed that the I-35 south-bound afternoon rush hour traffic appears to be limited by the merging of the I-240 east and west-bound traffic onto I-35, all of which occurs after passing under I-240. Generally, traffic is stop-and-go until getting past the Exit 120 to S.E. 89th, where it then speeds up. This makes sense to me since it is basically trying to get the equivalent of 5 lanes of traffic condensed into 3 through lanes. From looking at the drawings, it looks like neither ramp coming from I-240 to I-35 south is going to have its own dedicated lane, still forcing all traffic to merge before the next exit. The planned I-240 west ramp to I-35 south does appear to have much more merge space, which I think will help somewhat at that spot. But if traffic is going to keep increasing at this intersection over time, I don't quite see how traffic flow is going to drastically improve, unless drivers become incredibly adept at the zipper merge. So, are there any plans with this project to expand the I-35 south lanes to make the oncoming traffic from I-240 (at least the east bound) have its own lane? Or, am I totally misunderstanding the level of traffic flow improvements that will come with this construction? (Which is highly possible, as I don't profess any expertise in roadway design). I get how this is going to improve safety by decoupling the on-and-off ramps of the existing cloverleaf, but I am not quite seeing how this is going to help through traffic flow on I-35 (other than reducing traffic trying to get onto I-240 from backing up, which does seem pretty relevant for I-35 north during the morning, even before construction started).

Well part of the reason for the interchange design changes are to prevent the backup and crossing traffic on the 240 bridge. Often the eastbound 240 to 35 N ramp traffic would back up because of the merge area underneath that, causing traffic to back up where it interfered with other donut right behind it. It really only affected the southern bridge and not the northern one. The 2 donut + flyover model prevents those traffic patterns from having to interact so much and with the larger donuts, it gives more space to absorb the ramp traffic before it backs up into the flow of traffic.

I would argue that 35 stays pretty well backed up at rush hour, until you get past 19th's offramp. It's not quite stop and go fully, but it's definitely packed in there. Absolutely up until 12th st. The only way that gets fixed is with more lanes or with express lanes. Like every highway, unless there's an alternative transportation method, eventually there isn't enough room to expand any more though and no number of reasonable lane count will help. As you introduce alternatives, the cars go that way. Then you make lane additions, people come back and fill it because they think it will be better now. I dont disagree that we have room and still can add more lanes on 35 south of 240 without breaking the bank. But we really need to invest in the same from 40 to 240...and that one is gonna be expensive.

The I240 offramp to southbound I35 needs to be a continuous lane all the way to an exit-only at SE 89th St. This would eliminate a forced merge right there under the 82nd St overpass and would allow those vehicles a good distance to merge or even stay in the lane to exit. That's a busy exit there with the Loves and other businesses around.

So it actually already is. That was already that way before the changes. Now it's just that the 2 ramp lanes squeeze together to one before 82nd st before it peels off as the exit only, maintaining the 3 lands of through traffic. If you mean 2 lanes of traffic all the way to 89th, well there's not enough exit traffic to warrant 2 lanes of exit traffic. So people are still going to merge over to keep going south. I don't see how that would help things. Right now, there is almost a mile for them to merge, but everyone tries to merge 6 inches after the ramp lines or even before because they just can't take it to keep moving.