Does anybody know what the construction along I-35 around 2nd ST in Edmond is going to be? Lot of signage and equipment.

Does anybody know what the construction along I-35 around 2nd ST in Edmond is going to be? Lot of signage and equipment.

should be the work converting the access road to One way from memorial - 2nd ..

and adding texas turnarounds

From ODOTs website:
"The $18 million project will resurface and add shoulders to north and southbound I-35 as well as build turnarounds at 33rd St., 15th St. and 2nd St. This project also includes the first phase of a one-way frontage road conversion along I-35 in Edmond."

should be the work converting the access road to One way from memorial - 2nd ..

and adding texas turnarounds
Yes first phase

This is a huge first step in making the much needed improvements in the area. Once the bridges are expanded to add the turnarounds, the service roads will be able to switch to one way. This work will also lead to I35 being expanded to 6 lanes up to Waterloo.

The 35 is programmed to be six lanes to SH-33.

The 35 is programmed to be six lanes to SH-33.

Right, just speaking of what’s next. Don’t expect expansion to 33 for another 8-10 years.

This is a huge first step in making the much needed improvements in the area. Once the bridges are expanded to add the turnarounds, the service roads will be able to switch to one way. This work will also lead to I35 being expanded to 6 lanes up to Waterloo.

FINALLY. This is about 20 years late in much needed infrastructure in that area.

anyone have a visual I can look at?

I aways heard I-35 will be winding to Guthrie, but always in the planning stage.....and that Waterloo / I-35 intersection is something else, something needed to be done there years ago. I drive this every day, not looking forward to the congestion, but glad improvements are being made. THANX GUYS

I aways heard I-35 will be winding to Guthrie, but always in the planning stage.....and that Waterloo / I-35 intersection is something else, something needed to be done there years ago. I drive this every day, not looking forward to the congestion, but glad improvements are being made. THANX GUYS

I think right now 2nd street to Waterloo actual widening is somewhere near end of 5 years from now.
Have to get the Waterloo bridge done first and that starting mid next year

I think right now 2nd street to Waterloo actual widening is somewhere near end of 5 years from now.
Have to get the Waterloo bridge done first and that starting mid next year

2029 is the current schedule of the 6 lane to the county line ... (the new okdot 8 year plan is do any day now) ..

This is a huge first step in making the much needed improvements in the area. Once the bridges are expanded to add the turnarounds, the service roads will be able to switch to one way. This work will also lead to I35 being expanded to 6 lanes up to Waterloo.

Pretty the widening to Waterloo will also add NB entry and SB exit for Danforth and an interchange for Coffee Creek. Not sure about Sorghum Mill.

Does anyone know if the turnaround bridges will include sidewalks and bike lanes? They are sorely needed. There is no way to cross the current bridges in anything but a car without taking your life in your hands.

Pretty the widening to Waterloo will also add NB entry and SB exit for Danforth and an interchange for Coffee Creek. Not sure about Sorghum Mill.
I was told by ODOT the endgame is to add exits and entrances at all section line roads. Not sure if that'll be part of the widening but I am sure they will build it to be constructed in the future.

Does anyone know if the turnaround bridges will include sidewalks and bike lanes? They are sorely needed. There is no way to cross the current bridges in anything but a car without taking your life in your hands.
They will include sidewalks but no bike lanes. ODOT is slowly taking their time including bike lanes in specific projects but they are few and far between. Don't ever expect bike lanes from an ODOT project IMO. Contact your local legislator and ask them to write a bill requiring the consideration of bike lanes for any road project ODOT under takes.

The Fox Lake walking/biking trail already goes under I35 just south of second so ODOT probably doesn't see the need for bike lanes.

2nd Street is also apart of US 77 so you would also have to get the Feds to agree to add a bike lane.

It's an interstate and main road highway exit with big box stores. Is a bike lane really a thing needed at this location?

The only bike lanes I see used in Edmond are the ones designated for recreation, like the trails to Arcadia or loop around Mitch Park. I have not seen a single rider on the bike lanes by 2nd and UCO. Those on bikes, tend to use the sidewalk as Edmond drivers are not conditioned for bike riders and not knowing how to properly yield or give space. Edmond is not designed to be a bike city, the town is very compartmentalized and not mixed retail/housing/services that would see a benefit from biking.

In a town that is traffic ridden due to extremely poor planning and an obsession for red stoplights, all focus should be on making traffic move smoother across the city.

It's an interstate and main road highway exit with big box stores. Is a bike lane really a thing needed at this location?

The only bike lanes I see used in Edmond are the ones designated for recreation, like the trails to Arcadia or loop around Mitch Park. I have not seen a single rider on the bike lanes by 2nd and UCO. Those on bikes, tend to use the sidewalk as Edmond drivers are not conditioned for bike riders and not knowing how to properly yield or give space. Edmond is not designed to be a bike city, the town is very compartmentalized and not mixed retail/housing/services that would see a benefit from biking.

In a town that is traffic ridden due to extremely poor planning and an obsession for red stoplights, all focus should be on making traffic move smoother across the city.

This is so wrong, I don't even know where to start. One has to get to the recreational trails, etc. It's ridiculous that I live 3/4 of a mile from the Arcadia trails and I have to take a car to get there. I live the same distance from wal mart, etc. and I can't get there on foot or by bike. The new YMCA and library is going in on the east side of I-35 on 15th, but you can't get there from even the close neighborhoods like mine except by car. It's time to start thinking about how we access city amenities. The recreational trails are great - I use them all the time, but more is needed. If Edmond is to grow east, and it is, then we need a way to get across I-35 that doesn't involve a trail miles out of the way or incredible danger.

^

As an avid cyclist, I almost refused to go on a ride where I had to get in the car.

But that was California, where you literally have bike lanes on every street. You could take off in any direction and never have to worry about a trail or even consult a map ahead of time.

You simply can't imagine how great that is. It means you can ride your bike anywhere, any time. So much so, more than once I rode my bike from L.A. to San Diego and Santa Barbara... More than 100 miles each direction (took the train back, which also accommodates bikes).


I started to ride a bit here when I moved back and quickly realized the only safe places were the rec trails. I know we have made progress but there is no reason not to integrate bike lanes into every single road project.

Living near OAK, I rode a few times over to Will Rogers to pick up that trail then take it down to the river, then loop around. But off the rec trails, there are no lanes and absolutely no one is paying attention. After a couple of close calls I pretty much stopped riding my bike and that sucks.

The cities/communities that provide for bike lanes along roads truly are a pleasure to ride in. For example, Portland, Oregon (which admittedly has huge problems) has the greatest bike lanes! I was new to the area and within a few days could navigate on a bike and felt quite safe. I was in NYC last month and believe it or not, cycling in the city is pretty safe due to the provisions they have made to accommodate cyclists on the roads. As a result, more people ride and those that are riding are not driving. There are places in downtown OKC now where this is happening. I know most of our culture is still very car-centric but Edmond’s gotta start somewhere.

It's an interstate and main road highway exit with big box stores. Is a bike lane really a thing needed at this location?

The only bike lanes I see used in Edmond are the ones designated for recreation, like the trails to Arcadia or loop around Mitch Park. I have not seen a single rider on the bike lanes by 2nd and UCO. Those on bikes, tend to use the sidewalk as Edmond drivers are not conditioned for bike riders and not knowing how to properly yield or give space. Edmond is not designed to be a bike city, the town is very compartmentalized and not mixed retail/housing/services that would see a benefit from biking.

In a town that is traffic ridden due to extremely poor planning and an obsession for red stoplights, all focus should be on making traffic move smoother across the city.

I agree 1000%.

It's an interstate and main road highway exit with big box stores. Is a bike lane really a thing needed at this location?

The only bike lanes I see used in Edmond are the ones designated for recreation, like the trails to Arcadia or loop around Mitch Park. I have not seen a single rider on the bike lanes by 2nd and UCO. Those on bikes, tend to use the sidewalk as Edmond drivers are not conditioned for bike riders and not knowing how to properly yield or give space. Edmond is not designed to be a bike city, the town is very compartmentalized and not mixed retail/housing/services that would see a benefit from biking.

In a town that is traffic ridden due to extremely poor planning and an obsession for red stoplights, all focus should be on making traffic move smoother across the city.


While this area has big box stores and restaurants, I believe the mantra “if you build it, they will come” applies. You don’t see it in this area because not one road project has made consideration for it. You don’t see many people use the designated bike lanes bc they don’t go anywhere and are more meant for students at UCO who are not there half the year.

I'm not even a cyclist, but I see people riding in this area a lot. They have no way to cross the highway other than the spring creek trail. I once saw a woman trying to push a baby in a stroller across the 15th street bridge. It was really hard to watch as she struggled to get over the grass and up onto the little ledge that borders the bridge. Sidewalks are not that big an ask and can accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. They should be included in every road project that borders on residential areas.

ODOT just released the new 8 year work plan and they have roughly $66.5MM budgeted for the frontage road modifications in 2027. Also, the I-35/Waterloo interchange ($44.3MM) is shown to bid in late 2025.

ODOT just released the new 8 year work plan and they have roughly $66.5MM budgeted for the frontage road modifications in 2027. Also, the I-35/Waterloo interchange ($44.3MM) is shown to bid in late 2025.

What are the changes to the frontage roads. That is a lot of money and more than what is being spent building the turn around bridges.

What are the changes to the frontage roads. That is a lot of money and more than what is being spent building the turn around bridges.

They're converting them to support only one-way traffic on each side of I-35 between Memorial and 2nd Street. I don't know what all that will involve, as they i don't think they've put out any sort of details on it yet. I agree though, that seems like a ton of money to spend on frontage roads. Especially considering they are already adding turnarounds to the 33rd, 15th, and 2nd street bridges in the phase that is starting right now.

They're converting them to support only one-way traffic on each side of I-35 between Memorial and 2nd Street. I don't know what all that will involve, as they i don't think they've put out any sort of details on it yet. I agree though, that seems like a ton of money to spend on frontage roads. Especially considering they are already adding turnarounds to the 33rd, 15th, and 2nd street bridges in the phase that is starting right now.

I believe I also read somewhere they were going to replace/change each of the on/off ramps.

Sorry if this has been discussed or I missed a visual of the plan, but are they merging the on ramps with the service roads? If not, what’s the point of the turnarounds?

Sidewalks across the bridges would be nice. And down the sides of the service roads. I live a mile from the trail but don’t have a great way to get there on my bike that doesn’t involve dodging service road traffic. Just extend that nice wide sidewalk north to 2nd!

Sorry if this has been discussed or I missed a visual of the plan, but are they merging the on ramps with the service roads? If not, what’s the point of the turnarounds?

Sidewalks across the bridges would be nice. And down the sides of the service roads. I live a mile from the trail but don’t have a great way to get there on my bike that doesn’t involve dodging service road traffic. Just extend that nice wide sidewalk north to 2nd!

Curious what the plan/visual is as well. The start of the bridge at 2nd street is about as big as the entire existing bridge.

Curious what the plan/visual is as well. The start of the bridge at 2nd street is about as big as the entire existing bridge.
I am not sure what that plan is. It will be interesting to see what they do.

This is one of those places where they should reverse the usual positioning of the off ramps and on ramps to reduce backups from heavy traffic.

This is one of those places where they should reverse the usual positioning of the off ramps and on ramps to reduce backups from heavy traffic.

I have honestly heard this is going to be part of this overall project to add the turnarounds, change to 1 way service roads and ultimately change the on/off ramps to better address traffic.

With as big of a project this is, it is amazing to me that there is no renderings that have come out at least.