Odot

[OKCbyTRANSFER]

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>

[Plutonic Panda]

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.

[gopokes88]

When does it get released?

[Plutonic Panda]

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.

[oklip955]

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.

[BoulderSooner]

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

[Plutonic Panda]

Oklahoma to Receive an Extra $191 Million in Federal Funding

https://www.roadsbridges.com/funding...ederal-funding

[Plutonic Panda]

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/ne...-monday--.html

[Plutonic Panda]

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

[Plutonic Panda]

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!?

[Plutonic Panda]

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

[shartel_ave]

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

[Plutonic Panda]

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.

[Plutonic Panda]

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.

[shavethewhales]

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...

[Plutonic Panda]

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.

[Scott5114]

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

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^^ 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.

[Swake]

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.

[jn1780]

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/boar...tax%20revenues.

https://www.rucwest.org/

[HangryHippo]

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/boar...tax%20revenues.

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?

[jn1780]

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.

[shartel_ave]

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-co...0tax%20penalty.

[catch22]

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.

[jedicurt]

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

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/0...-plan-00039588

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