Highway Bill passes with $110 million more for I-40

Istook says state now needs to get on board

The I-40 Crosstown Expressway project may have taken a big step forward today with the announcement from Oklahoma's congressional delegation's offices that the project would receive an additional $110 million in the highway reauthorization bill.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Tulsa) chairs the Senate committee which penned approved that chamber's reauthorization bill.

Yet U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook (R-Warr Acres) said while today's news is good, it also makes it more critical for the state to commit dollars to the project, which was estimated last year at $360 million.

"This is great news," said Istook. "The Crosstown Expressway is critical to the continued revitalization of downtown Oklahoma City. It's a vital artery for our state and city as well as for the entire federal highway system."

He added: "We should all applaud Sen. Inhofe's work in improving Oklahoma's share of national highway funding, and helping to add further federal funds for the I-40 Crosstown Expressway expansion and realignment. This also means it's time for the state now to help with their share of this crucial project, because the project will be delayed if they don't help."

Since 1998, the Oklahoma Congressional delegation has procured $290 million total in federal money for the realignment, which is estimated to represent 92 percent of the total cost of cost.

As reported previously in OKCBusiness News, the cost for the realignment is being projected at around $315-million, while a separate $45 million is thought to be needed to construct at grade-level a local boulevard where I-40 is currently located. However, some local officials have suggested that $45 million may be too low of an estimate for the scope of the work being envisioned for the boulevard.

Last week, the City of Oklahoma City committed some funds for the boulevard project but, to date, the state of Oklahoma has committed nothing to it nor to the realignment. As well and also as reported by OKCBusiness News, the state Department of Transportation has never requested funding for the project in its budget requests to the state Legislature.

"Everybody keeps saying this is Oklahoma's most important project, but not everybody has been willing to help with it," Istook said today. "I've reminded the governor many times about the need for the state to help. He said he wanted to wait until we passed the new highway bill. Now we've passed it, so it's time for action by the state to complement the heavy lifting we've done in Washington," said Istook.

He added the average state/local contribution for federally funded projects of the I-40 realignment's size is 39 percent and thus state officials should be more than pleased with what their congressional delegation had accomplished.

"It's time for the state to accept responsibility to help this important project to become a reality," Istook concluded."