Turner Turnpike

[C_M_25]

Let's talk traffic safety! I have been having to take the turner turnpike up to west tulsa almost weekly for the past year or so, and I can't believe how dangerous that road is. The main culprit, imo, are the big trucks. Hills combined with heavy truck traffic creates major backups and potentially dangerous situations. I've had to slow down to less than 60 mph before to wait to pass a truck that was going up hill. That is dangerous on a road with a 75 mph speed limit. You also get major back ups as these big trucks take FOREVER to pass since they lose so much speed going up hills. I know there is no way around these issues with the trucks. They all slow down going up hills and fly down the other side to pick up speed again. My question is how much longer are they going to keep trying to resurface traffic lanes on this road instead of taking initiative to widen it? The heavy truck traffic and up-and-down terrain almost dictates they need to widen this road to 3 lanes on each side. Seems like this would provide a safer driving environment on a heavily used road. Thoughts??

[Plutonic Panda]

I completely agree this road should be 3 laned between Tulsa and OKC. Hopefully that will happen before 2030.

[Scott5114]

Another option would be to limit the trucks to the right lane, which is something that some states have tried in similar situations.

There are a few other stretches of Interstate with the same problem, such as I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis. Unfortunately, Missouri hasn't been able to find the money to address the situation there, either.

[shawnw]

Just having truck no-passing zones (basically the uphills) would help a ton (not sure that's even a thing). When trucks decide to pass other trucks on the uphill and it backs up traffic in both lanes for miles and that good ol' oklahoma wind is making trucks swerve a little... makes me so nervous of something catastrophic...

[jompster]

They're about to widen it to 3 lanes from Bristow to Tulsa. I agree it should be widened all the way to OKC.

[BG918]

They're about to widen it to 3 lanes from Bristow to Tulsa. I agree it should be widened all the way to OKC.

Let's get a train connecting the two cities while we're at it.

[Of Sound Mind]

You all should open a comedy club! Those comments are hysterical given this state's current budget climate.

[rezman]

They're about to widen it to 3 lanes from Bristow to Tulsa. I agree it should be widened all the way to OKC.

How about they take the funding for the unnecessary eastern loop and devote it to a 3rd lane.

[HangryHippo]

How about they take the funding for the unnecessary eastern loop and devote it to a 3rd lane.

Makes too much sense. Never happen.

[BoulderSooner]

You all should open a comedy club! Those comments are hysterical given this state's current budget climate.

The state budget climate. Or budget at all. Has nothing at all to do the the turnpike widening


The long term plan is to have the turnpike 3 lanes for the entire route. The expansion to bristow is the first step. (Which is almost 1/3 of the turnpike)

[CloudDeckMedia]

You all should open a comedy club! Those comments are hysterical given this state's current budget climate.

Oklahoma's turnpike system isn't funded by tax dollars.

[d-usa]

That's why the Turnpike was able to pay for the Highway Patrol to be somewhat functioning.

[CloudDeckMedia]

That's why the Turnpike was able to pay for the Highway Patrol to be somewhat functioning.

Yes - Not many people know that the OTA pays the Troopers' salaries, vehicles, vehicle expenses, etc.

[d-usa]

And they threw in some significant change this year to make up for the State's budget woes:

The Turnpike Authority announced it would pay $5 million to cover the costs of a highway patrol academy in 2018. This money will cover the amount needed to train and equip about 30 cadets and pay for their salaries and benefits for their first year as troopers.

[Plutonic Panda]

How about they take the funding for the unnecessary eastern loop and devote it to a 3rd lane.

The Eastern Loop is very important, imo. It will eventually serve as a bypass of the OKC metro which is forecasted to experience major traffic congestion in the coming years. Enjoy the low traffic while it lasts. This is evident by the interchange at I-40 as they originally had planned a couple flyovers for the Kilpatrick extension on the west end but downgraded that and decided to make an interchange on the east part of I-40 for the EOC turnpike. This will eventually loop around Norman and connect to I-35. I'm guessing one day they plan the same for Eastern Edmond.

I can see why some don't see the value in EOC tollway but I view it as a very valuable road and give props to the OTA for this one. It's mostly straight and can allow for high speed limits. Would be nice to see 85MPH but I don't see Oklahoma being that progressive.

[Plutonic Panda]

Another option would be to limit the trucks to the right lane, which is something that some states have tried in similar situations.

There are a few other stretches of Interstate with the same problem, such as I-70 between Kansas City and St. Louis. Unfortunately, Missouri hasn't been able to find the money to address the situation there, either.

I wish the state would do that anyways for most stretches of interstate especially in the cities.

[Plutonic Panda]

Let's get a train connecting the two cities while we're at it.

I would prefer new tracks to be laid down and an electrified train run along the ROW which would be cool. I'm not that big of a fan of the proposed Tulsa train because of how slow it is.

I would support a new train being built first with new tracks provided it averages at least 100MPH and is electrified. It'd be cool to see them widen the road and build that as one project. It's fun to dream anyways.

Caltrans is electrifying a commuter rail route in the Bay Area.

[Scott5114]

I wish the state would do that anyways for most stretches of interstate especially in the cities.

In urban areas, it's probably not such a good idea—forcing all trucks into the right lane in an urban setting can end up creating a "wall of steel" in the right lane which makes it extremely hard for oncoming traffic to merge onto the freeway. Another problem with putting all trucks in one lane is that the pavement in that lane will wear out faster under the heavy load (especially if the lane has an asphalt surface).

One place where a right-lane-only restriction for trucks is in place is on NCDOT's section of I-40 through the Smoky Mountains. It seemed to work well there the one time I visited.

[Plutonic Panda]

In urban areas, it's probably not such a good idea—forcing all trucks into the right lane in an urban setting can end up creating a "wall of steel" in the right lane which makes it extremely hard for oncoming traffic to merge onto the freeway. Another problem with putting all trucks in one lane is that the pavement in that lane will wear out faster under the heavy load (especially if the lane has an asphalt surface).

One place where a right-lane-only restriction for trucks is in place is on NCDOT's section of I-40 through the Smoky Mountains. It seemed to work well there the one time I visited.

I should have been more specific. I didn't mean strictly limited to the right lane but rather prohibited from using the left lane.

[rcjunkie]

How about they take the funding for the unnecessary eastern loop and devote it to a 3rd lane.

The new Eastern loop is a smart move and planning on the States part !!!!

[C_M_25]

A previous post said okc is expecting big traffic congetstion increases over the next several years, and my question is from where? What is going to be the industry that brings all these people in? Oil is stagnant, but it has a lot of room for upward growth; however, it may be 5-10 years before you see a rebound...if at all. What other industries are going to draw people to okc to account for all this increased "congestion?" It seems overstated to me...

[C_M_25]

No disrespect to those that work in the trucking industry as I think they have played a vital role in the development of our country. BUT, is it time to rethink how we transport freight across the country? How many millions of dollars have we spent fixing roads damaged by increased big truck traffic over the years? Face it. These trucks do major damage to our infrastructure and they are becoming a major safety factor on the roads? Seems like an automated rail system between major cities would be more efficient and safer. You could run the freight 24/7. Utilize the current highway system (build the rails on the median or off to one side of the highway). Then you could utilize smaller trucks at regional distribution centers to move the freight to smaller surrounding towns. It would decongest our major roads, make self driving cars a real possibility by not having to dodge big trucks that likely won't ever be self driving, and reduce costs for maintenance in our roads.

[d-usa]

That wouldn't really be an issue if you taxed trucks appropriately and build roads to a better quality to begin with.

[HangryHippo]

No disrespect to those that work in the trucking industry as I think they have played a vital role in the development of our country. BUT, is it time to rethink how we transport freight across the country? How many millions of dollars have we spent fixing roads damaged by increased big truck traffic over the years? Face it. These trucks do major damage to our infrastructure and they are becoming a major safety factor on the roads? Seems like an automated rail system between major cities would be more efficient and safer. You could run the freight 24/7. Utilize the current highway system (build the rails on the median or off to one side of the highway). Then you could utilize smaller trucks at regional distribution centers to move the freight to smaller surrounding towns. It would decongest our major roads, make self driving cars a real possibility by not having to dodge big trucks that likely won't ever be self driving, and reduce costs for maintenance in our roads.

I don't understand why we don't use smaller trucks (like in NYC) like you're suggesting.

[Plutonic Panda]

A previous post said okc is expecting big traffic congetstion increases over the next several years, and my question is from where? What is going to be the industry that brings all these people in? Oil is stagnant, but it has a lot of room for upward growth; however, it may be 5-10 years before you see a rebound...if at all. What other industries are going to draw people to okc to account for all this increased "congestion?" It seems overstated to me...

I guess we'll see.

The growth right now is coming from Texas and California. A lot of people from those states are moving to Oklahoma. Population is increasing and I've seen multiple articles that have stated as such as well as housing cost increases. Don't say you aren't warned when you wake up one day and it takes you an hour to get to downtown OKC from Edmond or Norman.