I-235 / I-44 Interchange

[Pete]

It seems the holdup in shifting to the western-most southbound bridge is the WB to SB cloverleaf.

They also have been reworking I-44 as an approach and now the cold weather is going to slow them down a bit.

ODOT told me everything at this stage is very temperature-dependent.

[Ryan]

They got a fever. And the only prescription is more delays. And more delays after that. And let me check. Yup more delays. Maybe it’s because I’m busy dodging a fatal collision at that interchange. But I haven’t seen any warm bodies out there in over a week.

[Pete]

^

Christmas and below-freezing temps, no doubt.

[JDSooners]

They got a fever. And the only prescription is more delays. And more delays after that. And let me check. Yup more delays. Maybe it’s because I’m busy dodging a fatal collision at that interchange. But I haven’t seen any warm bodies out there in over a week.

I closed my eyes and prayed that I ended up in front of a car in that merge area, they can't give us normal merge areas soon enough

[Pete]

[David]

Starting to feel like they're going to have both south bound bridges finished and ready for use by the time the cloverleafs are done.

[unfundedrick]

Starting to feel like they're going to have both south bound bridges finished and ready for use by the time the cloverleafs are done.

I could be wrong but it appears to me that the cloverleafs are basically done and just waiting for the bridge to be completed before being used in their new configuration.

[Ryan]

You guys know what time it is? Time for some more godforsaken delays that’s what time is. Remember how many times this has been pushed back. Well it’s been another week. Time for some more delays. Pretty sure that they’re just messing with us. Didn’t they do a 235 10 year challenge?.

[PurpleChicken]

You guys know what time it is? Time for some more godforsaken delays that’s what time is. Remember how many times this has been pushed back. Well it’s been another week. Time for some more delays. Pretty sure that they’re just messing with us. Didn’t they do a 235 10 year challenge?.

One thing I’ve noticed with construction is towards the end of the project they pull crews to work on new projects or other areas of money making interest. Not saying that’s the case here but sure feels like it.

[jn1780]

They were waiting to finish WB 44 to SB 235 cloverleaf. That appears to be about done now. I would expect ramp traffic to shift to new bridge next week.

The weather wasn't that great last week.

[jn1780]

One thing I’ve noticed with construction is towards the end of the project they pull crews to work on new projects or other areas of money making interest. Not saying that’s the case here but sure feels like it.

They make money for earlier completion so that is not the case. You can only throw so many people qt a project that is nearing completion. Their done with the guys whose job is specifically related to building bridges.

[warreng88]

I would guess that when they move over to the SB lanes, the lanes as a whole will still be narrowed for maybe a month to finish the dividing walls and the concrete completion, moving equipment/supplies off site and overall clean up.

I would assume they won't have a big shut down of the highway with a dedication like they did when the new I-40 opened years ago.

[HFAA Alum]

I would guess that when they move over to the SB lanes, the lanes as a whole will still be narrowed for maybe a month to finish the dividing walls and the concrete completion, moving equipment/supplies off site and overall clean up.

I would assume they won't have a big shut down of the highway with a dedication like they did when the new I-40 opened years ago.

If I recall correctly, I think they would start to shift their work eastward in redoing the ramps coming off Lincoln. So far, the westbound lanes should be a lot more congested because of the work involved. So it'll still be a bottleneck east and west wise, north and south should be river-like.

[SEMIweather]

Wow that temporary ramp for WB 44 to SB 235 is insane. Basically a right turn.

Wish I would have looked at this thread before taking that ramp yesterday. Not a fun experience!

[jn1780]

No more right turn tomorrow morning. Lane shift to bridge tonight! Sounds like SB will completely be shifted to western most bridge and shift to middle bridge for main traffic will occur in a couple of weeks.

I-235/US-77 ramps close, I-235 narrows to one lane at N. 63rd St. Tuesday night
Drivers can expect the following closures on southbound I-235/US-77 between N. 63rd St. and the I-44 interchange from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday for a lane shift:

The southbound I-235/US-77 on-ramp from N. 63rd St. will be closed;
The westbound I-44 off-ramp southbound I-235 will be closed;
The southbound I-235/US-77 off-ramp to eastbound I-44 will be closed; and
Southbound I-235/US-77 will be narrowed to one lane between N. 63rd St. and I-44.

These closures will allow crews to shift the southbound I-235/US-77 lanes to the far west, however, southbound I-235 will remain narrowed to two lanes in the work zone starting with the Wednesday morning commute. More significantly, the exit lane to access all southbound I-235/US-77 ramps will be moved to the far west of the interstate. Motorists are advised to plan extra travel time while traffic adjusts to the new lane configuration Wednesday morning.

[Snowman]

No more right turn tomorrow morning. Lane shift to bridge tonight! Sounds like SB will completely be shifted to western most bridge and shift to middle bridge for main traffic will occur in a couple of weeks.

Almost, that says it is happening Tuesday night, so tomorrow is the last day you can take use the temp ramp segments.

[Pete]

Behold!

[BoulderSooner]

the clean up of the temp ramps and the rest of the middle bridge should go very quickly now ..

[Pete]

Yes, the rest of the work is really in areas that are not affected by traffic.

The weather looks nice for the foreseeable future so they should be able to wrap up the remainder pretty quickly now. As you can see, they have a ton of people out there working away.

The end is nigh!

[David]

Looks like the only thing left for the northbound lanes is removing the temporary barriers and maybe one final stretch of permanent concrete, does that seem right?

[Pete]

^ Yes.

Once they get this bit done, they should be able to completely open the northbound bridge and all northbound lanes to the north and south.

That is probably the first thing they will do.

[Celebrator]

And then what about I-44 beneath it all. It seems to me they are going to have to do some serious surface repair work to get things back into shape after the years of lane shifts, etc. I don't travel on all the new stuff, pretty much just I-44, so that is what I am most looking forward to normalizing.

[jn1780]

The lanes that SB is currently on is mostly striped in its permanent configuration. Just a little bit of restriping required where you first exit I-235 and meet up with traffic coming from 63rd. Probably see NB restriped to permanent configuration pretty soon with left lane closed followed shortly by SB shifted to permanent lanes with left lane closed while they build barriers.

[Lafferty Daniel]

Still seems like there's going to be a backup, especially during rush hour, of going SB 235 because of the cloverleafs. You still have the same problem with merging/lane changes with people trying to get on SB 235 and EB 44 in such a short distance. I know there's an extra lane that wasn't there before that hopefully people will be smart enough to stay in if they're not getting on/off 235. But let's be real, this is Oklahoma and we aren't exactly known for great drivers.

[Pete]

Still seems like there's going to be a backup, especially during rush hour, of going SB 235 because of the cloverleafs. You still have the same problem with merging/lane changes with people trying to get on SB 235 and EB 44 in such a short distance. I know there's an extra lane that wasn't there before that hopefully people will be smart enough to stay in if they're not getting on/off 235. But let's be real, this is Oklahoma and we aren't exactly known for great drivers.

There will be a hard divider between the exit/merge areas and through traffic and it will cover a long distance.

Effectively, through traffic will have its own bridge.