Access Oklahoma Turnpike Projects

[jn1780]

OTA also thought they could have started construction 2 years ago.

[BoulderSooner]

OTA also thought they could have started construction 2 years ago.

yep the norman lawfare .. cost the state millions and millions of dollars ..

[Jersey Boss]

OTA also thought they could have started construction 2 years ago.

I'm skeptical of this claim that construction could have started 1 year after the initial proposal. Environmental studies, permitting, public comment period, eminent domain proceedings all take more than 1 year.

[Jersey Boss]

yep the norman lawfare .. cost the state millions and millions of dollars ..

Nothing about this is credible. Lol

[Plutonic Panda]

The same thing has happened with ODOT. They’ve had to push projects back. TxDOT has had the same issue. North Carolina has had the same issue. And what BS said absolutely is true there is no way the lawsuits didn’t hinder this project and cost the state millions. It even led to the design of a less functional freeway that now will be even more burdensome for Norman due to the lack of service roads. More than likely this road is happening whether you like it or not and will ultimately help the town and the metro as a whole.

[BoulderSooner]

Nothing about this is credible. Lol

saying the interest rate for the bond package is 5.15%. But if OTA had been able to enter the market a year ago, the interest rate was expected to have been about 4.44% due to inflation.

that right there is around 200 million dollars

[bombermwc]

yup and Norman lost...they just dont realize it yet.

[Jersey Boss]

saying the interest rate for the bond package is 5.15%. But if OTA had been able to enter the market a year ago, the interest rate was expected to have been about 4.44% due to inflation.

that right there is around 200 million dollars

Had OTA properly done their homework and correctly followed procedures a trial judge would not have ruled against them in the first place.
As far as I know their is still no proposed southern access route after the Corps of Engineers oppossed the initial route. Hardly citizen "lawfare" there.

Norman did save the OTA millions of dollars by passing on the frontage roads so there is that offset.

[BoulderSooner]

Had OTA properly done their homework and correctly followed procedures a trial judge would not have ruled against them in the first place.
As far as I know their is still no proposed southern access route after the Corps of Engineers oppossed the initial route. Hardly citizen "lawfare" there.

Norman did save the OTA millions of dollars by passing on the frontage roads so there is that offset.

they won at the supreme court ... . they were not wrong ..

[Plutonic Panda]

Had OTA properly done their homework and correctly followed procedures a trial judge would not have ruled against them in the first place.
As far as I know their is still no proposed southern access route after the Corps of Engineers oppossed the initial route. Hardly citizen "lawfare" there.

Norman did save the OTA millions of dollars by passing on the frontage roads so there is that offset.

Norman cost themselves millions of dollars probably much more than that an economic activity in doing so. So smart of them. The point of these roads is to foster and cater to economic growth in the metro. So getting rid of the frontage, roads was not a good thing.

[bombermwc]

Norman cost themselves millions of dollars probably much more than that an economic activity in doing so. So smart of them. The point of these roads is to foster and cater to economic growth in the metro. So getting rid of the frontage, roads was not a good thing.

Yup, that's why I'm saying they lost, they haven't gotten over their thinking that they "won" fighting OTA to realize that they lost in the long run. One day they will have to build it and it'll be much more expensive than it is today.

[josefromtulsa]

https://www.newson6.com/story/67329d...n-by-3-billion

The OTA told News 9 in a statement the increase is due to inflation.

“OTA started estimating the future long-range program in 2021 and could never have predicted the 60 percent inflation in the highway construction industry since that time,” the OTA said in part. “While it's impossible to plan for everything, the Authority believes this to be as realistic a cost estimate as possible through the end of the long-range plan.”

This is just the initial increase. It will probably be another $2 billion in reality once its all said and done. The costs of the bonds as well is a whole other ball game.

Our state does not have the money realistically to build like Texas does.

[Pete]

Press release:

**********

Open road tolling rolls out with a fresh new look
Motorists may now keep on rolling with cashless tolling on all 12 Oklahoma turnpikes. The last turnpike to switch to open road tolling occurred early Wednesday morning on the I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike corridor between Tulsa and the Missouri state line.

Starting today through early December, the Will Rogers cash lanes at the Big Cabin toll plaza will be open to traffic for non-stop travel to accommodate the larger volume of vehicles traveling through Oklahoma for the holidays. While motorists may travel through those cash lanes at Big Cabin, they will not have to stop to pay tolls but instead pay them online. Signage is in place alerting motorists to keep moving. Motorists on the I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike corridor should be alert for intermittent lane closures after Thanksgiving when demolition of the toll booths and toll plaza areas is expected to begin, weather permitting.

As part of the move to all electronic tolling with PIKEPASS and PlatePay, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority also launched on Wednesday a brand refresh of the PIKEPASS logo and of pikepass.com. Those visiting the website will find the updated logo, new colors enhancing the look and feel, improved navigation and content. The website platform is built on enhanced technology and is mobile responsive.

The PIKEPASS logo debuted in 1991 when the Authority first launched all electronic tolling on the turnpike system. This is the first update to the PIKEPASS brand in 33 years. The most striking change to the refreshed logo is its color scheme. Gone is the red that so many identified as vehicles stopping at cash toll booths. The logo is now a deep blue that transitions to green to convey to customers that they now will enjoy non-stop travel across the turnpike system. A secondary use of the new logo provides an updated tagline as well. It hits home that Oklahoma's turnpikes are Safe. Efficient. Reliable.

The new logo will be updated in phases across the Authority's communications. It will be updated on turnpike signage only as signs need replacing for other reasons such as age and condition.

A New Era for Tolling
PlatePay, the system replacing cash toll booths, helps create a free flow of traffic and eliminates sudden speed changes when motorists maneuver lanes to stop at a toll booth and then re-enter high-speed traffic. Eliminating these conflict points significantly increases safety on Oklahoma's turnpike system, which saw more than 500 crashes at tolling booths in the six years prior to cashless conversion starting in 2021. This change also offers customers the ability to conveniently pay their tolls online and never be distracted by reaching for cash while driving.

The Authority began working on cashless tolling by testing it on a small section of the Creek Turnpike in Tulsa starting in 2017. By 2021, the John Kilpatrick Turnpike corridor in Oklahoma City was the first to convert to cashless tolling. The Authority accelerated its initial cashless conversion plan from 10 years to just more than four years due to safety concerns for both motorists and employees. Overall, the conversion process cost nearly $60 million to complete.

PlatePay cameras photograph a vehicle’s license plate, enabling the Authority to send the vehicle’s registered owner an invoice for their turnpike travel. Motorists without a PIKEPASS will receive a bill in the mail or they may look up and pay their toll amount online at www.platepay.com about five days after traveling a turnpike.

PIKEPASS remains the most cost-effective way to travel Oklahoma turnpikes, providing customers the lowest toll rate. The toll tag also offers seamless travel on turnpikes within our partner states including Kansas, Texas and some toll roads in Colorado and Florida. To open a PIKEPASS account, visit PIKEPASS.com or call 1-800-PIKEPASS (1-800-745-3727). Learn more about PlatePay at PlatePay.com.

[jn1780]

^ There was also a pikepass.com redesign.

[bombermwc]

If you dont have a pikepass, go get one. The rates for non pikepass holders is ridiculously more expensive now. They used to be pretty close, but those days are over. Even if you only use it a few times, the money never goes bad, it just sits in the account. You're just throwing money at PikePass if you dont get a tag these days.

[TornadoKegan]

Yup, that's why I'm saying they lost, they haven't gotten over their thinking that they "won" fighting OTA to realize that they lost in the long run. One day they will have to build it and it'll be much more expensive than it is today.

Norman thinks they can get this one to not happen because they did it two other times. In the 1990s they shut down the lesser known but still widely known outer loop. And then in the 70s they also shot down a product very similar to the current product called the sooner freeway. The sooner freeway was supposed to go from the interstate 35 / interstate 44 eastbound junction all the way down to south of Purcell. With the Eastern connector type loop going in between what is currently known as Southwest 19th and Southwest 34th Street with half of that proposed loop being what we know today as the kilpatrick turnpike interstate 344

[DowntownMan]

East kilpatrick expansion from eastern to i35 looks to be starting in January. Signage has gone up stating construction starting