Anyone remember a proposed SW Loop?

[warreng88]

I remember hearing about this several years ago. It would extend where the Kilpatrick Turnpike ends at I-40 going south near Will Rogers Airport crossing I-44 and connection to I-35 around the Moore/Norman area. Anyone remember this or is it dead?

[sgray]

Yeah, warren, there is a map of it in the city's 2000-2020 master plan.

I think it shoots down from K.TPK & I-40, brushes past the airport/ok-152, crosses I-44, and then down towards ?norman?...something like that.

I remember it was a weird thing, because I don't recall it connecting with I-240. Seems like it was way further south than that.

As far as the status of it, I would like to know if 1) that route is nailed in stone, and 2) when/if it is going to happen.

[sgray]

Hey Warren, check your e-mail...I pulled the page out of the 2020 master plan and sent just that page as a separate pdf.

Anyone else that's interested, it's in the "transportation" section of this plan:

http://okc.gov/planning/documents/OKCPlan2000-2020.pdf

[Jesseda]

i was attending hillsdale during that plan, it was a big thing because hillsdale college was complaining that it would go right behind there baseball field.. I personally thought a sw loop would do great a exit right off for the college and so forth.. wonder what really happened to this plan

[warreng88]

Hey Warren, check your e-mail...I pulled the page out of the 2020 master plan and sent just that page as a separate pdf.

Anyone else that's interested, it's in the "transportation" section of this plan:

http://okc.gov/planning/documents/OKCPlan2000-2020.pdf

That's what I looked at and why it sparked my interest. Is there any sort of timeline or progress on this? It would be great to break up traffic instead of it all funneling down I-35 or I-44. Also, it would be great for getting to Norman on Gamedays.

[FRISKY]

From your link:

"Possible routes for a southwest segment of the Outer loop are being evaluated
by the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, and the
Oklahoma Department of Transportation as part of a Major Investment Study. The City of
Oklahoma City supports locating this segment of the Outer Loop immediately west of the
Will Rogers World Airport as shown on the map on page 37."

[sgt. pepper]

why is it going around mustang? it needs to go thru mustang. too developed i guess.

[Rescue_Company_One]

The West side of the Metro is starting to Boom. More stuff being built in Yukon. Hospital getting bigger. A loop from the turnpike to I-240 would only speed that growth up. There is a new plan that the President Elect is touting that may help that but I doubt it since Oklahoma is a flyover state.
What Obama would build - Nov. 26, 2008

[sgray]

OK-4 already passes through Mustang and, after passing OK-37 @ Tuttle, it connects back around to I-44/HEB TPK and then on to Norman via OK-9/HEB TPK SPUR. Mustang would also have the option of coming east on OK-152 and hopping on the new loop near the airport.

[kallio]

I've lived near Mustang for 2 years now, and I can tell you most in the town will do anything that will avoid progress or traffic to the town. This year they turned down a Taco Mayo because it would bring in too much congestion!

[BradR]

now if we could just convince them to make a nice highway between purcell and chickasha i'd be happy...not that anyone else cares but that road sucks and i drive it a lot

[kevinpate]

The sw loop was to go between Moore and Norman, east a fair piece and then back north to 40. If memory serves, and it may not serve well, some of the biggest grousing wasn't the path between Moore/Norman in the 35 crossing area, but what would happen on out to the east and after the turn back to the north.

Growth suggests it's bound to occur sooner or later, and given our timing and NIMBYism in general, later is the safer bet.

[Doug Loudenback]

Hey Warren, check your e-mail...I pulled the page out of the 2020 master plan and sent just that page as a separate pdf.

Anyone else that's interested, it's in the "transportation" section of this plan:

http://okc.gov/planning/documents/OKCPlan2000-2020.pdf

Thanks, sgray, that's a nice resource and I'm always glad to have new maps! I've extracted the multiple images from page 52 of the literal pdf file (text references in the report do not refer to literal pages but to a pagination that was apparently present before conversion to a pdf file -- the document's text says this map is on page 37 of the report), and have pieced them together. The full file is quite large but I've shrunk it down to make it more manageable ...

1800 px wide version: http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49...swloop1800.jpg

800 px wide version:


As Frisky said, at literal page 51, the file says

To accommodate future traffic demand, the Kilpatrick Turnpike Extension (extending westward from Portland Avenue to County Line Road, then southward to I-40 near Sara Road) is currently under construction. Possible routes for a southwest segment of the Outer loop are being evaluated by the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation as part of a Major Investment Study. The City of Oklahoma City supports locating this segment of the Outer Loop immediately west of the Will Rogers World Airport as shown on the map on page 37.

I haven't checked at ODOT to see if they have a corresponding map and that would be nice to know/compare if they do. FWIW, the 2000-2020 planning document says (literal page 2) says that the document contains amendments through August 10, 2006, but, judging by the map and what is still shown as "Under Construction" but is now done, it wouldn't seem that any changes in Okc's veiw of where the road should go were made from the 2000 original.

If/when this proposal ever gets legs, it will be nice to track.

[Kerry]

i was attending hillsdale during that plan, it was a big thing because hillsdale college was complaining that it would go right behind there baseball field.. I personally thought a sw loop would do great a exit right off for the college and so forth.. wonder what really happened to this plan

Who wouldn't want land at the intersection of two freeways? That would have been a great high profile location for them or they could have sold the land and built a new campus. Some people just can't see beyond the fear of the new or unknown.

[Martin]

i'd like to see highway 37 cross the river and connect with tecumseh road... that'd make it so much easier to get to norman from the west side of town.

-M

[Doug Loudenback]

I ran across this 3/19/2001 Oklahoman article while doing some Okc "size" (area) research yesterday ...

[hipsterdoofus]

Off the subject a bit, but I think what a shame it is when I drive down Memorial Rd that the Kilpatrick is a Turnpike...at least for that section...sure would relieve some traffic congestion.

[AAC2005]

Well, judging by the second-to-last paragraph in the newspaper article, it would definitely make sense to go with the 18.6 mile option...

[sgt. pepper]

build them both

[BPD]

I could easily be wrong, and correct me if I am, but hasn't the SW loop been killed by the NIMBY crowd?

[warreng88]

I say build the one connecting in Norman first and then do the other one 5-years down the road as that area develops.

[sgray]

Um, guys am I missing something or is the 'Zz' alignment the existing OK-4 that runs through mustang and down through tuttle and back over to HEB TPK? And indeed they have upgraded that run from mustang to tuttle in recent years. It is now a two-lane divided highway all the way...pretty nice too! Nice bridges and all. The portion of OK-4 from tuttle back down to HEB TPK was in bleh shape the last time I drove it.

From what I can tell, the only thing that needs to be 'built' is the diagonal 'Z' alignment. Is any of the 'Z' alignment existing right now in any form? Even a single-lane...or is would it be a completely new stretch altogether.

[Dar405301]

I don't think that there is any existing portion of alignment Z. it should be a completely new stretch

[sgray]

Well, see that's my point is that they have hwy 4 out there (which is almost the same place as alignment Z on the map) and it has been upgraded and is a really nice, spread out divided highway now...look it up on google maps or whatever and follow it down...same alignment. The only issue I see is that hwy 4 is somewhat of an issue between hwy 152 and i-40 due to the fact that it is shifted to the west just under a mile and therefore does not connect to the turnpike as it would need to. All they would have to do is resolve that issue between hwy152 and i-40...rebuild that short stretch and then build a bridge over the hwy37 intersection at tuttle. Since that 'SW Loop' plan has been around for a while, I was thinking that may have been the reason they did some upgrades to hwy4.

[KayneMo]

Any updates on the proposed loop?