Oklahoma Turnpike Authority

[rte66man]

This sounds like a good idea, but I have questions. The main one is how much would this cost me? Theoretical question, considering I have a Pikepass, but let's roll with it. What bill am I mailed? A bill for the toll, or a bill for the toll, plus processing, plus fee for mailing, plus whatever other fees OTA thinks they can get away with?

Neither. If you have a Pikepass, nothing will change. This is for those who don't have one.

[stile99]

Neither. If you have a Pikepass, nothing will change. This is for those who don't have one.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/theoretical

I know how Pikepass works, but thank you.

[rte66man]

I misunderstood your question since you didn't state that your theoretical exercise contained an assumption you didn't have a Pikepass. All you said was that you do have one.

[baralheia]

The out of state part was something I had in mind as well. I really wish states would interlink their turnpike tag systems, but in lieu of that just sending the registered owner a bill via plate scan will do as well.

Electronic tolling does enable interoperability, as long as the toll collection equipment can read the tags, and indeed many tolling systems are linked together. For instance, in the northeastern US, a handful of states are members of the EZ-Pass network; Pikepass has enabled IOP with K-Tag in Kansas, and NTTA in the DFW Metroplex. Additionally, OTA has secured an agreement with TxDOT to allow Pikepasses to be used on the rest of Texas' toll roads beginning sometime in 2017, and in the future hopes to also secure agreements with turnpike operators in Georgia and Florida (Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/capit...f07089ac6.html). IOP is dependent upon the tolling hardware being able to read tags from other toll roads; there are something like 3 different electronic tolling standards in use in the US right now.

[DowntownMan]

Has anyone seen or heard an update on the Kilpatrick/Hefner Parkway ramps scheduled for FY 17 & 18. We are halfway thru FY 17 now

[stile99]

Latest status report available on the website says estimated bid opening 2017/2018.

[MagzOK]

ODOT and OTA need to team up and create toll express lanes that take you from OKC to Norman with minimal exits. This has been done in Dallas along the I635 LBJ Freeway and it's incredible. It's a whole other highway right below 635 that is toll while the upper stack (untouched from construction) has all the original exits. We made it from 35 to Central Expressway in mere minutes the other day while traffic was jammed up top. It was awesome. Imagine commuting from downtown OKC to Moore in just minutes and onto Norman for another couple. Check it out:

http://www.lbjtexpress.com/

[jdross1982]

Not sure they would go to that extent but I could see them adding an HOV lane once the work on the interchanges have been completed.

[Plutonic Panda]

ODOT and OTA need to team up and create toll express lanes that take you from OKC to Norman with minimal exits. This has been done in Dallas along the I635 LBJ Freeway and it's incredible. It's a whole other highway right below 635 that is toll while the upper stack (untouched from construction) has all the original exits. We made it from 35 to Central Expressway in mere minutes the other day while traffic was jammed up top. It was awesome. Imagine commuting from downtown OKC to Moore in just minutes and onto Norman for another couple. Check it out:

http://www.lbjtexpress.com/

I agree and you forgot to mention the 75MPH speed limit. TxDOT seems to be even surpassing Caltrans in freeway building/innovation which unfortunately seems to be focusing on mass transit over freeways at the moment.

I don't see Oklahoma being this progressive on that end. As said, I'd be happy with an HOV lane at the moment.

[rte66man]

ODOT and OTA need to team up and create toll express lanes that take you from OKC to Norman with minimal exits. This has been done in Dallas along the I635 LBJ Freeway and it's incredible. It's a whole other highway right below 635 that is toll while the upper stack (untouched from construction) has all the original exits. We made it from 35 to Central Expressway in mere minutes the other day while traffic was jammed up top. It was awesome. Imagine commuting from downtown OKC to Moore in just minutes and onto Norman for another couple. Check it out:

http://www.lbjtexpress.com/

And where would the traffic come from to justify the multi-BILLION dollar investment? According to ODOT's 2015 AADT counts, there aren't even 100k cars on I-35 except for immediately south of downtown OKC.

[brianinok]

Anyone have any idea when they are going to fully open HEB near Newcastle? They have been at the "punch list" stage for weeks on end, but still down to one lane in each direction. I tweeted the question at them yesterday but they didn't respond despite the fact they tweeted.

I can appreciate construction takes time, but at this point they ought to be able to finish painting the lanes and open them. Good grief.

[ChrisHayes]

Looks like they're starting some preliminary construction of the Kilpatrick Turnpike extension as it looks like they're building an off ramp or something off 40 towards the Kilpatrick Turnpike southbound.

[Plutonic Panda]

OTA budget increasing next year for guardrails, maintenance, and salary increases.

https://journalrecord.com/2019/10/23...cted-for-2020/

[rte66man]

OTA budget increasing next year for guardrails, maintenance, and salary increases.

https://journalrecord.com/2019/10/23...cted-for-2020/

They don't get appropriated funds so I'm assuming they will reduce the capital budget accordingly.

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^^ I’m not a subscriber to JR so I can’t see the content. This is all that I saw:

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority has approved preliminary budgets for operations and maintenance and capital investments in 2020 that will be 8% higher than budgets for

[baralheia]

I missed this tidbit of info back in May, but the OTA has finally enabled full interoperability with the rest of Texas' various tolling agencies. According to https://spark.adobe.com/page/UiJ4aU6naiUyn/ (linked from the PikePass.com front page), PikePass now works with all toll roads operated by the following agencies:

• PikePass - Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (of course)
• K-Tag - Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA)
• TollTag - North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA)
• TxTag - Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)
• EZTAG - Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA)
• Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority (CTRMA)
• Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority (FBCTRA)
• North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority (NET RMA)

I would not be surprised to soon see an announcement from the OTA of full support for BancPass, a prepaid toll sticker that can be reloaded with cash. BancPass was originally developed for use with the HCTRA, but it now works with all Texas toll roads, according to their FAQ. Interestingly, they put out a press release about 2 months ago announcing a new partnership with the KTA, and their front page happens to mention that it works in Oklahoma too. On top of that, their Terms of Service includes this interesting nugget of info: All States where the BancPass Toll Sticker works, including but not limited to Texas, Kansas Oklahoma, Georgia, Washington, Colorado, Florida. See BancPass.com for a complete list of States. This suggests the OTA may soon expand interoperability to these other states too. Currently, BancPass is only being sold at HEB and Costco stores in the Austin and Houston metro areas (and thus can only be topped up with cash at those stores right now), but with their expanding partnerships I wouldn't be surprised to see them for sale at stores in Kansas and Oklahoma soon.

[LakeEffect]

When I first saw the banners that noted interoperability with EZTag, I got it confused with EZPass, which works in over a dozen states. Hopefully all states eventually standardize on one technology... makes family road trips a tiny bit easier.

[Scott5114]

When I first saw the banners that noted interoperability with EZTag, I got it confused with EZPass, which works in over a dozen states. Hopefully all states eventually standardize on one technology... makes family road trips a tiny bit easier.

I think nobody will disagree with you on that. The problem is that the EZPass states standardized early on an older, more expensive active RFID technology. If you remember the old OTA transponders in the plastic cases that beeped when you passed through a toll booth—that's the sort of tag EZPass uses. Meanwhile, the plains states took a while to standardize, but did so with passive RFID tags: the stickers.

There's no incentive for the plains states to change to active tags because it would be more expensive than the passive RFID tags they already use. And since the EZPass states are in the Northeast, they have way more tollbooths and cars with tags, so changing over to the cheaper system would also be a considerable expense. So you have this standoff. About the only way I see it getting broken is if Congress mandates a unified transponder and provides funding for the changeover.

[catch22]

Just do toll-by-plate everywhere, and eliminate this ridiculous system of pre-paying tolls for a discount. Everyone pays the same rate, and everyone is billed by license plate. No accounts to maintain or remembering to "load up" your account. End of story.

The technology is there.

[OKCisOK4me]

Each account (with Pikepass) has an option of reloading automatically when a certain minimum has been reached.

[BoulderSooner]

Just do toll-by-plate everywhere, and eliminate this ridiculous system of pre-paying tolls for a discount. Everyone pays the same rate, and everyone is billed by license plate. No accounts to maintain or remembering to "load up" your account. End of story.

The technology is there.

there is no reason not to do both like texas does ... if you have an account and they dont need to send you a bill you should get a discount ..

but i am very suprised that "plate pay" has not been expanded after the creek exit test

[Plutonic Panda]

Some good news and bad news.

Good news is they have been updating their website regarding capital projects on their current and planned projects as well as their five year plan.

Bad new and I’m really bummed about this one is they had planned to build out the entire interchange at SH-74 and Kilpatrick but now those plans have been removed. My guess is it was much more expensive then previously planned.

The OTA has also planned a partial flyover interchange at I-40 with the Kilpatrick extension but that project was scaled back as well. I only hope once they finish the current projects we will see more interchange modernizations for the Oklahoma Turnpikes.

[HangryHippo]

Are there any plans for the OTA to go entirely plate pay and do away with cash toll booths (like Texas)?

[Plutonic Panda]

They have AET project for several tollways planned and the Kilpatrick is one of them. They have something related to this for 2020 but it’s for 2 million or something like that which seems a bit cheap but I have no idea what systems like that cost.

I do think they are planning systemwide plate pay.

[HangryHippo]

They have AET project for several tollways planned and the Kilpatrick is one of them. They have something related to this for 2020 but it’s for 2 million or something like that which seems a bit cheap but I have no idea what systems like that cost.

I do think they are planning systemwide plate pay.

I really appreciate all your ODOT and OTA updates. I find their capital project 'information' nearly impossible to decipher. ODOT's website might be as bad as the one for OESC.