I-35/I-44 Interchange

[BoulderSooner]

Drove this tonight and the flyover ramp from NB 35 to WB 44 was open.

good deal ..

[therhett17]

Drove the flyover this morning, very nice addition to this interchange

[warreng88]

I went back and looked, but couldn't find it. It looks like it is built for two lanes to exit NB 35 to WB 44. Will that narrow at some point or will two lanes merge with 44?

[BoulderSooner]

I went back and looked, but couldn't find it. It looks like it is built for two lanes to exit NB 35 to WB 44. Will that narrow at some point or will two lanes merge with 44?

my guess is that it merges from 2 to 1 some where before the end of the flyover .

[DowntownMan]

The old bridge from nb35 to w44 has started to come down

[soonergooner]

Would love to see a drone shot sometime soon, the footprint has really changed

[Pete]

Would love to see a drone shot sometime soon, the footprint has really changed

This is from about a month ago:

[Urbanized]

R.I.P. Haunted House

[soonergooner]

Thanks Pete!
That one is a bit dated as the NB I 35 to WB I 44 is complete, along with E I 44 and E I 44 to I 35. The old exit 133 along with one of the bridges is almost gone. I am sure I traveled under that bridge thousands of times over the years. I am speculating how the I 35 traffic will be diverted to demolish and build at least one more new bridge over NE 63rd. Thanks again for your work on this site.

[Jeepnokc]

R.I.P. Haunted House

Did it get torn down?

[Urbanized]

No, just the loss of the business, which was such a charming, out-of-the-way, OKC experience from another time. Those have become much more few and far between these days.

Last I heard the property - including the house - had been repurposed as a home for traumatized boys in the foster care system.

[bombermwc]

Drove through there this past week and I have to say the signage is very confusing. The new flyover for WB I44 from NB 35 is open. So on one hand it says, 44West go right, but if i remember right, the signs about 1/4 mile back just said 44, go right. Then it says 44 East, stay left. I'm not even sure why they have that sign on the 35 NB path to be honest. I dont remember it being there before since you haven't yet crossed the 44 path at that point. I'm sure that they will make it far more clear when the permanent signs are in and the whole mess is cleaned up.

So they have hit a milestone with that flyover being open. But it's still a big mess. Just a horrible squeeze of a mess. And I still don't really understand why we needed anything done here. I get why its a flyover now, but even doing this as a project seemed silly. It's a WHOLE lotta money to not get much benefit in an area that sees some of the lights big interstate traffic in the city.

[jn1780]

Drove through there this past week and I have to say the signage is very confusing. The new flyover for WB I44 from NB 35 is open. So on one hand it says, 44West go right, but if i remember right, the signs about 1/4 mile back just said 44, go right. Then it says 44 East, stay left. I'm not even sure why they have that sign on the 35 NB path to be honest. I dont remember it being there before since you haven't yet crossed the 44 path at that point. I'm sure that they will make it far more clear when the permanent signs are in and the whole mess is cleaned up.

So they have hit a milestone with that flyover being open. But it's still a big mess. Just a horrible squeeze of a mess. And I still don't really understand why we needed anything done here. I get why its a flyover now, but even doing this as a project seemed silly. It's a WHOLE lotta money to not get much benefit in an area that sees some of the lights big interstate traffic in the city.

I think those bridges and overpass needed to be replaced anyway. Its also part of the long term plan of expansion of I-35. I guess if they are doing all that work anyway, they might as well move the exit to the right.

[BoulderSooner]

I think those bridges and overpass needed to be replaced anyway. Its also part of the long term plan of expansion of I-35. I guess if they are doing all that work anyway, they might as well move the exit to the right.

this is correct ... .and has been stated a bunch in this thread in response to bombermwc ..... .....

[mugofbeer]

I think those bridges and overpass needed to be replaced anyway. Its also part of the long term plan of expansion of I-35. I guess if they are doing all that work anyway, they might as well move the exit to the right.

I believe its been said earlier on the thread that if you are going from one highway to another, ie. I-35NB to l-44WB, Federal regulations require a right-hand exit. This standardizes the way the roads work to help reduce the # of drivers making the sudden, last-second lane changes. It also forces the OKDoT to more often design interchanges like the rest of the country. Now if the OKDOT would stop designing in loops at major interchanges (like l-35 and l-240)......

[BoulderSooner]

I believe its been said earlier on the thread that if you are going from one highway to another, ie. I-35NB to l-44WB, Federal regulations require a right-hand exit.

it is not required it is best practice ... of the 2 finals alt for this project 1 kept the left exit to 44 ..

all of the bridges needed to be replaced which is another reason this project needed to happen ..

see the presentation here

https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/...entation_e.pdf

[jdross1982]

This project is going to provide significant improvement to flow in the area and should reduce accidents resulting from last second shifts in lanes at the exit point. Expansion of 35 lanes will also help in the area. I will say, it is an absolute mess right now and driving through it leads to great confusion due to the shifting of heights in the lanes. Excited to see what they get done these next 2 nights.

[warreng88]

I believe its been said earlier on the thread that if you are going from one highway to another, ie. I-35NB to l-44WB, Federal regulations require a right-hand exit. This standardizes the way the roads work to help reduce the # of drivers making the sudden, last-second lane changes. It also forces the OKDoT to more often design interchanges like the rest of the country. Now if the OKDOT would stop designing in loops at major interchanges (like l-35 and l-240)......

If they could do that on I-44, specifically between Western and Penn (NW Expressway and Classen exits to the left), I would love that...

[jn1780]

If they could do that on I-44, specifically between Western and Penn (NW Expressway and Classen exits to the left), I would love that...

I-44 has its own long range plan to hopefully completely remove the elevated bridge. Won't happen within 8 years though.

[bombermwc]

this is correct ... .and has been stated a bunch in this thread in response to bombermwc ..... .....

No i understand why the flyover is there. Yes, that's been made very clear. I just dont think we really NEEDED to do ANYTHING at this junction. With so many other junctions in need of such major work, this just didn't make sense. It diverted money away from moving the MUCH MUCH MUCH busier 240 project. And after this one is done, it's not going to correct any issues with traffic flow, because there weren't any.

And again, with the I-35 changes, the work that was done here, doesn't contribute to it. The bridges that were already redone (deep Fork Creek bridge), would have been able to accommodate any lane additions in parallel with the old junction. We've spent a LOT of money, to really not get much of a difference out of it. 63rd's bridge already had 3 lanes to it.

So i'm not re-hashing the same question. I'm just saying that the explanations for why this project was started to begin with, lack something to stand on in my opinion. Now had we done something at 44/39th/etc. I mean that one is jammed full with cars. 44/35 here just simply is NEVER full of cars. When was the last time you ever saw any sort of backup at this junction in any direction that would warrant this much effort? And again, the existing bridges could already accommodate any 35 expansion to 3 lanes.

It just smells of a pork barrel project for someone rather than being needs based. Or potentially some federal funding that had to go somewhere, so they made up a reason "enough".

[BoulderSooner]

No i understand why the flyover is there. Yes, that's been made very clear. I just dont think we really NEEDED to do ANYTHING at this junction. With so many other junctions in need of such major work, this just didn't make sense. It diverted money away from moving the MUCH MUCH MUCH busier 240 project. And after this one is done, it's not going to correct any issues with traffic flow, because there weren't any.

And again, with the I-35 changes, the work that was done here, doesn't contribute to it. The bridges that were already redone (deep Fork Creek bridge), would have been able to accommodate any lane additions in parallel with the old junction. We've spent a LOT of money, to really not get much of a difference out of it. 63rd's bridge already had 3 lanes to it.

So i'm not re-hashing the same question. I'm just saying that the explanations for why this project was started to begin with, lack something to stand on in my opinion. Now had we done something at 44/39th/etc. I mean that one is jammed full with cars. 44/35 here just simply is NEVER full of cars. When was the last time you ever saw any sort of backup at this junction in any direction that would warrant this much effort? And again, the existing bridges could already accommodate any 35 expansion to 3 lanes.

It just smells of a pork barrel project for someone rather than being needs based. Or potentially some federal funding that had to go somewhere, so they made up a reason "enough".

the 63rd street bridges needed to be replaced ... the fly over bridge needed to be replaced .....

those things NEEDED to happen .. see presentation .. i just linked

[Dob Hooligan]

No i understand why the flyover is there. Yes, that's been made very clear. I just dont think we really NEEDED to do ANYTHING at this junction. With so many other junctions in need of such major work, this just didn't make sense. It diverted money away from moving the MUCH MUCH MUCH busier 240 project. And after this one is done, it's not going to correct any issues with traffic flow, because there weren't any.

And again, with the I-35 changes, the work that was done here, doesn't contribute to it. The bridges that were already redone (deep Fork Creek bridge), would have been able to accommodate any lane additions in parallel with the old junction. We've spent a LOT of money, to really not get much of a difference out of it. 63rd's bridge already had 3 lanes to it.

So i'm not re-hashing the same question. I'm just saying that the explanations for why this project was started to begin with, lack something to stand on in my opinion. Now had we done something at 44/39th/etc. I mean that one is jammed full with cars. 44/35 here just simply is NEVER full of cars. When was the last time you ever saw any sort of backup at this junction in any direction that would warrant this much effort? And again, the existing bridges could already accommodate any 35 expansion to 3 lanes.

It just smells of a pork barrel project for someone rather than being needs based. Or potentially some federal funding that had to go somewhere, so they made up a reason "enough".

Never seems super busy when I drive it, but I also think the same thing about I-35 from 10th Street going north the 3 to 4 miles up to this interchange. And there is a lot of talk about how there is a desperate need to add lanes to that stretch. Possibly even double decking it. I also recall hearing about the creek in that area needs/needed a massive rework in order to provide a solid, long-term base for roadway and real estate development. Like it is going to be good for development of the Adventure District, the area around the softball stadium and the west side of I-35 from 36th to 63rd?

[BoulderSooner]

And there is a lot of talk about how there is a desperate need to add lanes to that stretch. Possibly even double decking it.

double decking it??

that was not one of the options studied ... ..

[Dob Hooligan]

double decking it??

that was not one of the options studied ... ..

I agree. I mean talk here on OKC Talk, of course. The best, most intelligent forum on the internet.

(Is Pete watching?)

[bombermwc]

system made a duplicate post...removing this one since its the last on the page and the duplicate is the first on the next.