I-235 / I-44 Interchange

[Plutonic Panda]

Gah, Broadway converted to an expressway up to 15th sounds god-awful. It's so pedestrian unfriendly as is, that would be an terrible change.

Yeah because everything everywhere has to be pedestrian friendly. Grade separation saves lives. Edmond needs traffic relief. Not embarking on a goose chase to make six lane thoroughfares pedestrian friendly, IMO. There are plenty of other parts of the city where pedestrian oriented projects should go. Broadway south of 15th is NOT one of them.

[Plutonic Panda]

I don’t think the feds are expanding the interstate system right now. Once it has a federal designator (I-235) there’s more burden on the Feds for upkeep. I believe somewhere in Arizona has been trying for years to get a I- designator on a highway they built to federal interstate standards and has not been able to convince the feds.

There are plenty of new routings like I-11, I-14, I-69, I-49, etc. that are being built along with various 3DIs being designated in cities. NC is on a hot streak with new interstates.

[jn1780]

Yeah because everything everywhere has to be pedestrian friendly. Grade separation saves lives. Edmond needs traffic relief. Not embarking on a goose chase to make six lane thoroughfares pedestrian friendly, IMO. There are plenty of other parts of the city where pedestrian oriented projects should go. Broadway south of 15th is NOT one of them.

Probably not anymore of a goose chase than making it a controlled access up to 33rd or 15th for that matter. The controlled access highway ship set sail a long time ago. Imagine the expenses from ROW alone and all the businesses that have to close or shutdown. You would have better luck turning highway 9 into controlled access and that is pretty slim.

[rte66man]

I hope they will just brand the Broadway Extension as I-235 rather than "ending" it at I-44. Most people probably already refer to it as 235 (as in post above) and I'm sure the BE is built beyond Interstate Standards. ...

To do that would violate AASHTO route numbering rules. A 3 digit interstate beginning with an even number has to begin and end at another interstate. However, there are exceptions made. I635's western end in Dallas is one that comes to mind. The western extension from I35 was an afterthought.

[Plutonic Panda]

Probably not anymore of a goose chase than making it a controlled access up to 33rd or 15th for that matter. The controlled access highway ship set sail a long time ago. Imagine the expenses from ROW alone and all the businesses that have to close or shutdown. You would have better luck turning highway 9 into controlled access and that is pretty slim.

There would have to be little to no business closures. TxDOT is able to put 8 lane freeways in ROW the size of the Broadway. A depressed freeway would do wonders. I would disagree that my plan would be more of a goose chase than one trying to make this road pedestrian friendly.

At the very most, there might be a handful of businesses that would be impacted and most of it would be parking lots. With a depressed freeway with service lanes and tight diamond interchanges, it would work very well. But Oklahoma is cheap and this project would cost north of a billion dollars. I agree no way it happens but because Oklahoma. That is my opinion.

At the very least, tolled over or under passes would be nice and could likely fit in the median.

[Plutonic Panda]

To do that would violate AASHTO route numbering rules. A 3 digit interstate beginning with an even number has to begin and end at another interstate. However, there are exceptions made. I635's western end in Dallas is one that comes to mind. The western extension from I35 was an afterthought.

I-44 routed down the Kilpatrick Tollway to SH-74. Solved.

[David]

Wasn't there a plan from ODOT decades back where they wanted to turn 23rd through Midtown into an access controlled highway cutting through the city, but the city rightfully pushed back and prevented it? This access controlled broadway extension up to 15th idea feels like exactly that, turning a city street into a highway for no particularly good reason other than someone wanting to be able to drive fast on it.

[mugofbeer]

Wasn't there a plan from ODOT decades back where they wanted to turn 23rd through Midtown into an access controlled highway cutting through the city, but the city rightfully pushed back and prevented it? This access controlled broadway extension up to 15th idea feels like exactly that, turning a city street into a highway for no particularly good reason other than someone wanting to be able to drive fast on it.

I recall seeing a document when I was a kid showing NE 23rd east of I-35 being upgraded to a limited access highway connecting to the east outer loop they had designed at that time down Sooner Rd. I don't recall seeing 23rd being upgraded anywhere through the mid city.

[BoulderSooner]

I recall seeing a document when I was a kid showing NE 23rd east of I-35 being upgraded to a limited access highway connecting to the east outer loop they had designed at that time down Sooner Rd. I don't recall seeing 23rd being upgraded anywhere through the mid city.

there was a plan for a inner NE loop connecting to the 44 I35 63rd area and I40 and 240 but the NE side was so against it that is was killed ... (this was a major mistake )

[mugofbeer]

Are you thinking of what they called the Sooner Expressway at the time that was to start at the Turner Turnpike gate and then run down Sooner Rd? The higher speed access to Sooner Rd at that interchange was the start of that project but was abandoned later. I agree, it was a mistake to stop it. I don't recall the exact route but it was to pretty much go down Sooner Rd to Norman and I-35 south of the S. Canadian River. IMO, the current east county toll Rd. is ridiculously far east to be useful to very many.

[HOT ROD]

I-44 routed down the Kilpatrick Tollway to SH-74. Solved.

or better yet, why not sign the Kilpatrick Turnpike as I-844 and all of Broadway up to and just beyond it at I-235 since it's claimed that way anyway.

I'd also feel good if Hefner Parkway was signed I-144 spur.

[mugofbeer]

or better yet, why not sign the Kilpatrick Turnpike as I-844 and all of Broadway up to and just beyond it at I-235 since it's claimed that way anyway.

I'd also feel good if Hefner Parkway was signed I-144 spur.

Would the bouncy bridges on the west part of the Kilpatrick qualify for interstate standards?

[Plutonic Panda]

Wasn't there a plan from ODOT decades back where they wanted to turn 23rd through Midtown into an access controlled highway cutting through the city, but the city rightfully pushed back and prevented it? This access controlled broadway extension up to 15th idea feels like exactly that, turning a city street into a highway for no particularly good reason other than someone wanting to be able to drive fast on it.

I’m not seeing how a six lane divided road with a 50 foot median compares to 23rd in midtown

An apples to apples comparison would be more akin to HWY 9 in Norman or NWE. This isn’t about people wanting to drive faster though they would be able to under my plan, it’s abojt moving traffic better.

[Plutonic Panda]

Are you thinking of what they called the Sooner Expressway at the time that was to start at the Turner Turnpike gate and then run down Sooner Rd? The higher speed access to Sooner Rd at that interchange was the start of that project but was abandoned later. I agree, it was a mistake to stop it. I don't recall the exact route but it was to pretty much go down Sooner Rd to Norman and I-35 south of the S. Canadian River. IMO, the current east county toll Rd. is ridiculously far east to be useful to very many.

But but but wouldn’t it have been better to build for pedestrians and not cars!? LOL. I concur.

[rte66man]

Would the bouncy bridges on the west part of the Kilpatrick qualify for interstate standards?

Those are being fixed by taking the old deck and beams off then replacing them correctly. They are expanding it to 6 lanes at the same time.

[jn1780]

Project is ramping up. I-44 is now being slightly shifted in order to work on bridge piers for new I235 bridges and overpasses in median.

[OKC Guy]

Project is ramping up. I-44 is now being slightly shifted in order to work on bridge piers for new I235 bridges and overpasses in median.

Amazing with all this rain it hasn’t completely shut them down. Hoping they can get it done early for a bonus payoff. Best thing ever invented is early completion incentives. The only thing that slows down construction these days is weather or funding.

[timothy.a.owen]

Does anyone have any idea of how long the on-ramp to I-44 from Grand is expected to be closed?

[Buffalo Bill]

Does anyone have any idea of how long the on-ramp to I-44 from Grand is expected to be closed?

According to this, mid-June.

https://www.ok.gov/triton/modules/ne...ticle_id=51461

I wouldn't doubt if it is much later due to the weather. It looks like they are paving the Deep Fork Creek channel below these bridges. Hard to do that with all the water we've had.

[turnpup]

The merge point from Broadway Extension northbound to I-44 westbound is going to be a hassle for a while. If you drive a low-to-the-ground vehicle, it's generally hard to see beyond the high grass right there anyway. Now, they've got workers' cars parked in that little island, as well as the highway patrol cars on the access road to slow people down. All that makes for a near-stop instead of a merge coming off the cloverleaf. Just a heads-up.

[jn1780]

Overpass can't come fast enough! Probably looking at another year before that part of the project is completed.

[rte66man]

The merge point from Broadway Extension northbound to I-44 westbound is going to be a hassle for a while. If you drive a low-to-the-ground vehicle, it's generally hard to see beyond the high grass right there anyway. Now, they've got workers' cars parked in that little island, as well as the highway patrol cars on the access road to slow people down. All that makes for a near-stop instead of a merge coming off the cloverleaf. Just a heads-up.

Plus they added more Jersey barriers that make it even harder to see when merging onto the westbound c/d lane.

[jn1780]

SB was bad this morning. Looks like they are going to shift those lanes over to the NB side past 63rd and then shift them back right before the bridge. It was bad because they are in the process of demolishing the concrete divider.

Interesting sequencing of construction. They will probably have both sides of the road done before they get even one of the bridges done. The rebar for the overpasses started going up too.

[jccouger]

How long is I44 expected to remain 2 lanes? Seems like it's gonna be that way for a while.

[jn1780]

How long is I44 expected to remain 2 lanes? Seems like it's gonna be that way for a while.

End of project or close to it. The south bound bridge is going to be the last thing to be completed and they can't build those bridge piers until existing south bound is demolished.

So there is going to be work happening in the middle for awhile.