The New I-40 (Construction Updates)

[yukong]

I hope not. It's enough that we had to pay to patch the hole that opened up on it this week.

Would't surprise me if the whole mess collapsed in a heap as the last car drives across it.

That was my thought. Just like the scene in the Blues Brothers, when they got to the County Assessors' and the Blues Mobile completely fell apart after all the chase scenes.

[Larry OKC]

It is a collector/distributor road that runs alongside the interstate till it reaches Agnew/Villa. The Agnew/Villa exit will merge with it before it reaches Agnew/Villa then there will be a light, if you go strait you will go on a westbound ramp or if you turn will go north to Villa or south on Agnew.

Thanks for the info. Then according to the map Pete posted, the Agnew ramp isn't scheduled to open until sometime next year? That bites. Now I either have to drive out of my way eastward (to Western) to go westbound or forget I-40 completely and go up to 10th and thru traffic & multiple stop lights past the Fairgrounds to get to the interstate. There are some things I like about the relocation but amazing that they spent this much time & money and messed things up so badly in a some ways. Then double speak/contradicting statements as to why they did some of the things they did instead of just admitting they made a mistake. Not that them admitting to the mistake would fix anything, but unlikely that they will fix it if they won't admit it is broken.

[Bellaboo]

Thanks for the info. Then according to the map Pete posted, the Agnew ramp isn't scheduled to open until sometime next year? That bites. Now I either have to drive out of my way eastward (to Western) to go westbound or forget I-40 completely and go up to 10th and thru traffic & multiple stop lights past the Fairgrounds to get to the interstate. There are some things I like about the relocation but amazing that they spent this much time & money and messed things up so badly in a some ways. Then double speak/contradicting statements as to why they did some of the things they did instead of just admitting they made a mistake. Not that them admitting to the mistake would fix anything, but unlikely that they will fix it if they won't admit it is broken.

Not sure if it's a mistake, they've limited access for better flow. The old crosstown had too many on/off ramps, causing an unsafe environment.

[mburlison]

It's no mistake, give these Engineers credit, it's not like a bunch of nabobs sitting around throwing darts at a board. The fewer exits allow for traffic flow - there are government regulations involved, not the least of which are those having to do with 'cleaner air'. The right hand lanes tend to be parking lots if there are too many exits, not to mention the old style on ramps that wove in to the middle of people trying to exit. Highway 75, for example, in Dallas, yes, the exits seem wide apart sometimes, but the frontage roads are able to handle a lot of traffic, and the flow on the highway itself is much faster than it would be if there was an exit every mile. Not that there are no traffic jams, mind. As for the cleaner air standards, the Feds reimburse heavily for traffic flow versus cars sitting around - witness all the toll booths removed around some turnpike systems. also the 'fly over' style intersections, all about keeping the cars moving, there will be enough slow downs and lookie-loo type stuff no matter what.

[Pete]

Farewell to the old Crosstown! By daybreak tomorrow it will be officially out of commission, ending an era in OKC.

Hard to imagine the city without it, flaws and all.

[ljbab728]

This is an interesting article about Oklahoma Interstates.

http://newsok.com/interstate-highway...rticle/3650269

I have to wonder about this statement though:

All three interstates would meet, or nearly so, in Oklahoma City. In Tulsa, two of the three would intersect.

What Interstate besides I44 meets in Tulsa?

[amandagall5]

Are you still going to be able to go north on I44/Lake Hefner Pkwy from I40 westbound?

[Jim Kyle]

Sure; the alignment change doesn't start until east of May Avenue.

[amandagall5]

Thank you.

[gurantula35]

has anyone drove down the new part yet??

[Martin]

yep... it's pretty nice till you get within a mile or two east of i-44 where it narrows down to only 3 lanes... i imagine it's going to be a bottleneck until everything is completed. when i went around 12:30, they hadn't yet opened up the exit to westbound i-40 from southbound 235... i'm sure that will be opened up by tomorrow if it not already. -M

[jn1780]

I don't think the bottleneck itself is that bad. Its the fact that as soon as you crossback over the i-44 exits are right there. This may be the biggest thing for people to get use to Monday morning and afternoon. At least they will be able to open the other lanes on the eastbound side pretty soon since the crossover wasn't needed.

[SoonerQueen]

We drove on the new highway today both east and west bound, and was very impressed with it. I did miss my May Avenue exit, but it was all good. Once they get it all finished, it's going to be great.I hated the old bumpy I-40. The next thing I hope we get help with is May Avenue between NW 50th and 63rd.

[shawnw]

At least they will be able to open the other lanes on the eastbound side pretty soon since the crossover wasn't needed.

I, too, took the new I-40 tonight and was (pleasantly) surprised that "westbound open" turned out to mean the actual westbound lanes. I was expecting to be put on the eastbound side that was set aside for westbound traffic.

[jn1780]

They just have that one gap in the wall they have to fill in before they can open up all the eastbound lanes. This will help out with the traffic merging from the Shields on-ramp and will also make it easier to access the I-235 on-ramps.

[OKCisOK4me]

At least KWTV did more than a 30 second bit on it during their newscast tonight.

[White Peacock]

I drove on it, both directions, today. Quite nice and smooth, and being able to get on and off of 40 at Shields makes the drive to and from the Myriad a breeze. No more winding through ridiculous paths to get on the highway after the game. I have to say, seeing the new Crosstown in action, it really was a good idea. It's also interesting seeing the scissortail pedestrian bridge. Although I really liked the original suspension concept, it still is pretty cool.

[adaniel]

I drove on it this afternoon from Western to 44 Northbound. A great, smooth drive. Can't say I miss the old Crosstown one bit.

A few minor complaints: I do hope in the future they label the Agnew exit with an "exit only" sign. Definitely saw a few cars doing some pretty dramatic last minute lane changes.

You could tell most people were not used to it by all of the slow, poking drivers, but that will change in due time.

Speaking of getting used to something, that 44/40 interchange is going to be hairy until the new interchange tie ins are completed. For the longest people were used to 2 thru lanes and 2 exit only lanes, now there's only 3 lanes with an odd mix of the two. Even on a Sunday afternoon there was a bit of a slowdown. I forsee BIG backups for the next week or two during the PM rush hour.

[Larry OKC]

Not sure if it's a mistake, they've limited access for better flow. The old crosstown had too many on/off ramps, causing an unsafe environment.

Similar has been expressed before (and sounds good) yet it is contradicted by areas where they did just the opposite (like the 3 off ramps in a very short span, highway sign says it is 1/4 mile)...Agnew/Boulevard/Penn....exit/exit/exit...sure, they want people to be able to exit easily, but get back on, not so much. This has been a problem with the crosstown for decades, always seemed like plenty of exits (even if they wouldn't always be the same for east as west) but much fewer options to get back on without driving thru a lot of stop and go city street driving. Which leads to higher pollution concerns etc.

It's no mistake, give these Engineers credit, it's not like a bunch of nabobs sitting around throwing darts at a board. The fewer exits allow for traffic flow - there are government regulations involved, not the least of which are those having to do with 'cleaner air'. The right hand lanes tend to be parking lots if there are too many exits, not to mention the old style on ramps that wove in to the middle of people trying to exit. ...

Traffic flow is supposed to be improved by having more lanes etc. How is it helped to have those same cars in the much longer off ramps (like the old Penn compared to the new)? Those cars are just sitting there, right? Compounded by the fact that where they reduced exits, means higher traffic count on the ones that are left. The end result makes it look like they did exactly what you say didn't happen. A bunch of "off ramp" darts landed in clusters etc. Its like turnpike exits that have no return access. Or you can only get back on if you are heading a certain direction.

Like I said there are parts of this I actually like...parts that aren't as bad as described..parts that could have been done much better...esp for the decades and multi-hundreds of millions poured into the project. Not asking or expecting perfection. Just better. They achieved that with Penn and the longer exit ramp with light. Messed it up by eliminating the return west bound on ramp.

[Lauri101]

Still trying to figure out the maps and comments above, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong:
From MWC, westbound I-40 to I-44/Airport - is the leftmost lane still the airport exit? Is it still dedicated?
Driving to airport pre-dawn tomorrow - wanted to make sure I get off at right spot. TIA!

[mburlison]

Oh, I forgot - the omniscient ones are present. Sorry.

[Bellaboo]

I really think that when the new boulevard is completed that we'll think things are just fine and dandy.

[OKCisOK4me]

Still trying to figure out the maps and comments above, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong:
From MWC, westbound I-40 to I-44/Airport - is the leftmost lane still the airport exit? Is it still dedicated?
Driving to airport pre-dawn tomorrow - wanted to make sure I get off at right spot. TIA!

The left most lane is to exit south on I-44 (west), the middle lane is dedicated to I-40 (west), and the right lane to go north on I-44 (east) or continue west on I-40. So stay in the left lane.

If for some reason you miss it, just exit off of Meridian and take the long way, due south to the airport...

[corpsman]

You will enjoy the wide open spaces and lack of pot holes. It's still a little wiggly at the Dallas junction and I-44 but the new highway is nice. Go to the airport just as in times past. BTW, Thanks for the weekends and special thanks for your veteran's service.

Still trying to figure out the maps and comments above, so someone please correct me if I'm wrong:
From MWC, westbound I-40 to I-44/Airport - is the leftmost lane still the airport exit? Is it still dedicated?
Driving to airport pre-dawn tomorrow - wanted to make sure I get off at right spot. TIA!

[Bellaboo]

I drove it after the game, around 9:45 tonight....was a breeze, and seems a little smoother than the east bound. Had no problem, and it was a full 5 lanes until the last mile or so before the I-44 connection....my wife commented that it seems like a different city, in a positive way, a very good road now.