Access Oklahoma Turnpike Projects

[Plutonic Panda]

I think the East-West Connector will happen first, the south extension will happen later. there is also the possibility the south expanson gets pushed east of lake thunderbird and connects to I-35 South of Purcell

It’s not a possibility it’s the reality of the situation. That can and will happen. A Texas size 5 stack interchange is planned at I 35. This is also where a potential much talked about furniture retailer may locate their store next to. Without a doubt OTA’s main focus will be Oklahoma City and I 44 between Tulsa and OKC.

[Elrenogolf]

It’s not a possibility it’s the reality of the situation. That can and will happen. A Texas size 5 stack interchange is planned at I 35. This is also where a potential much talked about furniture retailer may locate their store next to. Without a doubt OTA’s main focus will be Oklahoma City and I 44 between Tulsa and OKC.

So where exactly is the IKEA being built?

[Plutonic Panda]

So where exactly is the IKEA being built?

Not sure. I don’t even know if it’s a done deal it’s still in negotiations from what I understand. But from what I was told if it does happen, it would be at the southwest corner of the interchange at I 35 where Indian Hills currently sits. That road will be converted into a one way service road.

There’s also a separate project to address the service roads from Moore to Norman along. I 35.

Once all of these projects are done, I would not be surprised to see HOV lanes proposed on I 35.

[Plutonic Panda]

and sold at over 5% interest thanks to the worthless lawsuit that only delayed this it cost the OTA (are really the state/taxpayer) millions and millions of dollars in interest payments .. which will delay future turnpike expansion and upkeep.

Yep. Damn shame. Things like this happen in urban planning and as you pointed out we don’t even know how many homes will be taken for this freeway as an alignment hasn’t been formally selected at least publicly. The Oklahoman and all the NIMBYs were looking at a map of a proposed area where the freeway may be built and using that for a number of homes that would be taken which is pure BS.

[mugofbeer]

Yl was listening to the OU football postgame show last night and they announced it as "the oklahoma Turnpike Authority Post Game Show." This seems like a total waste of money by the OTA.

[BoulderSooner]

Yl was listening to the OU football postgame show last night and they announced it as "the oklahoma Turnpike Authority Post Game Show." This seems like a total waste of money by the OTA.

the more people that use oklahoma turnpikes the more money it generates to fund it self .. ads for them are very appropriate

[shavethewhales]

People aren't going to go out and drive the turnpikes because they heard their name mentioned on a radio show... They shouldn't be trying to build the turnpike "brand". I agree, total mispend of money. In a perfect world, they would be focused on paying off the bonds, but the ruse is laid bare by antics like these.

[Snowman]

People aren't going to go out and drive the turnpikes because they heard their name mentioned on a radio show... They shouldn't be trying to build the turnpike "brand". I agree, total mispend of money. In a perfect world, they would be focused on paying off the bonds, but the ruse is laid bare by antics like these.

OG&E and other effectively monopolies have done similar for years either physically around field/stadium/arena or on team affiliated media. Plus may be part of deals where organization negotiates consistently purchasing large blocks of tickets and/or suits for employee perks, granted this would only be if show was produced internally to OU.

Alternatively regardless of who the organization is, they likely have some travel that ends up on OTA roads. So it is also plausible they offered advertisement for reduces cost of travel, and that ends up pretty trivial expense for OTA.

[Jersey Boss]

People aren't going to go out and drive the turnpikes because they heard their name mentioned on a radio show... They shouldn't be trying to build the turnpike "brand". I agree, total mispend of money. In a perfect world, they would be focused on paying off the bonds, but the ruse is laid bare by antics like these.

This +1. This is a prime example of misuse of funds. If you are listening tp local radio you are well aware of the availability of the turnpike.

[Swake]

I can see advertising the PikePass, but turnpikes themselves? No.

[mugofbeer]

I could also see if the south OKC / Moore / Norman toll roads were nearing completion and there was a need to educate the public on them, but right now the sponsorship is a waste of $.

[bombermwc]

I bet it's PR to try and make people think better of the OTA after all the bad publicity. As you said, they don't have to recruit people to their products. But they do need to work on their image in terms of being viewed as the bad guy. Teaming up with something like OU football, well that seems like an obvious "good guy" in Oklahoma to team yourself up with.

As far as Ikea, well the plot of land makes sense and the location is good. We'll see how that works out, I guess.

[jedicurt]

I bet it's PR to try and make people think better of the OTA after all the bad publicity. As you said, they don't have to recruit people to their products. But they do need to work on their image in terms of being viewed as the bad guy. Teaming up with something like OU football, well that seems like an obvious "good guy" in Oklahoma to team yourself up with.

my first thoughts as well... it's a way to try and get some good PR for them

[Midtowner]

and sold at over 5% interest thanks to the worthless lawsuit that only delayed this it cost the OTA (are really the state/taxpayer) millions and millions of dollars in interest payments .. which will delay future turnpike expansion and upkeep.

Ultimately, the fault lies with the OTA for not observing open meetings requirements which is what opened them up to that attack. In their defense, the last few Attorney Generals have been pretty worthless--more interested in climbing the political ladder than doing a good job doing the basic things an AG is supposed to do, such as ensuring political subdivisions remain compliant with the law.

[BoulderSooner]

Ultimately, the fault lies with the OTA for not observing open meetings requirements which is what opened them up to that attack. In their defense, the last few Attorney Generals have been pretty worthless--more interested in climbing the political ladder than doing a good job doing the basic things an AG is supposed to do, such as ensuring political subdivisions remain compliant with the law.

that is fair ..


a process question if you don't mind?

I know the Oklahoma supreme court does what it wants but is there a thought as to why it took them so long to decide on what seemed to be a slam dunk issue

[jn1780]

First major project of Access Oklahoma approved.

https://kfor.com/news/local/oklahoma...44-turner-tpk/

[bombermwc]

It's crazy to think how long its going to take them to get all the way to OKC at this rate. It'll be 20 years by the time they get there and we'll need another lane by then.

[BG918]

It's crazy to think how long its going to take them to get all the way to OKC at this rate. It'll be 20 years by the time they get there and we'll need another lane by then.

IMO finishing the I-44 Turner Turnpike project should take precedence over all other turnpike projects.

[shavethewhales]

^Absolutely. I44 is the main artery of the state, and the primary money maker for OTA as well. It only makes sense to make it the focus of the system. I wish they were going faster too, but these are big jobs that involve a ton of excavation and full depth heavy duty concrete construction while keeping a massive roadway active. The added interchanges make it even more difficult. Looks like the majority of that $98 million to get to Bristow is being spent on a single new interchange.

They need to start working from the other end at the same time. They also need to start thinking about the Will Rogers turnpike on the other end of I44. Unfortunately I doubt we'll see a major expansion push on it until Turner is much farther along.

[Snowman]

It's crazy to think how long its going to take them to get all the way to OKC at this rate. It'll be 20 years by the time they get there and we'll need another lane by then.

Given the lead time of this type of project, this probably was something that was technically in the pipeline before the increased funding was passed, future projects will probably happen with more frequency.

[macfoucin]

I wonder how many overpasses they'll have to replace like this one on the Turner between OKC and Bristow?

[BoulderSooner]

I wonder how many overpasses they'll have to replace like this one on the Turner between OKC and Bristow?

for this specific project only the route 66 bridge over 44 ..

[jn1780]

It's crazy to think how long its going to take them to get all the way to OKC at this rate. It'll be 20 years by the time they get there and we'll need another lane by then.

This is just the first project awarded related to widening. They may not necessary wait for total completion before awarding the next section. The biggest hurdle in OK road construction is financing and OTA has that.

[BoulderSooner]

This is just the first project awarded related to widening. They may not necessary wait for total completion before awarding the next section. The biggest hurdle in OK road construction is financing and OTA has that.

this is correct ... there will be multiple contracts to multiple different companies

[bombermwc]

Well that's good to hear. Those small bridges were cheap to build way back, but don't help for future construction. I just hope that they put a little better thought into how they are constructed, for future expansion ability. Maybe it wont ever be 4 lanes, but who knows....maybe we want a rail line down the middle one day???? Just saying, we shouldn't build the new stuff with such small space tolerances.

For Will Rogers, do you think that the traffic on that side warrants that compared to say HE Baily? I just haven't noticed that once you pass Claremore, that the Will Rogers has just that much traffic. Maybe I was just at the wrong times of day though???