Oklahoma Turnpike Authority

[catch22]

I grew up on the south side and think the I-35 -> I-44 connector is probably the best news of this announcement. Due to the river and lack of development in this area there is not really an efficient way to cross over from one to the other.

[baralheia]

I grew up on the south side and think the I-35 -> I-44 connector is probably the best news of this announcement. Due to the river and lack of development in this area there is not really an efficient way to cross over from one to the other.

Agreed, yeah... right now, your choices are I-240, HEB/SH-9 spur, or city streets (north of SW 19th/SW 149th). A faster connector between I-35 and I-44 along the Indian Hills corridor will be most welcome.

[SEMIweather]

Yeah, Newcastle is primed for rapid growth if/when that connector gets built

[gopokes88]

One thing i just noticed is, in theory, when this is done you'll see less semis in the city because every route can now use a turnpike as a bypass.

[Snowman]

One thing i just noticed is, in theory, when this is done you'll see less semis in the city because every route can now use a turnpike as a bypass.

The placement of the Kickapoo turnpike and the bend on the new bypass design still seem odd to me, unless they were expressly trying to keep it a bypass and limit suburban sprawl, which seems unlikely. Such a massive jog to the east makes it unlikely new housing on the east side of Norman would take it into the city, so seems likely to put more pressure on i35 when it could have relived some off it. Kickapoo in general is so far out it does not seem will have the type of population they tend to look for in the rest of their loop routes before it needs major renovation.

There is also the kink at bottom of the Kickapoo turnpike that goes the opposite way the extension will track, it looks like there is a path they could have taken without changing the rest of what was built that would move the juncture two miles closer to the North/South section in Norman, and it is pretty clear from how they built the juncture they were planning to extend it in the not too distant future.

[sgt. pepper]

No mention of Kilpatrick on and off ramps being redone along Memorial.

yes, this is a big problem right now even

[OKC Guy]

On the graph they show nothing for the I-235/KT interchange. With the 44/235 completion plus current/expected new business between 44/KT (on 235) this is going to bottleneck like crazy. If not addressed it will be a daily mess as cars backup for this 4 mile stretch. Cars going north on 235 wanting to go west on TP have 1 lane and its on the right competing with oncoming traffic. With downtown growth and far NW OKC growth this is one of the better ways to go. Once bottlenecked its not. That puts even more pressure on NW Exp as a backup. Going I-40 west to TP (from downtown) is not feasible die to constant I-40 construction ongoing.

One other note related to an earlier post by someone (east county growth). There is no good traffic corridor to make this happen. If you are in Choctaw or even Harrah and want to get to OKC for work or play your only option is 23rd street which is 45mph and littered with lights and jurisdictions. If not this road you have to go south or north many miles to get to major highway. The best option (wonÂ’t happen) is to build a TP over 23rd to I35. Elevated isnÂ’t good weather wise and cost is prohibitive. Thats why the far NW area is growing faster due to better driving options.

[jn1780]

yes, this is a big problem right now even

Its possible that these types of interchange improvements will be done concurrently with the Access Oklahoma projects. They are doing the Texas turnaround at Portland. But seems like it would only be done one interchange at a time over many years.

[Swake]

Its possible that these types of interchange improvements will be done concurrently with the Access Oklahoma projects. They are doing the Texas turnaround at Portland. But seems like it would only be done one interchange at a time over many years.

The state has already said there will be other work on top of this program. They haven't included any work that might be needed on the turnpikes along US-412 as it is converted to an Interstate.

[shawnw]

Had never heard about 412/I-48, but looks like it would help with travel times to Denver by car eventually.

(via http://www.futureinterstatecorridors.com/I-48.html)

[Swake]

Had never heard about 412/I-48, but looks like it would help with travel times to Denver by car eventually.

(via http://www.futureinterstatecorridors.com/I-48.html)

That's not real. No number has been assigned yet and the authorized corridor is just between I-35 and I-49 in Springdale, AR. Inhofe and Tom Cotton got the new Interstate inserted into the big roads bill last year.

Between the turnpikes and the stretch through Tulsa almost all of 412 in Oklahoma is already an interstate standard highway, but may need some bridge or median barrier work in places.

There are two sections that will need big upgrades in Oklahoma. The ~20 mile section just east of Tulsa is partially interstate standard today, but some bridges and limited access exits would need to be added. The last section right at the Arkansas state line will most likely need an all new highway for several miles to match up with whatever kind of bypass Arkansas decides on for Siloam Springs. Arkansas has far more work to do than Oklahoma.

OTA, ODOT and Arkansas' department of transportation are doing a study on what will be needed this year.

https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2022/...ma-designated/

[shawnw]

Oh bummer

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah and unfortunately I don’t think I-27 is going through the Panhandle either. Texas to want it to go through NW New Mexico and connect to I-25 near Raton.

[Bellaboo]

Yeah and unfortunately I don’t think I-27 is going through the Panhandle either. Texas to want it to go through NW New Mexico and connect to I-25 near Raton.

The one listed in our panhandle should do the same. Keep going west to Raton and I-25.

[Plutonic Panda]

The one listed in our panhandle should do the same. Keep going west to Raton and I-25.

Agreed though since I’m in SimCity building mode I’d propose a spur to Limon and a Spur from US-412 to OKC. No tolls. Needs massive federal investment. Extend the interstate from OKC to Texarkana to open up a new connection from the SE to the Rockies. I bet that’s successful. 25+ billion dollars investment needed.

[rte66man]

On the graph they show nothing for the I-235/KT interchange. With the 44/235 completion plus current/expected new business between 44/KT (on 235) this is going to bottleneck like crazy. If not addressed it will be a daily mess as cars backup for this 4 mile stretch. Cars going north on 235 wanting to go west on TP have 1 lane and its on the right competing with oncoming traffic. With downtown growth and far NW OKC growth this is one of the better ways to go. Once bottlenecked its not. That puts even more pressure on NW Exp as a backup. Going I-40 west to TP (from downtown) is not feasible die to constant I-40 construction ongoing.

One other note related to an earlier post by someone (east county growth). There is no good traffic corridor to make this happen. If you are in Choctaw or even Harrah and want to get to OKC for work or play your only option is 23rd street which is 45mph and littered with lights and jurisdictions. If not this road you have to go south or north many miles to get to major highway. The best option (wonÂ’t happen) is to build a TP over 23rd to I35. Elevated isnÂ’t good weather wise and cost is prohibitive. Thats why the far NW area is growing faster due to better driving options.

On another board, Plupan has proposed a turnpike running roughly between 63rd and Wilshire runniing east from I35 out to the Kickapoo. Surprised he hasn't responded.

[rte66man]

The state has already said there will be other work on top of this program. They haven't included any work that might be needed on the turnpikes along US-412 as it is converted to an Interstate.

They are adding an exit on the Cimarron at Glencoe and also look to be doing something to the junction with the Stillwater spur. May be added merging lanes or something similar. Would suspect they will add a Jersey barrier for that stretch.

[Plutonic Panda]

On another board, Plupan has proposed a turnpike running roughly between 63rd and Wilshire runniing east from I35 out to the Kickapoo. Surprised he hasn't responded.

Yes that would be a great option to have. Hopefully development doesn’t go nuts and choke that idea out of the realm of possibilities.

[Plutonic Panda]

Community meeting in Norman to discuss proposed turnpikes planned: https://www.news9.com/story/62213874...clain-counties

To be expected some Norman area officials are already whining about the project: https://www.news9.com/story/621ff106...pike-expansion

[s00nr1]

"Whining" @pluplan? Poor choice of words. Many of us directly impacted by this ridiculous plan for the south metro will do whatever we can to be heard.

[Plutonic Panda]

"Whining" @pluplan? Poor choice of words. Many of us directly impacted by this ridiculous plan for the south metro will do whatever we can to be heard.

Yeah maybe but the conversation is just “no.” Not how is this going to work and the process to be properly compensated for property acquisitions. It’s the same thing as any other infrastructure project that requires eminent domaine. If you take the freeway to work chances are you are using a facility that took someone’s home at some point.

[shawnw]

https://twitter.com/BiermanForHD44/s...67389666594833

The turnpike expansion is a good example of what happens when govt’s don't work together to solve problems. State leadership needs to pump the brakes & bring the city, county, & community members to the table to create a plan that works for Norman residents, not at their expense.

[Plutonic Panda]

https://twitter.com/BiermanForHD44/s...67389666594833

It’s a good example of good planning that will ensure proper connections for a very long time.

[Snowman]

Multiple cities have done pretty poorly on having planed for plausible highway expansion, multiple of the areas here and the Kilpatrick extension could have avoided having neighborhoods destroyed if they would have actually been willing to seriously look at which sort of route they wanted in their area when the original Kilpatrick extension was proposed 3-4 decades ago, then just not permitted neighborhoods built in their preferred route that was farmland at the time, which expanding a route east of i35 near flood would have also been a logical corridor from that as well. But instead they allowed construction in all the logical routes making the road path worse, costs much higher, many more houses need be demolished no matter what route was picked.

It also seems like there should have been a corridor left to allow north/south freeway past mustang somewhere around Sara Road to connect the Kilpatrick's southwest corner to highway 4 south of Mustang but it looks like that ship has sailed.

[Plutonic Panda]

Good news is the opposition has very little chance of stopping this. Their best hope is to get leaders at the state level involved and luckily Oklahoma isn’t dominated by a bunch of anti car nuts like California or Oregon so that isn’t likely. It’s hard to fight ODOT and even harder to fight the OTA.

When I spoke with the OTA last week I was told the only corridor that could be very significantly altered was the one by Will Rodgers as there are more hoops to jump through.

I agree they need to basically plow a freeway through mustang. That will get people up in arms as well but it needs to happen. You could get away with maybe just a few dozen homes connecting SH-4 to the Kilpatrick which would allow for a very useful bypass of OKC to I-44 and SH-9/I-35 by Riverwind. I was told they considered it but it wasn’t politically feasible at this time. Could be something in the future but that possibility gets bleaker by the year.