Gilcrease Tollway Extension

[BG918]

I went through leadership Tulsa, and forgot the exact details but we were told that big parts of NW Tulsa was owned by a developer in the early 1900's who got spiteful At some people and didn't sell his land. So then people turned south. I wish I remembered his name.

Thomas Gilcrease? He owned a lot of land in that area, including the property where Gilcrease Museum is located.

[Swake]

The land to the NW of downtown was supposedly hard to develop because it was in the Osage Reservation. I've never heard about a particular developer being spiteful. Gilcrease donated his land to the city and makes up the grounds of the museum today.

[Plutonic Panda]

Should be completely open in 18 months:

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/wa...me-top-story-1

[Plutonic Panda]

The extension should be open by the summer:

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/gi...me-top-story-1

[Plutonic Panda]

This project is almost finished and should open in a couple months: https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/wa...86c84e8b0.html

[Plutonic Panda]

Update:

OKLAHOMA CITY — The toll rates for the Gilcrease Expressway, which is expected to open in late September, were set Tuesday by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.

Passenger cars, or vehicles with two axles, traveling the length of the new roadway on the western edge of Tulsa will pay $2.05 if using PikePass and $4.10 if using PlatePay.

Passenger vehicles not traveling the full length of the toll road will pay less, and vehicles with more axles will pay more. For example, a vehicle with four axles will pay $4.10 using PikePass and $8.20 using PlatePay if traveling the entire length of the toll road.

The new toll road spans from 51st Street on the south end to U.S. 412 on the north end.

Officials were able to reduce the toll on the southern stretch of the Gilcrease between 41st Street and 51st Street after residents in the Berryhill area voiced opposition to the cost, said Joe Echelle, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority deputy director.

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The PikePass toll for that mile was going to be 65 cents, but it was dropped to 40 cents, he said. The PlatePay rate is 80 cents.

A loose coalition of Berryhill-area residents had told the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority this spring that eliminating the toll on that section of the highway was the group’s top priority.

The new road has 22 bridges and covers five miles, Echelle said.

The cost of the Gilcrease has been cited at $340 million, but Echelle said the figure rises to $363 million when previous investments are included.

Because the Gilcrease Expressway was built using some federal funds, he said, the tolls can’t be “cross pledged” with other OTA toll roads, as they are on the rest of the system.

Currently, tolls on some OTA facilities, such as the Turner Turnpike, are cross pledged and support maintenance and other items on other toll roads, as well as the Turner.

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When a toll road is a stand-alone facility such as the Gilcrease, rates are significantly higher than on other turnpikes in the system, he said.

Getting a PikePass helps reduce the cost for travelers.

PikePass accounts are prepaid, and a PikePass device is mounted on a vehicle’s windshield. Tolls are automatically deducted from the prepaid account balance as a vehicle passes certain points on a toll road.

For vehicles without a PikePass, PlatePay takes a picture of the vehicle’s license plate at each of those toll points and sends a bill to the person who holds the vehicle’s registration.

Officials expect 12,000 vehicles a day to drive the roadway in 2023 and 21,000 in 2028, Echelle said.

And then, “we are experiencing a high call volume to address PlatePay invoices,” Echelle said.

To get a new PikePass, go to a PikePass store or log onto pikepass.com/cao.

The OTA suggests that PikePass account holders who need to call the office do so between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., “when call volumes are the lowest traditionally,” Echelle said. The number is 1-800-745-3727.

“Wait times have been up to 45 minutes and even an hour,” he said.

- https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/to...b16b43d0d.html