Lack of funding could make work on I-44/I-235 interchange last 10 years

The first phase of rebuilding the interchange between I-44 and I-235 will start in early 2011. (The Trucker file photo)

The Associated Press

12/29/2010

OKLAHOMA CITY  —  The director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation says work on a major north Oklahoma City highway interchange could last up to 10 years because of funding issues.

ODOT Director Gary Ridley says much of the rebuilding project for the interchange between Interstates 44 and 235 remains unfunded.

He says the agency is "looking at ways of speeding that up."

The interchange now handles 140,000 vehicles per day, almost double what it was designed to handle when it was built. After the project, it should be able to handle 170,000 vehicles per day.

Ridley said the project, which will require several phases, is a priority because traffic problems continue to worsen at the interchange.

In the meantime, Oklahoma City metro-area commuters are sure to spend more time hung up in highway traffic in 2011 because of that project and another major highway project beginning next year and truckers will experience traffic tie ups in the western metropolitan Oklahoma City area.

The east and west lanes of I-44 at the interchange were rebuilt in the 1970s, and the north-south lanes of I-235 and Broadway Extension haven't seen many improvements since they were first built in the 1950s, according to the department.

As a result, rush-hour traffic almost always slows to a crawl at the interchange as the multilane Broadway Extension southbound and I-235 northbound bottleneck into fewer lanes at the interchange. The interchange work will worsen that problem.

Perry said the first new construction project motorists, including truckers, will notice in 2011 is a new interchange at Interstate 40 and Morgan Road in Yukon.

The $34 million project begins in the next few weeks and will cause traffic delays for western suburb commuters and to interstate commercial trucking.

“There is a lot of truck traffic out there, so people should be aware of that,” Perry said.

Construction is expected to take about a year and a half to two years, Perry said.

Once complete, the new interchange will allow for higher traffic volumes, feature longer ramps and have a wider Morgan Road bridge crossing the highway.

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