Future NB lanes of US 59 in LeFlore County, Oklahoma now open

[bugo]

I drove through on the 10th, and the future northbound lanes of US 59 between OK 9 and the Arkansas River are now open to two way traffic.  I also drove through on the 5th, and the new lanes weren't yet in use, so they were opened sometime between the 6th and the 10th.  The old lanes are now closed and are awaiting reconstruction as the future southbound lanes.  The new lanes are concrete and very smooth, a huge improvement over the old asphalt lanes.  Once this segment is complete, there will be only one section of US 59 between the south end of the Poteau Bypass and Sallisaw that is two lanes, that section being the OK 9 overlap.  Now to get Panama and Shady Point bypasses, as well as a 65 MPH speed limit on the Poteau bypass.  Four lanes all the way to Heavener is badly needed, and a flyover from the NB Poteau bypass to US 59/271 north would be nice, as would an interchange at the US 59/271/OK 9 4 way stop.  If all these projects were completed it would be a world class highway.  As stands, it's a frustrating drive but a huge improvement over the old two lane highway that ran through here 15 years ago or so.  I still would have preferred a southern extension of the Muskogee Turnpike to Poteau.

[rte66man]

Are you related to Jim Hamilton :-)  For those who aren't from OK, Jim Hamilton was a former chairman of the OK House Appropriations and Budget committee. He was always leaning on both ODOT and OTA to extend the Muskogee Turnpike to Poteau.  Since he couldn't get that done, he was the driving force (along with the late Larry Dickerson) in getting the upgrades to US59 from Sallisaw to Poteau.  ODOT and OTA have always maintained that traffic counts would not warrant a pike extension.

[bugo]

ODOT and OTA have always maintained that traffic counts would not warrant a pike extension.

There's hardly any traffic on the turnpike south (east) of Muskogee.  If the tolls can support that section, they could support the section to Poteau.

[mightyace]

But, are tolls collected on that section enough to pay for that section, or is it drawing money (i.e. subsidized) from other OTA segments?

[bugo]

But, are tolls collected on that section enough to pay for that section, or is it drawing money (i.e. subsidized) from other OTA segments?

All the Oklahoma turnpikes other than the I-44 turnpikes are subsidized by the I-44 turnpikes.

[Scott5114]

Yeah, it's a concept OTA calls "crosspledging". Helps gets turnpikes built where a freeway is needed but tolls wouldn't necessarily pay for their construction (like the Cherokee) but also allows for massive boondoggles to be built that contribute nothing to the turnpike revenue stream (like the Chickasaw). Furthermore, it means that as long as new turnpikes are being constructed and paid for, there will always be tolls...

[rte66man]

IIRC, the Chickasaw was "deeded" to ODOT a few years ago.

[mightyace]

^^^
Are they still collecting tolls on it even so?

[Scott5114]

As far as I aware, it was never officially signed over to ODOT, but it is the only turnpike with which that can be done per the laws surrounding it. A few years ago (early 2000s) they closed the turnpike to perform repairs with the intention of having it ready to go for ODOT to take over. However, ODOT still had some issues with it (such as both interchanges being partial interchanges), and there were some legislators that took issue with ODOT having it. So I don't think it ever actually happened.

[okroads]

^^^
Are they still collecting tolls on it even so?

Yes, tolls are still being collected on it; I drove it in May. (Shameless plug: pictures are on my Flickr page here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/okroads/sets/72157624083724234/)

The turnpike was completely resurfaced in 2006, but most of the signs along the turnpike are still the original button copy from when it was built in 1991.