Anyone know when the US-69/US-75 construction will be completed in Durant, OK?
Most of the US-69 Calera project should be finished by Summer 2023.
Quote from: Bobby5280 on November 13, 2022, 02:35:47 PM
Most of the US-69 Calera project should be finished by Summer 2023.
Nice clip of the completed overpass in Durant.
https://www.kxii.com/2022/09/14/construction-hwy-6975-is-moving-along/
The at-grade intersection at the entrance to Choctaw was a massive choke point for years. Never mind future interstate specs, just getting that out of the way is a major win.
Viewing the video, it does appear to be "I-grade". Kudos to the ODOT department for not cheaping out. Appears NB? shoulder is considerably wider than SB, room for another lane in future?
Drove through there yesterday....huge improvement and the main parts are open. Unfortunately on the south end there's still going to be at grade turn lanes.
Hopefully ODOT will handle the 3 miles between Colbert and Calera sometime in the near future. That would make US-69/75 limited access past Durant and up to Caddo. The segment of US-69/95 from Caddo up to the South side of Tushka would be an easy update, thanks to the wide median.
Traffic levels on US-69/75 are probably going to increase significantly in the years ahead. The DFW Metroplex is still growing. TX DOT is steadily doing upgrades on US-75 between McKinney and Denison. The Dallas North Tollway and Grayson County Tollway will eventually funnel more traffic up to the Red River. Oklahoma has some attractions on its side of the Red River. Choctaw Casino went through a major expansion; that was certainly done in part to attract more customers from the DFW area and compete with WinStar. Add up all of that and ODOT is not going to be able to keep the "status quo" intact. They're going to have to keep doing upgrades on US-69/75.
Quote from: Bobby5280 on October 13, 2023, 12:07:32 AM
Hopefully ODOT will handle the 3 miles between Colbert and Calera sometime in the near future. That would make US-69/75 limited access past Durant and up to Caddo.
ROW acquisition from Calera south to just north of Colbert is on the 8-Year Plan. Grade, drain, and surface is scheduled for 2030.
2030 seems like a pretty conservative time line to fill that gap.
US-69/75 "Commerce Connection" in Southeastern Oklahoma completed
https://oklahoma.gov/odot/citizen/newsroom/2023/us-69-75--commerce-connection--in-southeastern-oklahoma-complete.html
Representatives from the Durant Area Chamber of Commerce, Choctaw Nation, cities of Calera and Durant and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, alongside local legislators and community leaders, celebrated a ribbon cutting for the US-69/75 corridor reconstruction spanning Calera and Durant on Friday. Gathered on the Rose Hill Bridge overlooking the highway in Calera, many recalled the early challenges of the project planning but praised the end results and positives of community relations and ultimately, safety.
The $62 million federal FASTLANE grant provided a funding solution allowing the project to be advanced in the ODOT's Eight Year Construction Work Plan. Being one of the highest accident locations in the Southeastern district at the time of the grant application, the additional funding allowed multiple issues to be addressed at a local level.
"This project allowed for increased efficiency with the elimination of traffic signals which minimizes conflict points and stop-and-go traffic," said ODOT District Two Engineer Anthony Echelle. "Citizens benefit from six east to west connections reaching both sides of the community without having to interact with the high-speed highway."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/us-6975-construction-in-bryan-co-complete/ar-AA1jlSe6
It's main purpose, "safety, safety of the traveling public," Gatz said, "this was one of our highest accident corridors."
Norton, who also serves as Calera's Fire Chief said since construction started, car crashes decreased by 65%, "and our fatality rate has gone down 90%."
Are there any plans to upgrade US 69/75 to freeway standards north of Exit 26 in Caddo? Some bypasses would need to be constructed, as well as plenty of upgrades to the existing corridor would be necessary to make US 69 completely freeway to Interstate 40. That would probably be the bare minimum of a northern terminus of upgrades if they ever decide to extend the Interstate 45 designation north of Dallas, although such a proposal has not been formally proposed (and may never be).
Don't know about any actual plans. But the 5.5 mile segment between Caddo and Caney would be an easy upgrade. Freeway-wide median. The section between Caney and the South side of Tushka has frontage roads flanking the main lanes much of the way. So that would be an easy upgrade too.
For now, ODOT could improve certain deficient features along the US-69/75 freeway in Durant for it to meet Interstate standards. They'll likely fill in the non-freeway gap between Calera and Colbert before doing anything North of Caddo. If all that work gets done it could create the momentum needed to make US-69/75 Interstate quality from the Red River up to Tushka.