I-40 Midwest City Reconstruction

[rte66man]

Took these about 3 weeks ago. Just getting around to posting them. All photos are westbound from Air Depot.

Approaching Sooner Road


Between Sooner and SE 15th


On old Sooner Road bridge with new EB bridge adjacent


Between SE 15th and Sunnylane.

[Bobby5280]

Nice to see the project in progress. The old version of the highway had 3 lanes in each direction. Once this project is complete will it be a 4x4 configuration, or even wider?

[okc1]

Nice to see the project in progress. The old version of the highway had 3 lanes in each direction. Once this project is complete will it be a 4x4 configuration, or even wider?

Will be built for 4 lanes in both directions, but will stay at 3 until the section from I-35 to Sunnylane is done.

[rte66man]

Nice to see the project in progress. The old version of the highway had 3 lanes in each direction. Once this project is complete will it be a 4x4 configuration, or even wider?

Will be built for 4 lanes in both directions, but will stay at 3 until the section from I-35 to Sunnylane is done.

Which thankfully is scheduled for next year.

[Plutonic Panda]

The Douglas BLVD interchange rebuild and widening work that will expand I-40 to six lanes from Englewood Rd to I-240 will begin construction in early 2023 as a the contract was just awarded.

Monday, November 28, 2022
Numerous dignitaries and community members gathered at I-40 and Douglas Blvd. in Midwest City Tuesday morning to break ground on a more than $170 million interchange reconstruction project. The event also honored U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, for his years of service to the state and specifically for his role in improving state transportation. The Oklahoma Legislature named the interchange in the senator's honor.

The interchange will be reconstructed as a Single-Point Urban Interchange, also known as a SPUI, which improves traffic flow and safety while minimizing impacts to surrounding properties. This will be the fourth SPUI on the state highway system. Other locations of with a SPUI design include I-40 and Morgan Rd., I-35 and Main St. in Norman, and I-35 and Lindsey St. in Norman.

Additionally, just more than 6 miles of I-40 will be widened to six lanes between Industrial Blvd. and the I-240 interchange. Work also will address nine bridges including raising the Westminster Rd. bridge over I-40 to accommodate modern truck traffic, reconstruction of the Douglas Blvd. bridge and removal of the Engle Rd. bridge.

"Improving bridges on this project is just another example of Oklahoma's larger bridge story in how the state went from 49th in the nation a short 15 years ago to now No. 5 nationally for good bridge conditions. All Oklahomans should be proud of that and our senior senator has been a big part of why we've been able to achieve that ranking. That means that fewer than 1 percent of Oklahoma's highway system bridges are structurally deficient and there are no structurally deficient bridges remaining in this area," said Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz.

Other speakers at the event also offered their gratitude for Sen. Inhofe and support for the project.

"It is impossible to truly express the importance of Sen. Inhofe to the state of Oklahoma. Since being elected in 2005, he has been a titan, especially when it comes to transportation, infrastructure and his support for our military," said U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Edmond. ".. For many years he served as chairman and ranking member of the Environment and Public Works committee and worked to craft major pieces of transportation and infrastructure legislation that greatly benefited Oklahoma, including MAP 21 and the FAST Act.

"This interchange is right near the gates to Tinker Air Force Base, making this both a key military and economic investment. In fact, I think it's perfectly fitting that the largest dollar amount contract in Oklahoma Transportation history be named after him."

Midwest City Mayor Matt Dukes also congratulated Sen. Inhofe.

"Senator, words escape me to appreciate the number of years you have served this country, state and, of course, our community. Thanks for being here, this is a great project for our community. It's going to facilitate traffic flow, but better yet, it demonstrates the partnership with the City of Midwest City, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration," Dukes said.

Sen. Inhofe thanked the speakers and crowd for attending. "This is a huge project. It means a lot to me and I thank you for it," Inhofe said.

The project was awarded in October to Allen Contracting Inc. and Shell Construction Co. Inc. Included in the funding is a $51 million federal INFRA grant, which was awarded in June 2021.

- https://oklahoma.gov/odot/citizen/newsroom/2022/i-40-douglas-blvd--groundbreaking-ceremony-highlights-upcoming-c.html

[Plutonic Panda]

ODOT has launched public hearings and has released a preferred alternative with renderings and plans at this link:

https://i-40section1.transportationplanroom.com/

THE NEXT PHASES OF THIS PROJECT WILL BEGIN IN 2028. That will also be the time when they will start widening i40 from the 240 to Shawnee. So there will be a lot of construction going on. Currently there is an active project at Douglas Boulevard to completely rework that interchange into a DDI. It will also widen much of i40 from that area all the way to I-240. That project will largely be done by the time these newer projects get going.

The next issue they're gonna have to do, is listed as section 2, which will probably be the most complex and expensive part is the section of i40 from Hudiburg Dr. to Douglas. There's a very thin section where it's only two lanes each way in between Tinker Air Force Base and Southeast 29th. I will be very surprised if they will be able to squeeze in three lanes with standard shoulders. Maybe they can, but it seems like they might have to depress the road a little bit and do a cantilever system where part of 29th hangs over I-40.

Unless they can find a way to slightly realign 29th to the north a bit.

[Plutonic Panda]

One thing I don't understand looking at this map, If they're going to remove the entry and exit points between Scott St. and Reno, why are still keeping the curve on the service road? Why not straighten it?