Tulsa Metro Highways | Small projects and construction

[Great Lakes Roads]

A $57 million project starts Monday to completely rebuild five miles of I-244 in west Tulsa from the I-44 split north to the Arkansas River bridge going into downtown.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/interstate-244-west-of-downtown-is-going-to-be-a-much-smoother-ride-but-it/article_65233880-c07c-11ee-a9e0-b350fe939177.html

About time! 

[Plutonic Panda]

Too bad they're not going to remove the left exit at US 75.

[bugo]

Too bad they're not going to remove the left exit at US 75.

It's signed as a left exit, but it's actually a major split.

[Plutonic Panda]

Too bad they're not going to remove the left exit at US 75.

It's signed as a left exit, but it's actually a major split.

Assuming this becomes I-45 one day maybe they should keep US-75 in together and have I-244 exit onto it or vice versa.

[swake]

Too bad they're not going to remove the left exit at US 75.

It's signed as a left exit, but it's actually a major split.

Assuming this becomes I-45 one day maybe they should keep US-75 in together and have I-244 exit onto it or vice versa.

The plan is to widen US-75 to six/eight lanes from the I-244 split to 151st over the next several years. It will become the much larger highway. I don't see a need to ever widen I-244 to move than four lanes south of the US-75 split. Next year is going to be a very tough year to drive US-75

Starting this fall widening to six lanes from 41st to I-44
Starting this fall completion of the I-44 interchange
Starting this fall widening to 6-8 lanes from I-44 to 65th St
Starting this fall the 61st St interchange to be rebuilt
Starting late next year the 81st interchange will be rebuilt including widening from 75th St to past 81st St
Starting next year rebuilt bridges over Bird Creek (at about 101st ST)
Starting this summer building a new interchange with service roads at 141st ST

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^cool! Lots of good projects happening. Not sure if I've ever been on US-75 in the Tulsa area. Sounds like a lot of stuff is overdue though.

[Bobby5280]

It's good to hear they're going to widen US-75 going South out of Tulsa down to Glenpool. But if there is any long term desire to install Interstate shields on this corridor from Tulsa to Dallas ODOT has to start laying the groundwork for freeway upgrades South of Glenpool.

It's going to be pretty odd if they widen US-75 to a 3x3 configuration down to the interchange with OK-67 but then have US-75 start hitting at-grade intersections immediately South of that exit, starting with E 156th Street.

[swake]

It's good to hear they're going to widen US-75 going South out of Tulsa down to Glenpool. But if there is any long term desire to install Interstate shields on this corridor from Tulsa to Dallas ODOT has to start laying the groundwork for freeway upgrades South of Glenpool.

It's going to be pretty odd if they widen US-75 to a 3x3 configuration down to the interchange with OK-67 but then have US-75 start hitting at-grade intersections immediately South of that exit, starting with E 156th Street.

They do plan to widen US-75 to 6/8 lanes fully interstate quality from OK-67/151st ST north to downtown within the next decade or so. It will be weird to go from a rural style 4 lane divided highway at 156th St with curb cuts and at grade intersections to suddenly a 6+ lane major urban highway with service roads at 151st St. That's Oklahoma.

[Bobby5280]

I'm talking about the situation South of Glenpool -going South of the intersection with E 151st Street toward Olkmulgee. They're probably going to need to add continuous frontage roads outside of the main lanes. Doing that is going to be a tight squeeze in more than a few locations. If they copy some of the design ideas used in Indiana on the I-69 upgrade of IN-37 they might be able to make it work. They'll have to sandwich frontage roads to the main lanes and separate them using a concrete Jersey barrier. That will save a good amount of space. 

[swake]

I'm talking about the situation South of Glenpool -going South of the intersection with E 151st Street toward Olkmulgee. They're probably going to need to add continuous frontage roads outside of the main lanes. Doing that is going to be a tight squeeze in more than a few locations. If they copy some of the design ideas used in Indiana on the I-69 upgrade of IN-37 they might be able to make it work. They'll have to sandwich frontage roads to the main lanes and separate them using a concrete Jersey barrier. That will save a good amount of space.

The state is slated over the next few years to purchase the needed ROW on US-75 all the way south to 211th St, which is the Tulsa County line.

South of there to Okmulgee there really aren't that many at grade intersections. There's an interchange now at Beggs (OK-16) and one under construction at Preston. Upgrading US-75 to limited access to Okmulgee wouldn't be that big a job. Building something around Okmulgee would be very big and expensive. It would be good to do, all those semis going through the heart of Okmulgee hitting a dozen or so stop lights is pretty dangerous and stupid.

[Bobby5280]

It's good news they're starting to build an interchange on US-75 in Preston. That's one of the more tricky locations along US-75 between Glenpool and Olkmulgee. The intersection with Hectorville Road, just South of the Tulsa County line will need an interchange. It would be interesting to see how it would get built.

The most difficult task is a bypass around Olkmulgee. That partial loop OK-56 loop in town probably isn't going to be any good to use for upgrading into a freeway. They might have to build a new route farther East or West around town.

[rte66man]

It's good news they're starting to build an interchange on US-75 in Preston. That's one of the more tricky locations along US-75 between Glenpool and Olkmulgee. The intersection with Hectorville Road, just South of the Tulsa County line will need an interchange. It would be interesting to see how it would get built.

The most difficult task is a bypass around Okmulgee. That partial loop OK-56 loop in town probably isn't going to be any good to use for upgrading into a freeway. They might have to build a new route farther East or West around town.

Making 75 a freeway from the Tulsa County line south to Henryetta will NEVER happen; mostly for all the reasons listed above. IF I45 is ever extended into Oklahoma, it will track 69 to Checotah and end there at the junction with I40.

[Bobby5280]

With the way Texas has been handling super highway route designations for the past 30 years I think chances are pretty slim for I-45 to get extended North from Downtown Dallas. The chances aren't zero, but they're still pretty low.

Oklahoma could boost the chances of I-45 being signed in the Sooner State, but only if the state's lawmakers make any noise about it. These days they're more obsessed with culture wars than infrastructure issues.

I do think much of US-69 from the Red River to Big Cabin will be Interstate quality. But lesser quality gaps will remain. People in Muskogee blocked efforts for a limited access bypass. That's probably the biggest factor why an I-45 extension would end at I-40 in Checotah. Although ODOT could just simply build a new bypass farther around Muskogee, outside city limits and that local government's jurisdiction. Or ODOT could slow-walk maintenance on US-69 in that town in order to let heavy trucks beat that town's streets more to shit. Over the long term, if I-57 gets completed between Little Rock and Sikeston that could draw commercial traffic away from the US-69 corridor. That could speed up the process of towns like Atoka of drying up.

[CoreySamson]

Regarding Okmulgee, rather than build an all new bypass, I would like to see ODOT simply extend the OK 56 Loop bypass to the south back to US 75, four lane it, and build some kind of interchange at the current US 75/OK 56 Loop intersection (maybe something similar to the US 61/Devereux Drive interchange in Natchez?). I think that would be perfectly adequate for the traffic going through town.

As for the rest of US 75, the only place where I would want an interchange is at 141st. That desperately needs an interchange. I've been stuck at that light for 4 cycles in a row during rush hour; it needs to go. I could see ODOT building interchanges to improve safety between Glenpool and Okmulgee, but I don't think it should be a priority, as traffic flows fine along that section of the route. My personal wish for 75 that ODOT would remove the ramps from US 75 to 111th. With OK 364 being right there, it causes way too many merging conflicts.

[Bobby5280]

They could double-barrel that OK-56 partial loop in Okmulgee. But they don't have nearly enough ROW to make it limited access. There isn't any room for frontage roads to handle all the driveways currently connecting into the main road. The intersection with OK-56 and US-75 on the North end of town doesn't have any spare room at all for freeway directional ramps. Even if they four lane OK-56 the intersection there at US-75 would be like that of a busy urban intersection with a traffic signal.

The situation in Olkmulgee is further complicated by all the Creek Nation trust land in town. The Creek Nation tribal complex is built next to one of the corners at OK-56 and US-75. Just like the situation in Muskogee, the prospect of building a freeway (or tollroad) bypass around town would require going well outside of city limits.

As for the rest of US 75, the only place where I would want an interchange is at 141st.

https://tulsaworld.com/news/local/business/new-interchange-planned-for-u-s-75-and-141st-street-in-glenpool/article_b01dc40e-88b9-11ee-bd74-dff51957a607.html

[tulsaweather]

I noticed in the latest 8 year ODOT plan, there is work on "selected movements" for I-44/BA Expressway, BA Expressway/169 interchanges.  Are there any plans that show what that will look like?  Thanks,

[Plutonic Panda]

Public meeting for improving and widening US-169 in Owasso: https://oklahoma.gov/odot/about-us/public-meetings/2024/20240805.html

[CoreySamson]

The widening of Yale between 81st and 91st looks like it is almost done. I drove it a couple days ago and they were finishing up some landscaping work, but other than that it is (from what I can tell) complete.

[swake]

The new US-75 interchange at 141st in Glenpool starts construction on Monday 8/19. The project will elevate the highway, add service roads and a Texas Turn Around at 141st.

https://www.krmg.com/news/local/city-glenpool-announce-overhaul-141st-highway-75-intersection/GJ5R2N6NKNHHTN4ZXXQ62A3AQI/

[Bobby5280]

I wonder if the project design will be friendly to adding frontage roads to US-75 in that area. Various disconnected stubs of frontage roads exist along that part of S Union Avenue. It doesn't look like anyone has tried to make an effort to tie them in together into continuous roads.

If frontage roads had been built alongside US-71 in Glenpool a future freeway upgrade would have been easier. Such a thing is still do-able. But it would probably involve butting new frontage roads right up next to the US-75 main lanes and then separating the road ways with Jersey barriers.

[swake]

The project deck they put out last fall said this was the first phase of an overall project to redo 75 in Glenpool from 121st to 151st with service roads. So redone interchanges at 121st and 151st and a second new interchange at 131st.

[CoreySamson]

a second new interchange at 131st.

I would assume that this would also mean filling the gap in 131st from US 75 to Elwood Avenue? Because as it stands right now 131st is just a tiny little stub with no traffic except from the terminal located there.

I have noticed that Oklahoma finally seems to have discovered how to design and build Texas-style freeways and feeder roads (Kilpatrick Turnpike, US 69/75 in Calera, the new feeder roads on I-44 over the Arkansas river that are being planned, and now this). It isn't perfect, but it's sure better than some of the stuff they've done in the past.

[bugo]

Much of I-44 in Tulsa was built with frontage roads in the 1950s.

[Bobby5280]

Much of I-44 thru Tulsa was re-built in the late 2000's into the early 2010's. The re-build incorporated Texas U-Turns at the Yale Ave interchange. Memorial Road has a U-turn on only one side since the frontage roads dead end there.

Still, the sub-standard 2x2 lanes segment of I-44 remains between the I-244 interchange Union Avenue (next to "Traffic Henge"). That four lane segment is very long overdue for widening and ramp improvement.

[rte66man]

From 244  to 33rd W Av the pavement is already there for 3x3. The only part remaining is between there and Union Av (less than a mile). IIRC, this was a part of the last I44/US75 phase