Penn Square, Northwest Expressway Construction Ending Soon

Construction on the Northwest Expressway is nearing completion and will be done just in time to help ease holiday traffic, according to city officials.

Friday, September 25th 2009, 10:26 pm

By: News 9


By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Construction on the Northwest Expressway is nearing completion and will be done just in time to help ease holiday traffic, according to city officials.

More than 40,000 vehicle pass in front of Penn Square Mall every day, and lately those thousands of drivers have been weaving around barricades and dodging mounds of dirt. But despite the inconvenience, city officials said it will soon pay off.

The construction will ultimately expand Northwest Expressway and will add turn lanes into the mall from the west bound lanes of the expressway. Also the right-turn lane into the mall near the Elephant Bar will be eliminated to help reduce traffic congestion. But one of the biggest benefits of the construction includes a direct connection between the mall parking lot and the Belle Isle Shopping Center.

"Right now if you're in Penn Square, you can't really get to Belle Isle. We're going to make it to where you can go back and forth between both in that same general location," said Dennis Clowers, Oklahoma City Public Works director.

The Public Works department said the work will be complete before Thanksgiving. Mall management said the work is long overdue and much appreciated.

"We believe that it is going to take less time for customers to find a parking space and allow them more time to come into the mall and enjoy their shopping experience," said Audrie Thompson, Penn Square Mall manager.

Penn Square Mall employees were the ones who first approached the city a few years ago and asked for the changes.

The city said it's spending nearly $2.5 million to help clear the traffic congestion along the expressway all the way from Classen Boulevard to Pennsylvania Avenue.

While money isn't available now, the city said it would like to one day add more lanes to Pennsylvania Avenue from I-44 to just north of the mall.

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