Busy Intersection In Bixby Receives New Scrutiny Over Years Of Crashes

Over the last several years the intersection of east 106th and Memorial where has seen a lot of traffic accidents. Tonight at 9 and 10, Kristen Weaver speaks with one woman who lost her son to a motorcycle crash at that intersection and finds out if the City of Bixby or the Department of Transportation can provide any solutions.

Thursday, July 22nd 2021, 9:56 pm

By: Kristen Weaver

BIXBY, Oklahoma -

Plans to improve safety at a dangerous intersection hit a roadblock.

Dozens of crashes have happened at the intersection of 106th and Memorial, where the Bixby and Tulsa city limits meet. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation said it's aware of problems there, but there is a lot more to do before starting construction.

One woman whose son died at the intersection said she wants it fixed before anyone else gets hurt.

"He was good at everything he did," said Amy McGill.

McGill said there isn’t a day that goes by she doesn't think about her son Jake. She said he was a bright, kind, talented 22-year-old with a great job, a woman he loved, and a beautiful future ahead of him.

“He was always surrounded by good friends," McGill said. "They all call each other brothers.”

Jake died in 2016, when Amy said a truck was turning left on to Memorial from East 106th place and collided with Jake's motorcycle, killing him. Since that day, Amy’s family and many others have been trying to find a solution to problems at the intersection.

Right now, vehicles must cross six lanes of traffic to turn left and there is not a good place for them to stop in the median.

“The City of Tulsa is on one side, Bixby on the other, and ODOT has the highway right through the middle of this," said Kenna Mitchell with ODOT.

In a study completed in 2016 by ODOT, the cities and law enforcement ended with a recommendation to remove left turns on to Memorial, which is also State Highway 64. The city of Tulsa said in 2019, there was another public meeting about removing left turns there.

Now, Kenna Mitchell with ODOT said the cities are dealing with problems from the property owners and it’s put them at somewhat of a dead end.

“We’re going back to the drawing board in trying to find solutions within the highway right of way," Mitchell said.

Amy said she wants to see a change, so no other family has to go through this sort of grief.

"The moral thing to do is to simply close that driveway," McGill said.

ODOT said while it figures out plans and hopefully starts work, they urge people to be safe and not speed.