Frustrated Drivers Anxiously Await New I-40 Crosstown

By Dave Jordan, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- After hundreds of emergency bridge repairs along the crumbling Oklahoma City I-40 Crosstown, numerous Oklahoma drivers said they are fed up.

Yet another hole, measuring one-foot, on the I-40 overpass slowed traffic to a crawl for commuters Tuesday morning.

All lanes reopened later Tuesday, but frustrated drivers said it's only a matter of time before there's another delay.

Track the latest on the Crumbling Crosstown

Chris Gillispie said he drives over the Crosstown every day for work.

"I'm sure over time it might pan itself out, but right now for everyday downtown drivers it's hectic," Gillispie said.

An Oklahoma Department of Transportation spokesperson said it understands driver's frustration, but for holes like the one discover Tuesday morning, crews need to act quickly to close gaps.

"It was of such a nature that they felt it really needed to be taken care of right then and not something that could wait until a little bit less traffic was driving," said ODOT Spokesperson Brenda Perry.

Perry said moisture in the pavement causes holes to expand in the roadway, and that Tuesday's hole probably won't be the last.

"It is something that we've grown accustomed to needing to do," Perry said.

Perry said the new I-40 Crosstown will be open to traffic in about three years, and for some driver that day can't happen soon enough.

"I'm anxiously awaiting it," Gillispie said.

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