Oklahoma Drivers To See More Construction On Highways

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s eight-year construction work plan was approved Monday.

It contains $8 billion in projects to improve bridge, highway and road infrastructure statewide.

ODOT will be working on 1,657 total projects—many that will impact the Oklahoma City metro area.

“You’re going to see a continuation of improvement in some of the big interstate locations like I-35 and 240,” Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz said. “Improvements are coming and we’re also looking at I-44 on the west side of Oklahoma City.” 

Another significant construction area will be a second protected turnaround at the east side of the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Memorial Road.

The Pennsylvania Avenue and Memorial Road construction project is from a previous eight-year plan that was approved Monday. It will start after the holidays while the other projects will happen at various times until 2029.

There is already a protected turnaround on the west side of Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Other funding will be used to address bridges across the state that need rehabilitation.

Gatz said we have around 65 structurally deficient bridges and need to continue to be diligent and make investments. 

However, not just urban areas are being renovated. The work plan also focuses on the rural highway system from a safety standpoint. Gatz said there's a high fatality rate in rural two-lane highways.

“Putting shoulders on rural two-lane highways is a real focus for us,” Gatz said. “Right now, we got over a thousand miles included in the work plan to put shoulders on those highways.”

Most of the new project construction will start in the next couple of months and after the holidays.

ODOT is urging the public to be careful while driving.

You can view the full plan here.