Interstate 44 at US 75. Photo courtesy of ODOT.The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) plans to spend $6.5 billion on transportation infrastructure projects in the state over the next eight years, PublicRadioTulsa.org reports. Included in the plan is an $80 million Interstate 44 project in Tulsa, which received $45 million in federal infrastructure grant money.
“The plan right now for I-44 for the widening between Union Ave. and the Arkansas River will be adding in an extra lane in each direction and also making some operational improvements at the U.S. 75 junction,” ODOT’s Kenna Mitchell told the news agency, adding that with most of Oklahoma’s bridges being brought up to standards, the focus would shift to road conditions.
“We’ll still see some bridge projects over the next few years, and we’ll also begin more of a focus on our pavement conditions,” Mitchell said, according to the news agency. “So, there are projects that will be focused on not just the pavements, but also improving some of the two-lane highways across the state.”
More than half of the 1,386 projects planned cover 720 miles of added shoulders or other improvements to two-lane highways, 152 miles of interstate pavement improvements, and projects to address urban highway congestion. The rest are bridge replacements or major rehabilitations.
