- Back -

Information Release - Oklahoma Dept. of Transportation

Construction for the New I-40 Crosstown Causes Lane Closures on Downtown City Streets

If you have driven recently in downtown Oklahoma City, you probably are starting to get a glimpse of the progress being made in building the new I-40 Crosstown Expressway. With construction activity under way now on both ends of the corridor, some city streets in the downtown area are beginning to experience lane closures.

Six in the series of some 20 construction projects required to rebuild the Crosstown have been awarded and are at various stages of progression. “I’m proud of the team’s focused effort to move things forward with much work taking place in engineering design to already have six projects under construction,” said John Bowman, ODOT project development engineer.

Construction has become more visible only recently with the start of work this month on the west end of the corridor which necessitates these closures. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation, working closely with the City of Oklahoma City, wants drivers to be aware of changes on city streets over the coming months. Current closures include:

• Reno Ave. is narrowed at Pennsylvania Ave. through December for utility work.
• Pennsylvania Ave. is closed between Reno Ave. & Exchange Blvd. for approximately two years for bridge work. Detour signs are in place.
• S.W. 7th Street is closed between Broadway Ave. and Santa Fe Ave. until further notice for rail work. Detour signs are in place.
• Robinson Ave. is closed at S.W. 23rd through December for rail work. Detour signs are in place.

Engineers anticipate additional closures to affect Shields Blvd., Byers Ave., Western Ave., Exchange Ave. and May Ave. over the course of the project. As the project progresses and details become available, ODOT will keep drivers informed.

“This large of a project had to be a mastermind of coordination in order to build a new interstate through the heart of downtown,” said ODOT’s Taylor Henderson, field construction coordinator.

ODOT is charged with completing a considerable volume of work in a condensed work schedule. Many of the decisions made in scheduling the series of projects were required to keep rail operations running throughout construction.

Transportation officials urge drivers to remember that Crosstown construction is ongoing and that there will be various impacts to city streets in the downtown area. Drivers are cautioned to stay alert in the area and heed the signs. For current traffic advisories, visit http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/traffax/okc/

The new I-40 Crosstown Expressway is being built south of the existing highway, stretches four and a half miles, from May Avenue to I-235, and will incorporate 10 lanes and establish an additional six-lane boulevard into downtown Oklahoma City. Originally built in 1965, the I-40 Crosstown currently carries approximately 120,000 vehicles per day, nearly 50,000 over the intended capacity of 76,000. The new highway, designed to be a combination of ground-level and a semi-depressed roadway, will carry up to 173,000 vehicles per day and will replace the elevated thoroughfare presently in place.

The new Crosstown is expected to be open to traffic in 2012 and is estimated at $557 million. The project is federally funded using a blend of earmark and regular formula federal dollars.

-www.okladot.state.ok.us-

(Editors and News Directors: For questions regarding the Crosstown, please call the ODOT Public Affairs Office at 405-521-6000.)

- Back -