TULSA, Okla. — The Gilcrease Expressway is about to open up Monday, climate allowing, nevertheless it already has some residents in west Tulsa up in arms.
The part of highway between 41st and 51st main as much as I-44 was free to drive. Now that it is a part of the brand new turnpike west extension, drivers can be charged to drive that one-mile stretch of highway.
The part of Gilcrease Expressway west has an extended historical past, nevertheless it’s not even open but.
In whole, it is a five-mile stretch that runs from I-44/2-44 north to U.S. 412. It’s a significant connection that even features a river crossing.
Planning began again within the Sixties in keeping with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
And years in the past, town of Tulsa bought the proper of how, nevertheless, in keeping with Joe Echelle with OTA, that they had no funding supply to ship the challenge.
The pandemic, climate, and environmental delays pushed again the challenge much more.
“We had bald eagles that actually nested just a few hundred feet away from active construction. We needed to work around them, so we worked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife. We also had a major archeological dig site discovered on the banks of the Arkansas River where archaeologists dug up 6500 artifacts and so some of those things had some delay to the project,” says Echelle.
But the delayed opening is not what concerns enterprise proprietor and west Tulsa resident, Melissa Myers.
“We own a business here and we want to expand our business, and now with this extension turning into a not free road, us with having 7 trucks and trailers, it’s going to be super expensive for us to even use this,” says Myers.
She is speaking in regards to the one-mile stretch of highway from 41st to 51st that was free to drive.
“And this is the safest, less hazardous section for us to get onto the highway. So that’s going to put us to where we have to go 66th west avenue, which is not safe, doesn’t have shoulders, it doesn’t have sidewalks and it’s just not feasible to expand that area. And if we go to 49th west avenue, that’s all commercial with big trucks on that road,” says Myers.
She says this part of the toll highway will power drivers like herself to decide on completely different routes, and he or she feels it may injury these detours and make it unsafe. Not to say the fee.
The tolls are cashless, and you’ll both pay utilizing your pike go or plate pay. Cameras will seize a picture of your license plate after which you’ll obtain a invoice.
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says the Gilcrease Expressway was constructed with federal {dollars} that can be paid again over 35 years.
‘So, it is a very low cost rate of interest and allowed us to ship that challenge ahead of later,” says Echelle.
All in all, the cost of the project is more than $370 million.
2 News has learned that multiple organizations contributed to the funding.
In addition, Echelle says the turnpike authority put in about 145 million dollars in cash to get this project delivered.
Part of the agreement with the federal government to get the loan for the road was that the turnpike needed to be tolled in 3 locations.
“forty first to 51st being the primary section, then a tolling that is between forty first and twenty first, after which one other tolling part that is throughout the river that is as much as the north as much as U.S. 412,” says Echelle.
For Myers, she says she is not giving up the fight to make the one-mile stretch of road between 41st and 51st free to use again.
‘Right now, we are working with Loni Simms, our house representative, and our senator for our area, which is Cody Rogers. They are behind us and feel we got shafted,” she says.
Myers says the Gilcrease challenge is taking the local people’s most handy, most secure, and presently free entry highway and changing it right into a toll highway.
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