I-44/US-75 interchange improvements
An aerial view of the early stages of the I-44/US-75 construction project, which began in January 2021.
The first round of improvements to the I-44/US-75 interchange in Tulsa began in January 2021. This massive $90 million project will greatly impact traffic in the west side of the city over the next two years.
Improvements in this project include:
- Widening and reconstructing all pavements on I-44 from four lanes to six between the west side of the Arkansas River bridge and Union Avenue.
- Replacing five bridges; one at Union Ave. over I-44, two US-75 bridges over I-44 and two US-75 bridges over Mooser Creek (located just south of I-44 junction).
- Replacing and slightly reconfiguring all four cloverleaf ramps at the interchange to match geometry of the new elevation of the US-75 bridges over I-44.
- Construction of some additional piers; these will be part of future work packages for the interchange.
While I-44 and US-75 will remain open during this project, there will be times that lanes will be narrowed and the corridors may only have one lane open to traffic. There will also be ramp closures at the cloverleaf, along with full closures of Union Ave. over I-44 and on Skelly Dr. at times. Traffic will be slow in all areas of the work zone and drivers are urged to set aside distractions and give their full attention to the road. Alternate routes such as I-244 should be considered, especially during peak travel times.
This is the first of five work packages to improve the I-44/US-75 interchange and the I-44 West End corridor between the Arkansas River and the western I-44/I-244 split in Tulsa. It will have the biggest impact to both I-44 and US-75 traffic out of all the work packages. Those plans for additional work in the corridor are still being developed at this time, and some are not yet funded or scheduled.
Overall completion for this project is scheduled for early 2023, weather permitting.
This map shows the areas where work is being done during Phase 1 of the current I-44/US-75 interchange project.
Key background information:
- The I-44 West End between the I-244 western split and the Arkansas River in Tulsa is the oldest remaining section of interstate on the Oklahoma Department of Transportation system.
- Built in the early 1950s, this narrow corridor predates the creation of the interstate system.
- In 2018, ODOT was awarded a $45 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant towards improvements in the corridor.
- While the INFRA grant doesn’t address all needs in the corridor, it is a tremendous first step to address several functionally obsolete and at-risk bridges, and to widen the I-44 segment immediately west of the Arkansas River.
- Future work packages are still being developed, and specific right-of-way impacts are not yet identified for these later phases.
Traffic on westbound I-44 went down to one lane in June 2021 to allow crews to demolish the old southbound US-75 bridge.
