SH-66 in Wellston to close Tuesday, Sept. 3, for up to a year as part of I-44/Turner Turnpike bridge widening project

Friday, August 30, 2024

Eastbound and westbound SH-66 will be closed in both directions at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, between the off-ramps for the I-44/Turner Turnpike (mm 158) in Wellston for up to a year. This closure is between SH-102 and US-177 in Lincoln County.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is reconstructing and widening the I-44/Turner Turnpike bridge over SH-66 on the east side of Wellston. A traffic detour is necessary during the $48 million bridge reconstruction in order to keep the I-44/Turner Turnpike open to four lanes throughout construction. Mainline turnpike traffic will be shifted to a temporary detour by this fall that will cross SH-66 in Wellston, requiring the state highway's closure at the bridge detour location.

Local SH-66 traffic will be directed by signage to a detour route on county roads that is for local traffic only. This local route will be size and weight restricted and should not be used by commercial trucking.

I-44/Turner Turnpike traffic exiting to Wellston should know:

Westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike traffic heading to Wellston may take the westbound off-ramp, which will be just past the closure, and continue on westbound SH-66. Westbound off-ramp traffic will not be able to turn onto eastbound SH-66.
Eastbound I-44/Turner Turnpike traffic trying to reach Wellston will be detoured from eastbound SH-66 to southbound US-177 to westbound US-62 to northbound SH-102 to eastbound SH-66.
SH-66 motorists on the west side of Wellston wanting to head east must use the state highway detour of southbound SH-102 to eastbound US-62 to northbound US-177 to SH-66 or to the eastbound I-44/Turner Turnpike on-ramp.

Route 66 is expected to reopen to traffic by fall 2025, weather permitting.

Once construction completes, there will be two new, parallel bridges for I-44/Turner Turnpike traffic built to accommodate six lanes as part of the Turner corridor widening plan. Additionally, the westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike off-ramp will be reconfigured. SH-66 will have sidewalks underneath the bridges and be constructed to accommodate the future widening of the state highway to four lanes by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

The project is under construction by Sherwood Construction Co. Inc. of Tulsa and OTA is partnering with ODOT, the Town of Wellston and Lincoln County on local and highway traffic detours.