I-44/Turner Turnpike lanes shift at Wellston Tuesday; closures start Monday night to prepare for traffic change

Friday, October 18, 2024

Westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike lanes will be shifted to a temporary detour next week at SH-66 in Wellston, weather permitting, as part of an ongoing bridge reconstruction project.

Motorists can expect the following closures Monday night in preparation for the traffic shift:

Westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike will be narrowed to one lane starting just east of the westbound Wellston off-ramp (mm 158) from 8 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike off-ramp to Wellston (mm 158) will be closed from 9 p.m. to midnight Monday.

When the westbound lanes reopen by 6 a.m. Tuesday, westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike motorists can expect a significant lane shift as they approach Wellston. This will remain in place through summer 2025. The westbound Wellston off-ramp will remain open through construction. Motorists can expect a similar lane shift for eastbound I-44/Turner Turnpike later this month. The speed limit remains reduced in the work zone and lanes will remain narrowed throughout construction.

Eastbound and westbound SH-66 remains closed just west of the I-44/Turner Turnpike bridge, near US-177, through summer 2025. Westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike traffic may exit directly to Wellston. Eastbound I-44/Turner Turnpike traffic exiting to Wellston will be detoured on eastbound SH-66 to southbound US-177 to westbound US-62 to northbound SH-102 to eastbound SH-66.

The I-44/Turner Turnpike bridge over SH-66 in Wellston will be fully reconstructed to accommodate the future six-lane widening of the I-44/Turner Turnpike corridor. This nearly $48 million project was awarded in 2023 to Sherwood Construction Co. Inc. of Tulsa and is expected to complete in summer 2025, weather permitting.

Eastbound and westbound SH-66 is closed at the I-44/Turner Turnpike overhead bridge in Wellston through summer 2025. Lane and ramp closures are scheduled for Monday night to prepare for a westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike traffic shift. Once lanes reopen Tuesday morning, the westbound Turner Turnpike will remain open to two lanes, but those lanes will be shifted onto a temporary detour through summer 2025.