The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Board unanimously approved Monday a $39.2 million construction contract for the second phase of the I-44/Turner Turnpike service plaza project at Stroud.
Work completed Sept. 12 on the $8.3 million first phase that reconstructed the Old Stroud Rd. bridge above the I-44/Turner Turnpike and saw the addition of a new, two-way frontage road along westbound Turner Turnpike between SH-99 and Old Stroud Rd./N. 3550 Rd.
"As we started talking about replacing this bridge, and any bridge, you have two options: Either you put the bridge back right where it is or move it to the side. To have moved this bridge it would have impacted some houses and a historic school site. The discussion quickly turned to keeping this bridge at its current location, but that would cause a significant detour for the community," said OTA Executive Director Joe Echelle.
The City of Stroud came with the solution of a partnership with OTA to build a two-way frontage road that could help serve the detour needs during the bridge reconstruction and benefit the community during future construction. The city put $2 million toward the project.
"We're really excited to partner with the City of Stroud on this project," Echelle said.
This next phase, awarded Monday, will further the I-44/Turner Turnpike corridor widening to six lanes between SH-99 and Ozark Trail Rd. west of Stroud as well as the realignment of the westbound Turner Turnpike to the south, which will put the eastbound and westbound lanes together separated by barrier wall. The service plaza featuring Love's Travel Stop and a McDonald's restaurant will be reconstructed just to the north of its existing location. This reconstruction allows OTA to increase the parking lot to accommodate more commercial motor vehicles and a full-service truck stop will be built, including a tire center. This project is part of the ACCESS Oklahoma long-range plan.
"This is a big moment for us here at the Turnpike Authority to get this project let to construction. This is part of our Turner Turnpike service plaza modernization that we started years ago. The Chandler service plaza serves the eastbound Turner Turnpike. The Stroud service plaza will serve the westbound Turner Turnpike. We build the site, we bring utilities to the site and we build the truck parking," said OTA Director of Engineering Darian Butler. "We're excited to get this project off the ground."
One of the key safety enhancements of this project once complete is that westbound motorists will have a right-hand exit to the service plaza, helping lessen last-minute traffic weaving. Additionally, only westbound I-44/Turner Turnpike will have access to the Stroud service plaza as eastbound traffic has access to the Chandler service plaza.
While motorists can expect lane and shoulder closures during mainline Turner Turnpike construction, access will remain open to the service plaza for most of the time. There may be short duration closures later in the construction project when the facilities move to the new location.
The Board awarded the construction contract to Becco Contractors Inc. and work is expected to begin before the end of 2024 and complete in early 2026, weather permitting.
In other business, the Board:
Approved an additional $982,250 not to exceed amount to an existing engineering design contract with Cowan Group Engineering for ongoing work on ACCESS Oklahoma long-range projects for the John Kilpatrick Turnpike, the South Extension Turnpike and the I-44/Turner Turnpike. This re-starts design work in these areas.
Jimmy Sparks, OTA's consulting engineer with Olsson Engineering, presented the Board with a draft report of turnpike projects outlined in Title 69-1705 of OTA's Enabling Act. This report identifies which turnpike projects are completed and routes that OTA may decide to not pursue due to a number of factors. Some of the projects listed in statute were built by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation as part of the tax-supported system. Several others were future interchange projects where OTA is authorized to build interchanges and connections on its existing system.
Watch the full meeting here: OTA Special Session Board Meeting Sept. 23, 2024 (youtube.com)