REMINDER: South Extension Turnpike Open House meetings set for Saturday in Norman and Monday in Noble

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is inviting those impacted by the future South Extension Turnpike alignment in Cleveland and McClain counties to attend the two remaining Open House meetings scheduled for Norman and Noble. This is an opportunity to speak directly with OTA right-of-way professionals to ask questions about the alignment and the next steps in the process for designing and constructing it.

The Homeowner Open House events are scheduled for: 

• Sept. 27 | 2-4 p.m. NCED Conference Center and Hotel 2801 E. State Highway 9, Norman, OK 73071 The meeting will take place in Salons J, K, and L Enter through the conference center’s main entrance  and follow signage to the rooms 
• Sept. 29 | 5-7 p.m. Noble High School, commons area 4601 E. Etowah Rd., Noble, OK 73068 Parking available in the student lot south of the building Enter through the school’s main entrance 

A 500-foot-wide alignment starts near Indian Hills Rd. where the future East-West Connector turnpike will be built and will run south between 48th St. and 60th Ave. through Norman. This alignment was identified as having the least impact on homes. In the Noble area, the alignment will shift slightly east of 60th Ave. and will cross US-77 and the South Canadian River then connects with I-35 near Purcell. The southernmost portion of the alignment follows the same footprint as the path announced in 2022.

The South Extension Turnpike is expected to impact about 75 homes; the same number estimated as the original alignment. As OTA gets closer to the 60 percent design phase of the new alignment, the exact parcels needed will be shared with homeowners. 

A map of the alignment may be found at accessoklahoma.com. 

Those with questions are encouraged to attend one of the two remaining meetings or reach out to the ACCESS Oklahoma hotline at 1-844-56-ACCESS or info@accessoklahoma.com. 

OTA South Extension Background

Construction of the South Extension Turnpike is part of the OTA’s ACCESS Oklahoma long-range plan, which seeks to modernize and expand the state’s turnpike network to meet growing traffic demands. The South Extension is slated to open to traffic on the northern portion by 2032 and the southern portion by 2034. The 19-mile new toll road will connect I-35 near Purcell to the future East-West Connector turnpike near Indian Hills Rd. at the Norman/Oklahoma City line. This route was validated by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in 2023 as legally authorized in state statute. The original alignment announced in 2022 must move to the west after the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said the turnpike project is not compatible with its federal fee title land uses near Lake Thunderbird.

This vital new transportation corridor will provide an alternate route for I-35 traffic from Southern Oklahoma heading to Eastern and Northeastern Oklahoma and regionally. It also will provide an additional South Canadian River crossing. 

Project updates will be on www.accessoklahoma.com as they become available.