OTA Board awards $133 million in construction; OU president speaks about South Extension interchanges
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Board awarded more than $133 million in construction contracts Tuesday for the I-44/Turner Turnpike interchange reconstruction at Chandler on the I-44/Turner Turnpike, a new interchange on the I-344/John Kilpatrick Turnpike near Oklahoma City, and an I-44/Will Rogers Turnpike widening near Catoosa.
The Board also heard University of Oklahoma President Joe Harroz urge members to include two interchanges in the planned South Extension Turnpike, ratified emergency repairs after over-height loads struck two Will Rogers Turnpike bridges in July and learned state bond regulators have cleared OTA to return to the bond market this year.
Chandler interchange rebuild will eliminate turnpike system’s most-struck low bridge
The Board awarded a $29.9 million contract to Sherwood Construction to rebuild the interchange connecting the I-44/Turner Turnpike and State Highway 18 near Chandler in Lincoln County. The project widens the SH-18 bridge over the turnpike, adds new exit and entrance ramps with tolling equipment, and removes the current interchange infrastructure.
The bridge coming down has the lowest posted vertical clearance on the turnpike network and has been struck repeatedly by over-height vehicles, said Brad Manhalter of OTA’s engineering division. Sherwood’s low bid, one of three, came in about 28.7 percent below the engineer’s estimate, with substantial completion expected within a year of the start of construction.
Executive Director Joe Echelle said the legal load height is 14 feet and the bridge currently clears about 14.5 feet, leaving little margin. Raising bridges above 18 feet vertical clearance keeps oversized loads on divided highways rather than rural two-lane roads, he said.
Two over-height strikes closed Will Rogers bridges in July
The Board ratified two emergency declarations issued by the executive director.
An over-height load struck the Will Rogers Turnpike bridge over US-60 in Vinita on July 11, damaging six of 14 beam lines. Lanes in both directions through Craig County stayed closed until repairs were finished. On July 22, a detached dump truck bed struck the bridge carrying South 4140 Road, also called Frederick Road, over the turnpike in Rogers County.
OTA and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation have joined a national campaign, “Check Your Height. Know It’s Right.” Echelle encouraged drivers hauling tall loads to call the Size and Weights division to check their route.
$55.5 million interchange headed to John Kilpatrick Turnpike at County Line Road
C3 Construction won a $55.5 million contract for a new interchange at the I-344/John Kilpatrick Turnpike and North County Line Road, spanning Canadian and Oklahoma counties. The work includes seven bridge widenings, retaining walls, frontage and local road construction, and mainline widening between Northwest 122nd Street and North MacArthur Boulevard.
The area is seeing tremendous growth, Manhalter said, and the interchange should relieve congestion along Rockwell Avenue, Council Road and Memorial Road while adding access north toward Piedmont and the Deer Creek Public School District. The low bid, one of five, came in just under 1 percent below the engineer’s estimate. Work is expected to begin in late fall 2026.
Will Rogers Turnpike to widen to six lanes near Catoosa, Verdigris
Manhattan Road & Bridge won a $47.9 million contract to widen nearly two miles of the Will Rogers Turnpike to three lanes in each direction near Catoosa and Verdigris in Rogers County, including reconstructing bridges over the Verdigris River overflow and Mossy Creek. The low bid, one of three, came in about 7.7 percent below the engineer’s estimate.
OU president: South Extension interchanges 'absolutely essential'
Harroz told the Board that interchanges at Tecumseh Road and Alameda Street are essential to Norman and the university, which is growing at its fastest rate in 50 years and expects 40,000 students by next fall.
“It’s not that it would be good. We think it is absolutely essential,” Harroz said, citing millions of annual visitors to OU athletics, museums and the National Weather Center, a planned $1.2 billion entertainment district, and emergency access to Norman’s hospitals from the city’s east side.
Echelle said OTA met this summer with Noble, Norman, Cleveland County and the university about interchange locations. Harroz submitted a letter of support dated Aug. 3.
Board member Dana Weber thanked Harroz for making the case publicly. “I personally agree with you and think that this is the right thing to do for Norman, for OU, and for everybody in Oklahoma, frankly,” she said.
University of Oklahoma President Joe Harroz addresses the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Board Aug. 4 about the need for additional interchanges on the South Extension Turnpike in Norman.
Bond oversight council clears OTA for next ACCESS Oklahoma bond sale
The Council of Bond Oversight met last week and conditionally authorized OTA to re-enter the bond market, following the June resolution authorizing up to $1.5 billion in new revenue bonds. The application was held in late June over a quorum issue. Echelle said staff will evaluate timing in the coming months.
Artwork planned along Toby Keith Expressway and other ACCESS corridors
The Board authorized the director to negotiate agreements with the Oklahoma Arts Council, for up to $5 million, covering artwork along ACCESS Oklahoma corridors, including the South Extension Turnpike and the Toby Keith Expressway. “We have been working directly with the Covel family to capture the legacy of Toby Keith,” said Ladan Nelson, OTA’s ACCESS Oklahoma program manager, citing custom guitar form liners and metal artwork among the concepts. The Arts Council would handle design, construction and maintenance. Nelson said she expects to bring more details to the Board next month.
A year after worker’s death, director asks drivers to put phones down
Echelle closed his report ahead of the first anniversary of the death of OTA maintenance worker Zac Rinehart, struck and killed Aug. 18, 2025, by a distracted driver in a mobile work zone. ODOT worker Ernesto Vasquez was killed in a similar crash last month.
“Don’t drive distracted. Don’t drive digitally drunk,” Echelle said, asking drivers to exit and stop somewhere safe before answering a text or email. More than a dozen OTA work zones are out on a given day, he said, with a maintenance worker on the shoulder of every turnpike.
Watch this month's full Board meeting on YouTube. The next OTA Board meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026.