The City Council’s 5-4 rejection will not change the turnpike’s route, financing or schedule, but OTA says the interchanges will not be built under current plans.
NORMAN — The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority has removed three proposed Norman interchanges from its South Extension plans after the City Council voted against supporting them. Interchanges at Tecumseh Road, Alameda Street and Etowah Road will not be built under current plans, OTA Chief of Public Relations Lisa Shearer-Salim told OK Politics Today on Thursday.
“We’ve already pulled those proposed interchanges off of the map,” Shearer-Salim said. “We’re proceeding with our design at this time without those included.”
The council voted 5-4 against the resolution Tuesday after a meeting that ran nearly eight hours, much of it devoted to public comment about the proposed turnpike. The resolution would have expressed city support for the three interchanges and sought sound barriers and help with additional public-safety costs.
Broader project stays on schedule
Shearer-Salim said removing the interchanges will require some design changes but will have no measurable effect on the South Extension’s location. She said the decision also will not affect the project’s financing or schedule.
Other planned interchanges remain at Interstate 35, U.S. 77 and State Highway 9 and where the South Extension meets the future Toby Keith Expressway. OTA also plans to build an interchange at McGuire Road at Noble’s request.
The absence of the Norman interchanges will affect where motorists can enter and leave the toll road. Shearer-Salim said Norman’s police and fire chiefs supported the additional access points as a way to improve emergency response along a roughly nine-mile stretch between planned interchanges.
OTA moving ahead with design
OTA had included the three possible interchanges in its engineering work while discussions with Norman continued. Shearer-Salim said the authority expects to reach 60% design completion by the end of the year, when it should know more precisely how much right of way will be needed from individual properties. OTA expects the turnpike to require about the same amount of land with or without the three interchanges and does not anticipate a change in the number of affected properties.
“The door is never fully closed,” Shearer-Salim said when asked whether Norman could reconsider. But she did not identify a deadline for the city to change course.
Shearer-Salim said OTA had offered to construct the interchanges within the turnpike footprint as part of the initial construction. Improvements sought by Norman beyond that footprint would have required a partnership with the city.
“Partnerships are two-way streets. They have to work for everyone involved,” she said.
The 19-mile South Extension is planned to connect I-35 near Purcell with the future Toby Keith Expressway near Indian Hills Road at the Norman-Oklahoma City boundary. OTA says it will give traffic from southern Oklahoma another route to the eastern Oklahoma City metropolitan area and provide another crossing of the South Canadian River.
“We respect the City of Norman’s decision, and we’re moving forward,” Shearer-Salim said. “They gave us the answer we were looking for so that we’re not slowing down on the design process.”
