Construction Begins On Highway 75 Interchange In Tulsa

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- A busy interchange on Highway 75 is going to get more congested soon. That's because of a road project that will last until the end of the year.

The work is at the Highway 75 and Interstate 44 interchange.

It's a key interchange for commuters from South and West Tulsa and parts of it will be under construction for the rest of the year.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation has started closing down lanes where they'll replace the decking on four bridges just south of the interchange. All of the bridges go over Mooser Creek.

"We're not replacing the piers or the beams, or anything like that so it's a little bit simpler," said Matt Casillas, ODOT Project Manager. "We're just replacing the bridge decks on all four bridges here."

The construction will impact the 50,000 drivers who go north or south on Highway 75 each day. The job will start with bridges on Highway 75 over the creek. When those bridges are complete, the work will move to the on and off ramps, to and from Interstate 44.

"What we're going to do now is the outside lanes in both the north and south directions and that will take a couple of months, then we'll switch and replace the deck on the inside lanes and that will take a couple of months, before we start work on the on and off ramps," Casillas said.

While the highway bridges are re-decked, traffic will be squeezed down to one lane north and south. When the bridges on the ramps are rebuilt, drivers will have to detour around the cloverleaf to get where they're going.

"There's not a real good highway detour in this area because of the layout so we're asking drivers to plan ahead and find a route that suits them," Casillas said.

The work is costing $2.3 million and will take seven months to finish.

For the very latest on construction projects in and around Tulsa, check out the Daily Detour.