Frustrated Tulsa Drivers Ask 'When Will It All End?'

Starting Monday, drivers on an already bustling Broken Arrow Expressway will have to hit the brakes for a new construction project. It's the latest project in an 8-year long work-plan for Tulsa's metro area.

04/17/2012 Related Story: Major Construction Project Set To Begin On Broken Arrow Expressway

The biggest question for drivers left spinning their wheels is - when will all the work be finished?

It may seem like Tulsa is a never ending maze of construction cones, zones and barricades. Roads are closed and lanes are shifted. Our daily commute is anything but a breeze.

There are four major, long term projects going on right now.

Crews started work on I-44 at Riverside and Peoria last March. ODOT is currently working on a new section of Peoria.

Overall the project will widen the highway from four to six lanes, make on and off ramps safer, replace the bridge over Peoria and improve the section of Arkansas River Bridge at Riverside and add sound barriers.

The project is on schedule and should be finished in early 2013.

The bridge over the Arkansas River over I-244 is also a major project. Construction began in May 2011. The substructure is now the focus. Those are tasks below the ground level.

Overall, the structurally deficient bridge is being replaced with a multi-level bridge, highway lanes on top and future rail lines and a bike and pedestrian area on the lowest level.

That project is humming along and scheduled for completion by mid-2013.

Project number three is the pavement reconstruction on I-244 near the Memorial and I-44 split. This project is still in its infant stages. It started just two months ago in February.

ODOT is working on removing and replacing four miles of pavement and six bridge decks. It's scheduled to wrap up in late spring of 2013.

ODOT now has its sights set on the bridges of the BA Expressway. Construction will start Monday April 23rd. And although it's the newest project on the block, this one is scheduled to finish earlier than the rest. ODOT says they expect to be done by the end of this year.

Up next: the final construction phase for the overall I-44 Riverside to Yale widening project. Construction could start on I-44 and Lewis late this summer.

It's easy to keep up to date on all the area road projects, just click on the Daily Detour link.