Revamping Oklahoma's Pike Pass

The final leg of the Creek Turnpike from Broken Arrow to the Will Rogers Turnpike will open next Friday. <br><br>That completes the construction, but the technology upgrade is still underway. News on

Wednesday, August 7th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The final leg of the Creek Turnpike from Broken Arrow to the Will Rogers Turnpike will open next Friday.

That completes the construction, but the technology upgrade is still underway. News on Six reporter Rick Wells says the Pike Pass store alongside the old Turner Turnpike gate in Tulsa is a busy stop. People paying bills recycling their old Pike Pass for the new design, maybe buying one of these new fan crazy Pike Pass holders.

Steve Geiger is even getting one for his motorcycle; it saves him money and time getting to the good places to ride. "If I wanna get down by Gore or Muskogee or something like that I can jump on the turnpike real quick, then hit the twisties and hills down there." With that Pike Pass he hardly has to slow down. The Pike Pass has been around for 11 years and the systemâ€™s going thru a complete upgrade.

Randy Moore with the Oklahoma Transportation Authority, "We've got a new-look kinda Pike Pass, a new place to mount it but some of the new technology in our cars is making this new technology difficult to work properly." The mounting spot is not lower left like it used to be but up top in the middle. They are moving the readers from the side of the road to overhead. "So with that Pike Pass in the center mount of the windshield away from metal surfaces and substances we have a better opportunity to read the tag."

There are a dozen models where the mounting location has to be adjusted. In some extreme cases a special Pike Pass mounts on the front bumper. For some itâ€™s not the high tech but the low-tech stuff that gives 'em trouble. "I've had to pull in there cause there's no attendant and back up and get change over here, if they're gonna have this outfit here they need to have attendants here."

The turnpike folks might suggest he get a Pike Pass. To see a list of vehicles with known Pike Pass problems, visit the OKLAHOMA PIKE PASS web site.