I-44 Construction Wraps Up, Businesses Excited

Friday, March 16th 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

The familiar orange barrels at a busy Tulsa intersection will soon be gone. After nine long months of slowing to a crawl and no left turn, it will soon be smooth sailing down Yale at I-44. The News On 6â€™s Heather Lewin reports drivers aren't the only ones breathing a sigh of relief.

Business owners near Yale and I-44 have been trying to make ends meet with the trickle of traffic construction allowed.

"It was a ghost town, you just couldn't get in or out," said Jim Ledbetter with Don Pabloâ€™s. "In the long run it's gonna help a lot its easy access, easy on easy off"

But those months of being cut off from customers cost the restaurant thousands of dollars.

"We're all ready to get to work on time and be able to get in here without using the Lord's name in vain every morning trying to get through that intersection," Ledbetter said.

Of course the work on I-44 in other spots continues. The next project will be widening the interstate from 41st to the new portion near Yale.