Construction work to begin on South Yale Avenue

A major street project started Monday in Tulsa and traffic in the area could be tied up for a whole year. <br/><br/>News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says in all - three major projects will happen on South

Monday, January 9th 2006, 6:16 am

By: News On 6

A major street project started Monday in Tulsa and traffic in the area could be tied up for a whole year.

News on 6 reporter Emory Bryan says in all - three major projects will happen on South Yale over the next year. The work that started Monday and all through the summer at the 41st and Yale intersection is a crossroads of construction. It's one of the busiest streets in Tulsa and it's overdue for repair.

Yale Avenue connects two interstates with a shopping mall and a university in between, and the wear and tear of traffic, shows. Motorist: "It's terrible, I'll be glad when it gets better." The bumps and ruts in the road will be gone because the road is being repaved - and in a narrow spot in front of OU, slightly widened.

Albert Martinez with the city of Tulsa: "Other that that we're not going to widen it, it's just going to be a brand new street basically." The work starting now is on Yale from 36th, through the intersection at 41st and down to I-44. The second phase is on 41st Street from Yale over to Hudson. The first part of the project will also be the longest part of the project - the section of Yale from 36th down to I-44. Only when it's done on that section, will the work move to 41st in front of Promenade Mall.

The work should be done long before people start the next round of Christmas shopping, but traffic will be tied up in the area until October. Motorist: "Sounds like a great place to avoid."

The work on Yale south of 36th started Monday and will take 5 months.

The job on 41st, from Hudson back to Yale will take another 4 months. Both roads will be down to 2 lanes each way, while they're being dug up and repaved.

The top two or three inches of the road will be scraped off and replaced.