Officials kick off massive Oklahoma City Crosstown project

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) City, state and federal officials kicked off construction of the relocation of Interstate 40 through downtown Oklahoma City. <br/><br/>The $360 million project will replace a stretch

Tuesday, November 15th 2005, 5:42 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) City, state and federal officials kicked off construction of the relocation of Interstate 40 through downtown Oklahoma City.

The $360 million project will replace a stretch of I-40 that was built for 72,000 vehicles a day but now carries about 120,000. It will also expand the expressway from six to ten lanes.

Monday's groundbreaking comes after more than a decade of efforts by leaders to replace the section of interstate.

More than $300 million of the project is promised by the federal government and Congressman Ernest Istook is calling on city and state to provide some funding.

Governor Brad Henry says the state is fully committed to filling any gaps in funding for the project and seeing that it's finished in a timely fashion.