Highway 412 Construction Concerns

Motorists coming into Tulsa from the east on US Highway 412 say they're fed up with construction. They think the highway construction is causing dangerous driving conditions. <br/><br/>The speed

Tuesday, July 25th 2006, 10:00 am

By: News On 6

Motorists coming into Tulsa from the east on US Highway 412 say they're fed up with construction. They think the highway construction is causing dangerous driving conditions.

The speed limit is posted at 45 miles per hour through the construction area, but as News on 6 reporter Jennifer Loren explains, the speed limit is just one of many complaints.

US Highway 412 has been under construction since April. Motorist Kenneth Woodruff: "Itâ€™s a pain, a long pain. I don't know how long its going to take. I wish it was over today." People who drive the six and a half mile stretch on a regular basis say they've noticed something about the construction.

Motorist Dennis Berry: â€œYeah itâ€™s getting steadily worse. You think so? yes." The lanes that are open have continuous sections of raised concrete along them.

Some people say its annoying, like driving on a washboard. Others think itâ€™s dangerous. Motorist Verona Schott: "If you're an inexperienced driver, if you hit one of those the wrong way itâ€™s going to send you off the road."

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is in charge of the project. They want to remind drivers that even though there may not be workers present when you drive through, it is an on-going project. They say the washboard surface will be leveled out eventually. But right now they're focused on rehabilitating the concrete panels that make up the highway. The panels are separating at the joints. So they're drilling in to them and kind of stapling them together. Then they cover the joints, leaving a section of raised concrete.

Paul Green with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation: "we just haven't done many of these type projects, you know. As we get better at them and more acquainted with them I think people will be happier with it." As far as keeping drivers safe, they say that's what the low speed limit is intended to do. "You know we drive those areas too and our families drive those areas. We try to keep them as safe as we possibly can."

ODOT hopes to have the project finished by the end of October. Until then they say obey the speed limit and the bumps won't feel so bad.