Demolition Begins At 33rd West Avenue Bridge For Widening Of I-44

TULSA, Okla. - The work to widen one of Tulsa's busiest highways is reaching a turning point.

Demolition is underway to remove the westbound 33rd West Avenue Bridge on I-44, so crews can widen the interstate from four lanes to six.

The $11 million project started in January, but on Tuesday, crews reached a new milestone, removing the old westbound bridge. Eventually, both bridges will be removed and replaced to make room for more lanes on I-44. Kenna Mitchell with ODOT said this section of interstate needed the update.

"These were built in the early 50s and, in fact, this whole section of I-44 that's west of the Arkansas River was built before the interstate system was even created," said Mitchell.

Right now, traffic on I-44 has shifted but is still moving with two lanes open in each direction, while 33rd West Avenue is closed until midnight on Wednesday. Also, the eastbound I-44 off-ramp to 33rd W. Ave. and the westbound I-44 on-ramp from 33rd W. Ave. are closed until further notice.

Mitchell urges people to be safe while driving through construction zones. 

"When you're going through work zones, you have to give your full attention to the roadway, we've got a lot of activity in work zones, a lot of crews, a lot of different moving parts," said Mitchell.

For more up to date changes, sign up for daily traffic advisories at www.odot.org.

The entire bridge replacement project is expected to wrap up in the spring of 2021.