Confusion Remains At Exit In Berryhill One Year After Gilcrease Expressway Opens

The Gilcrease Expressway has now been open for a full year, but a lot of folks who live in Berryhill say the setup for the 41st Street exit is still confusing. 

For some drivers, it's as if the stop signs aren't even there. Others acknowledge the sign but still roll on through, while many do come to a complete stop. 

Melissa Bruckman wishes the situation never even started. 

"It's a lot of change for a small town,” she said. 

Just yesterday, Trevor Owens posted a video on the Berryhill Community Group Facebook page. It shows his experience coming off the turnpike. 

A view from above shows the whole picture. Some drivers coming off the Gilcrease Expressway on the 41st Street exit don't know they have the right of way. So they slow down, or in some cases, completely stop. The same situation plays out at night. Osage Drone 6 video shows a driver coming off the turnpike, stopping, and then playing a waiting game with a driver stopped on West 57th. 

But not everyone is stopping. 

While the two stop signs have been in place for a year, there are still some growing pains. 

"Most of the people who travel this road have lived here their entire lives, and there has never been a stop sign there,” Bruckman said. 

Her suggestion: let the traffic flow on West 57th. 

"I think anybody could go out there with a shovel and switch the stop signs and solve the problem,” Bruckman said. 

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority said it did not put a stop sign at the end of the ramp because it does not want traffic backing up onto the highway. 

"We have the responsibility to design the road correctly. Law enforcement has a responsibility to enforce those traffic laws. And motorists have the responsibility to really put away distractions, pay close attention,” OTA Spokeswoman Lisa Shearer-Salim said. 

"My daughter just got her license,” Bruckman said. “I tell her to avoid it. It's too much for people. Nobody knows where they should stop, what they should be doing." 

This area technically falls under Tulsa Police jurisdiction. As of Friday afternoon, News On 6 was not able to get any data from TPD on whether police have responded to any wrecks in this area in the past year.