TULSA, Okla. — “It’s a very hard ride. It’s not fun in a car.”
The reputation of Tulsa freeway pavement isn’t always the most robust, especially along the Broken Arrow Expressway’s temporary lanes this year.
“Fortunately, I don’t drive it every day, but yeah, I feel sorry for the people that do,” commuter Annette Jennings told 2 News.
- Previous coverage >>> BA Expressway project lane closures to start June 8 after being rescheduled
“It needs to be repaired," driver Lindsey Martin added. "You’ve got to sacrifice for some results. You’ve got to mess (roads) up to make it better.”
Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s TJ Gerlach said that’s exactly why a whole month is set aside to narrow the BA Expressway to only one lane in each direction starting Thursday at 9 a.m.
“We need to go down to one lane, specifically near the Lewis Avenue bridges, just because we don't have enough room to pour two brand new lanes of concrete so that we can get traffic moved over," Gerlach said. "But fortunately, once we get over this hurdle, we're going to put drivers on to the fresh and brand new pavement. They'll be driving on the new stuff instead of all the old cracked-up stuff.”
Dodging the one-lane traffic won't be the only obstacle on the expressway beginning Thursday. ODOT also plans for additional entrance and exit ramp closures.
- The westbound SH-51 ramp to northbound US-75 (southeast corner of the Inner Dispersal Loop) will be closed.
- The westbound SH-51 on-ramp from 13th Pl. near Utica Ave. will be closed.
- The eastbound SH-51 off-ramp to Utica Ave. will be closed.
- The eastbound SH-51 on-ramp from 14th St. and the westbound on-ramp from 15th St. will remain closed.
The best advice is to plan ahead.
TRACK TRAFFIC: 2 News Oklahoma traffic map
“For instance, if anybody wants to get around this, we're going to encourage using I-244. Or if you're further south, maybe I-44 over to US-75 to get into downtown,” Gerlach said.
Gerlach clarified if conditions are right, the closures could wrap up faster than the allotted 30 days.
“If we have some good weather over the next couple of weeks, hopefully, we’ll be able to get it done in about two weeks, and we'll be able to open it up back up to two lanes," he said. "As far as the ramps are concerned, there's some paving at the on along the ramps that need to be done as well. So that's just part of the process.”
It's a process the drivers we spoke to don’t mind waiting for.
“I can give extra time to get where I need to go,” Martin said. “But yeah, I’ll be happy when it’s fixed.
“It’s just to be expected,” Jennings said.
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