MUSKOGEE, Okla. — The Oklahoma Department of Transportation plans to widen Highway 69 in Muskogee between the border to Okmulgee Avenue. The project will go from two lanes to three lanes in each direction. ODOT staff said this is to help with traffic in the area. They plan to start construction in late 2025 and finish by 2027.
Monica Tramell lives right around the corner from Highway 69. She says she's stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic multiple times a week.
"It makes it hectic, all the semi-trucks, all the traffic from out of state,” said Tramell
ODOT applied for a $20 million federal grant through the American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program to help pay for the $46 million widening project.
ODOT staff said the project would happen regardless of whether they got the funding. However, Tramell worries that construction on a busy highway could cause even more problems.
"It will get backed up because there is a lot of traffic on 69,” said Tramell.
2 News brought her concerns to TJ Gerlach, a spokesperson for ODOT.
"The goal will be to maintain two lanes on 69 in both directions as often as we can,” said Gerlach.
Gerlach said there's potential to narrow the road to one lane during construction, which would be restricted to overnights or weekends.
The project will also replace a pedestrian bridge over the road with a new one, raising it from its current height of 15 feet to 17 feet. This will allow semi-trucks or oversized loads to pass under it. Tramell hopes this project will eliminate hectic traffic.
"Awesome to get it widened to help the traffic flow and everything going through there,” said Tramell.
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