TULSA, Okla. — More than 85 million dollars from what President Biden’s administration calls a landmark bipartisan infrastructure bill is coming to Oklahoma.
According to federal and state transportation departments, the grant will pay for 1,500 jobs and other expenses to complete the new I44 and U.S.-75 interchange.
The project includes finishing its flyover ramps, new bridges at the Arkansas River plus improvements to 51st and 61st Streets, a new U.S.-75 frontage road, and improvements to Skelly Drive.
“It’s such a critical interchange first of all, for freight movement, and everybody in the region depends on going through there to get to work, to get their kids to school," U.S. Undersecretary for Transportation Policy Carlos Monje told 2 News Oklahoma. "And it’s a critical freight corridor and the impact in terms of safety as well. This is an interchange that has double the rate of crashes.”
It's those concerns and more that ODOT named as key reasons the historic grant is needed, but not everyone has the same enthusiasm.
“We kind of got double-whammied," owner of Jumpin J's bar owner Brian Kinder said of the construction's impact to his business with a concrete wall obstructing its view from South Union Avenue and West 51st Street.
"We got hit with COVID, and then right after that we came out and then construction.”
Kinder said his business has lost thousands from construction alone.
"Another thing, the communication was horrible. We come out here one day, and we open up, and the next thing we know the entire parking lot is filled up with stuff so we had to then close down, so it cost us money too because they didn’t give us any warning.”
But Monje and ODOT's T.J. Gerlach said the project is a no-brainer, with many benefits.
“People will be able to not only enjoy the benefits of being able to get through there, but 1,500 people are going to be able to go to work every day and build that for their neighbors,” Monje said.
“This is the oldest section of interstate that has not been touched since the interstate program was created in the state of Oklahoma, so it’s been a long time coming,” Gerlach said.
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