Turnpike authority outlines East–West corridor timetable and right‑of‑way process; council asks for acquisition counts

At the April 23 City Council Community Planning and Transportation Committee meeting, representatives from the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority updated the committee on progress, schedules and property impacts for the Access Oklahoma East–West Corridor.

Trent Janeway of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority described ongoing design activities — geotechnical borings, survey work, right‑of‑way planning and utility relocations — and said the agency is "very very very close" on many negotiations aimed at meeting a target to open a through connection between I‑44 and I‑35 by the end of 2027. Janeway detailed phased construction work: a first package to establish the I‑44/Toby Keith Expressway connection (including a diverging diamond at State Highway 37) with bid openings planned in June and awards the following month, and later packages covering May Avenue bridges, Turnpike mainline bridges and other interchanges.

Janeway described several active construction starts: May Avenue bridges over the Canadian River began in February with drilled‑shaft substructure work; work on turnpike bridges over 10 Mile Flats has started with early subsurface elements because the area floods in spring. He also said crews backfilled a large borrow pit south of Talaveria (the deepest part was described in the presentation as at least 40 feet) and that engineers are timing settlement before mainline work.

On property acquisitions, OTA staff explained the right‑of‑way outreach process: when plans indicate a partial or total take, contracted right‑of‑way agents will meet owners, show plans, explain the appraisal and a review appraisal, and negotiate. Janeway said OTA has begun outreach tied to the South Extension corridor and that roughly 40 parcels have entered the outreach process as potential total acquisitions or partial takes. He emphasized timelines vary: acquisitions can take a year or more in some cases, but schedules may compress if construction deadlines require faster acquisitions.

OTA also flagged longer‑range targets (East‑West Connector to State Highway 9 by about 2032, and State Highway 9 to I‑35 by roughly 2034) and noted environmental and river‑crossing work near Noble/Slaughterville could affect sequencing. The authority said it will coordinate with ODOT, which is planning frontage‑road changes and will host a May 27 stakeholder and public meeting tied to corridor work.

Council members welcomed OTA’s offer to provide more direct information and asked staff to include counts of land acquisitions and total takes in future reports to track housing stock impacts. "As a part of those reports would it be possible to get updates on what land acquisition and total takes ... what those numbers look like," one councilmember asked; OTA staff agreed to add the data.

Next steps: OTA will continue design, right‑of‑way negotiations and utility relocation work, proceed with planned bid lettings, and provide the committee with forthcoming acquisition counts and additional project updates and materials.