en.Wedoany.com Reported - On May 7, 2026, the second ramp of the interchange reconstruction project at the junction of Highway 75 and Interstate 44 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, officially opened to traffic. The project includes a total of four ramps, with the first having opened in April 2026, and the remaining two still under construction.
The project, with a total investment of US$252 million, is being advanced by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) and is expected to be fully completed by the summer of 2028. Originally built in the 1960s with a cloverleaf design, the interchange's narrow entrances and exits have become inadequate for safe traffic flow due to continuous growth in traffic volume. Drivers will no longer have to face dangerous merging situations. This type of interchange, designed for light rural traffic, often becomes a "congestion machine" in expanding urban areas.
Trapper Parks, ODOT Division 8 Engineer (covering Tulsa), stated that the project is progressing smoothly. The piers built during the early phase of the project have been regarded by some citizens as "steel and concrete mascots" and even dubbed the "Tulsa Stonehenge" by transportation journalists. Parks explained that constructing these piers in advance during the first project was intended to minimize traffic impacts and avoid rework. Although the public did not initially understand, it was a reasonable arrangement based on efficiency considerations.
The early phase of the project was completed in 2023 at a cost of US$90 million, with Sherwood Construction of Tulsa as the general contractor. The current phase began in April 2025 and is led by Manhattan Road and Bridge, headquartered in Tulsa. Parks noted that, thanks in part to federal funding, the project bundled three separate projects together for simultaneous construction, appearing to the public as a seamless endeavor. ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz stated that the combined US$252 million for the three projects represents the largest single investment in transportation infrastructure in Oklahoma history.
The design required meticulous planning. Benham Design is responsible for two of the project segments, while Poe & Associates handles the third. Parks pointed out that the project required connecting multiple bridges of varying heights to roads and ramps, necessitating extensive collaboration and coordination among several design teams. Over 20 construction crews are working on site, operating 8 cranes, 3 bulldozers, 7 forklifts, 6 elevators, 10 loaders, and 1 paver. The largest crane is a 900-ton LTM 1750 model, and at peak times, up to 12 cranes were operating simultaneously on site.
ODOT Public Information Officer T.J. Gerlach revealed that the road pavement will use approximately 15,200 cubic yards of Class AA concrete and 7,130 cubic yards of Class A concrete, along with 6.5 million pounds of reinforcing steel and 9.6 million pounds of structural steel. Parks added that the longest overpass in the project is approximately 2,400 feet long, built on a curve and spanning active traffic at a height of about 80 feet. The cost of this longest bridge is approximately US$25 million. Determining the construction sequence, including crane placement and traffic management, was a key challenge in the project.
Upon full completion, the project will deliver safer and more efficient facilities, alleviate traffic congestion, reduce accidents, and significantly improve the quality of life for area residents. Supporting projects around the interchange include widening Highway 75 between 71st Street and 41st Street, reconstructing the Highway 75 interchange at 61st Street, building new frontage roads between 61st Street and Skelly Drive, extending and connecting 51st Street beneath Highway 75, and constructing a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks along 51st Street near Elwood Avenue.
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