Nearly $9B Approved for Oklahoma Highway Updates

The Oklahoma Transportation Commission on Oct. 7 approved $8.6 billion in highway construction and safety projects in the newest edition of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Eight-Year Construction Work Plan.

The plan contains transportation infrastructure improvements scheduled for fiscal years 2025-’32. The improvements are designed to enhance the safety and travel reliability of the interstate and highway systems across Oklahoma.

Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission

“Our Eight-Year Plan serves as a guide for the department’s construction and maintenance efforts and allows us to ensure we are addressing as many transportation needs as we can statewide,” ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz said. “Our main focus continues to be safety and reliability, and we are working to enhance safety by improving interchanges, adding shoulders to rural two-lane highways and addressing bridges statewide.”

In addition, the Four-Year Asset Preservation Plan was introduced, which includes nearly $500 million in investments for preventative maintenance aimed at extending the life of the state’s highway system in fiscal years 2025-’28.

Oklahoma, like many other states, has taken inflation and the changing economic climate in supply costs into consideration and adjusted its plans accordingly.

Construction costs have increased more than 60 percent since 2022. While some projects were redistributed in the plan to accommodate these increases, no projects were removed.

The $8.6 billion will include 1,647 projects. That addresses 632 bridges, including 299 that are structurally deficient or are at risk. It also includes 3,755 mi. of roadway improvements; those projects feature 954 mi. of safety improvements on two-lane highways with deficient or no shoulders.

Some notable projects include:

• In the Oklahoma City metro area, the final three phases of I-35 at I-240.
• In the Tulsa metro area, widening U.S. 169 between 66th and 86th streets.
• In southeastern Oklahoma, U.S. 70/Roosevelt Bridge replacement over Lake Texoma advanced from 2029 to 2026.
• In south central Oklahoma, widening I-35 to six lanes in Love County.
• In southwestern Oklahoma, new interchanges will be built along the Duncan Bypass in Stephens County, as well as along U.S. 62 and Goodyear Blvd. in Comanche County.
• In north central Oklahoma, the final phases of widening SH 33 to four lanes between Guthrie and Stillwater.
• In western Oklahoma, an interchange improvement project along I-40 at I-40 Business in Custer County.
• In northwestern Oklahoma, adding shoulders to more than 6 mi. of U.S. 412/U.S. 60 between Ringwood in Major County and the Garfield County line.

An additional area of special interest is the southern I-35 corridor. Throughout the plan, there are 14 projects totaling more than $377 million that will widen nearly 53 miles of I-35 between the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City and the Oklahoma-Texas state line.

Meantime, the Four-Year Asset Preservation Plan projects include pavement resurfacing, rehabilitation and bridge rehabilitation, painting and joint sealing. The $494 million plan has 276 projects addressing 81 highway bridges and will resurface 1,964 mi. of pavement.