Oklahoma turnpike bridge project will close a portion of Route 66 for about a year
Joe Echelle, executive director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, talks about solar eclipse preparations on April 2. (Photo by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice)
OKLAHOMA CITY – A small portion of Route 66 will close later this month and traffic will be diverted as officials replace a bridge on the Turner Turnpike in Wellston.
Joe Echelle, OTA executive director, on Tuesday, outlined the plan for the governing board during its regular meeting.
The action comes as officials are widening the Turner Turnpike.
“It’s a challenging location to work in,” he said. “It’s probably the last bridge that will be the worst bridge to replace on the Turner Turnpike.”
The bridge is 71 years old and an original Turner Turnpike bridge , said Lisa Shearer-Salim, an OTA spokesperson.
The bridge replacement will cost about $48 million, she said.
She said officials will close under a mile of Route 66 beginning about Aug. 21. The closure is expected to last about a year.
Local traffic will be diverted onto some county roads. Traffic exiting the turnpike at that location will also be diverted.
The bridge will be replaced with two new ones capable of handling traffic when the roadway is increased to six lanes from four, she said.
During construction, traffic on the Turner Turnpike will remain open to two lanes in each direction, but motorists can expect significant lane shifts and possible night-time closures narrowing to one lane in each direction, according to the OTA.
More than 31,000 vehicles a day on average travel that section of the Turner Turnpike, according to the OTA.
The section of Route 66, dubbed the Mother Road, is expected to be reopened before the centennial celebration in 2026, she said.
The 2,448-mile roadway spans eight states and connects California to Illinois.
Trait Thompson, Oklahoma Historical Society executive director, sits on a state and a federal panel charged with planning activities to celebrate the centennial.
No official state projects have been selected yet, he said, adding that fundraising is planned.
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