Construction on Oklahoma’s longest bridge will soon begin, at least for a while.
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s board of directors on Tuesday, Dec. 9, earmarked $97 million for the first project to build the east-west tollway connector as part of the agency’s $8.2 billion, 15-year ACCESS Oklahoma initiative. The bridge will connect Interstates 44 and 35, running between Portland Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Crossland Construction was awarded the project. Darian Butler, OTA’s director of engineering, said the bid was about 30 percent lower than engineers’ estimates.
OTA executive director Joe Echelle said linking Newcastle’s eastern area to Moore and Norman was a key road project. He expects bridge work to begin in early 2026 and be completed by the end of 2027.
Map showing the location of the Canada River Bridge (yellow) against the backdrop of the East-West Connector Corridor (blue).
The bridge will span the Canadian River, but Escher said it will be designed to minimize environmental impact in addition to protecting water quality and habitat for threatened species.
“The piers will be built outside the river channel and OTA will closely monitor construction to ensure the contractor adheres to all environmental protection measures,” Echelle said.
Once completed, it will be the longest bridge in the state at more than 1.25 miles. Eichel said, however, that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation has “put on hold” plans for a longer project.
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A 3D rendering of the east view of the East-West Canada River Bridge shows what the project will look like when completed.
The board also approved a necessary resolution to condemn three properties along the East-West Connector and Turner Turnpike. A required resolution would allow the board to approve condemnation of a property, but only if necessary, according to the state website.
OTA transportation manager Todd Gore said negotiations with the landowner of a property along the East-West Connector have not been successful.
“It doesn’t mean you stop negotiating, but it’s a bit of an impasse,” Gore said. “We have been trying to get a counter-offer from them but have not been able to get a counter-offer from them and we have been trying to get a counter-offer for the last month.”
The Canadian River is visible at the top of this file photo taken northeast of Newcastle. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority on Dec. 9 approved construction of the state’s longest bridge near the area pictured.
The second and third parcels in the path of the Turner Turnpike project were presented to the board Tuesday due to ownership issues.
“We’re working with the landowners to try to secure their documents, but they can’t find that document to clear the title by closing the company, so that’s why we’re asking for this to be condemned,” Gore said.
All three properties are currently vacant, according to the agency.
The agency reports that the ACCESS Oklahoma program has entered into 81 property acquisition agreements to date, including parcels on the Will Rogers, East-West Connector and State Route 375/Indian Nations Turnpike. In addition, 28 properties have been approved to address the need for possible condemnation action, and 13 of the 28 properties are preparing to submit condemnation applications to the District Court.
This article originally appeared in The Oklahoman: OTA allocates $97 million to build Oklahoma’s longest bridge
