I-235 closure scheduled for this weekend
Interstate 235 is scheduled to be closed for construction this weekend between NW 63 Street and NW 36 Street.
Major traffic disruptions are expected.
Construction workers plan to shut down traffic in both directions beginning at 7 p.m. Friday following the close of evening rushhour traffic.
The plan is to reopen the interstate by 6 a.m. Monday. The interstate could be reopened quicker if crews finish their work earlier, but weather could also force delays, officials said.
State transportation officials are urging motorists to avoid the entire area, noting that many exit and entrance ramps also will be closed.
I-235/US 77 is a major Oklahoma City traffic artery that links Edmond with Oklahoma City.
Closure of I -235 is necessary to allow construction crews to safely hang new bridge beams over I-235 as work continues on a $105 million project to reconstruct the I-235/I-44 interchange, transportation officials said.
This will be the second of as many as five full weekend interstate closures that maybe required the year, said Lisa Shearer-Salim, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. I-235 typically handles nearly 100,000 vehicles a day through that area, so closing it is expected to create some real traffic headaches, Shearer-Salim said.
Shearer-Salim said she would advise motorists traveling south from Edmond to not travel past Memorial Road before exiting and finding an alternate route. Motorists traveling north through Oklahoma City would be wise to exit at I-40 and take an alternate route, she said.
“You need to be planning ahead and skirting around the area, because it will be difficult to get around, even,” she said. “Once you approach the interchange, it's going to be very difficult to find alternate routes.”
Drivers traveling east or west on I-44 will be able to pass beneath I-235 during the weekend, but there will be no access to I-235 ramps, she said. I-44 continues to be a work zone in that area and lane shifts are expected throughout the summer.
The project is on scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2021, ShearerSalim said. It will be followed by a smaller project to make a direct connection from northbound Lincoln Boulevard to NW 63 Street and the Broadway Extension, she said.