New Year to bring traffic delays on I-235/Broadway Extension
The New Year is expected to bring major traffic headaches to Edmond and north Oklahoma City commuters accustomed to using Interstate 235/ Broadway Extension to travel back and forth to work in downtown Oklahoma City.
Rush hour traffic jams that are already commonplace on the busy highway are expected to get worse Monday.
That's when contractors are scheduled to begin work on the combined third and fourth phase of a seven phase multiyear project that involves adding lanes, replacing bridges and constructing interchange flyovers to relieve traffic congestion that has plagued the area for decades.
The construction phases that start Monday will involve widening I-235 to six lanes from N 36 Street to just north of N
50 Street. Two bridges over the highway, the N 50 Street bridge and the BNSF railroad bridge, also will be torn down and replaced under an estimated $88 million contract awarded to Allen Contracting Inc. of Oklahoma City. The contract amount includes early completion incentives and also covers a resurfacing project done earlier.
The contract was the largest in state history at the time it was awarded, officials said.
Northbound traffic is expected to be impacted first. Traffic will be shifted toward the median as crews work on the east side of the northbound I-235 lanes, said Terri Angier, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
The speed limit is expected to be lowered from 60 miles per hour to 50 miles per hour through the work zone.
Traffic disruptions will grow later. As early as this spring or summer, I-235 will be narrowed to one lane in each direction for weeks at a time. In addition, I-235 will be shut down entirely on a half dozen or so full weekends to allow workers to tear down and replace bridges over the interstate, Angier said.
Traffic officials are so concerned about the impact on commuters that they have developed a publicity campaign called “Off Broadway” to encourage motorists to use alternate routes.
“We certainly understand the inconvenience this can cause for drivers and appreciate their patience,” Angier said. “Anyone who drives this area can understand the critical need for this project. We encourage drivers to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or check our website for the day-to-day traffic details and plan ahead, whether they are going to work in the morning or activities downtown in the evening.”
State transportation officials suggest that I-35 to the east and Lake Hefner Parkway/I-44 to the west would be good alternate routes for some drivers seeking to go north and south around the metro area.
Motorists seeking a north-south route closer to the Broadway Extension corridor might consider taking N Classen Boulevard, N Lincoln Boulevard or Eastern/ Martin Luther King Avenue, city officials have suggested.
Drivers might want to avoid N Lincoln Boulevard for the next three months, however, because contractors will be working on a bridge on that boulevard just south of I-44.
Work on I-235/ Broadway Extension is expected to feature what some might view an engineering marvel.
In an effort to minimize highway closures, national bridge experts are being brought in and the entire railroad bridge will be constructed at a nearby location and then rolled into place, Angier said.
Construction on various phases of the I-235/ Broadway Extension project are expected to continue through 2022, so there will be years of traffic disruptions.
Angier said the project is critical because I-235 wasn’t initially built to be an interstate and is not capable of efficiently handling the 97,000 to 104,000 cars a day that drive on various sections of it.