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I-40, Morgan Road rebuild stalled in planning phaseBy Carolyn Cole Drivers will continue to face traffic snarls at Interstate 40 and Morgan Road for years, while officials plan for a $30-million solution scheduled for construction in late 2009. Laura Story, Oklahoma City assistant engineer, estimated officials are about 85 percent finished with buying right-of-way near the intersection so a water line and entrances to area businesses can be moved to allow for the reconstruction of the interchange. “We have entered into several negotiations,” she said. “We are pretty close to closing on some of the property we have to buy.” The existing I-40 and Morgan Road interchange was constructed in the 1960s, before four gasoline stations brought heavy truck traffic. The narrow lanes and short distances for acceleration and deceleration in the existing “partial clover leaf” interchange cause semi-truck turnovers and sideswipe accidents, officials said. In the single-point interchange, a traffic control light will be built on top of a widened bridge over I-40. Construction is expected to take between two and three years, with estimated completion dates in 2011 or 2012, but Story said part of the delay in planning is related to making sure traffic can keep moving both on the highway and Morgan Road during work. “Sometimes it takes 10 years to design in these complicated projects,” she said. “It’s very intense and tedious to try and make sure all of those things connect.” When the plan was presented to the community in 2007, officials said the project is designed to handle the projected 2030 traffic flow. Traffic on Morgan Road exceeds 15,000 vehicles daily to the north of I-40 and 20,000 to the south. Daily traffic is expected to double with estimates of 28,000 north of I-40 and 36,000 to the south of I-40. The project takes into account the possible widening of Interstate-40 into an eight-lane freeway. Now, about 60,000 vehicles travel under the Morgan Road bridge each day on I-40. By 2030, officials expect 116,000 vehicles to travel the highway daily. Last year, ODOT committed $20 million for the project, department spokesman Cole Hackett said, with plans to use a combination of state and federal funds. Right now I-40 and Morgan Road are near the top of ODOT’s eight-year work plan, but officials are reevaluating that plan this month based on existing funding. Recent IssuesSpecial Sections |
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