The Oklahoma Transportation Department is preparing to begin a nearly year-long engineering study to improve the flow of traffic on and off a 6-mile stretch of Interstate 35 in the cities of Moore and Norman.
The issue is to be voted on Monday when the State Transportation Commission meets for a regular session in Oklahoma City at 11 a.m. The Oklahoma City engineering firm, EST Inc. is likely to be awarded the $775,000 contract to study the Interstate and its egress and ingress from Norman north to 4th street in Moore.
“It’s a very big study,” explained Cody Boyd, spokesman for ODOT. “A really, really complicated study.”
He explained the study will begin in a few months and last nearly a year. Engineers will look at interchanges, service roads and on and off-ramps and consider future changes.
“There will be possible public input but no date has been set,” added Boyd. “We’re not looking at adding lanes to I-35 but making more of the Operational Improvements in the area. They’ll be trying to move the traffic more efficiently.”
The $775,000 contract also involves the cities of Moore and Norman and each will contribute to the payment. In the 6-mile stretch, the consultants will review and study the interchange at Indian Hills Road and possibly consider design reconstruction. Other streets next to the Interstate include Franklin, 34th, 19th and 4th in Moore.
