$49 million in Highway Projects for OKC

Nearly $49 million in State highway improvement projects in Oklahoma City were approved this week in a meeting of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission.

A $27 million contract was awarded to Allen Contracting Inc. and Shell Construction Inc. to finish two remaining core sections of the Oklahoma City Boulevard in downtown. The interior sections between Western Ave. and Shields Blvd including a bridge over Western Avenue will be built within the footprint of the old I-40 Crosstown bridge. It will reconnect the downtown area with the relocated interstate. Work will take nearly 18 months.

The old Crosstown bridge was removed following the 2012 opening of the new I-40 Crosstown south of downtown. The DOT indicated including this final phase, the overall cost estimate for the new I-40 Crosstown, the Oklahoma City Boulevard and its connections totals nearly $720 million.

The Transportation Commission also awarded a $22 million contract to T.J. Campbell Construction Company of Oklahoma city for the final phase of widening SH-74 or Portland avenue in northwest Oklahoma City. The new 3-mile segment will be widened to four lanes from north of NW 164th Street to NW 206th street or Covell Road. Other parts of State Highway 74 had already been widened to four lanes several years earlier.