Allen Contracting Inc. of Oklahoma City was awarded a $105 million contract on Monday by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission, according to a news report published in The Oklahoman. Work will commence next spring with an estimated completion in 2021.
The contract is the largest single award issued by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. The construction will expand the interchange into four levels between Interstates 235 and 44 in Oklahoma City, which serves nearly 100,000 motorists daily.
“This is an exciting project for many reasons, and by the end of construction the most important benefit to drivers will be the end of traffic bottlenecking at the I-235/I-44 interchange,” said Mike Patterson, ODOT’s executive director.
The construction zone will include the build out or reconstruction of 11 bridges.
“Adding new lanes and building the two flyover ramps to more safely move traffic between the two interstates brings this corridor up to modern standards,” said Patterson.
I-44 may be closed for one weekend while I-235 may see up to four full weekends of closures, according to the report. Dates have not yet been set for the closures. The construction project is expected to last more than 785 days.