The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority plans to spend $261 million to build a west loop of the Gilcrease Expressway in Tulsa.
The Los Angeles, California-based firm of AECOM and Duit Construction Co. of Edmond won the contract that was approved this week.
Jack Damrill, a spokesman for the Authority indicated work will get underway by the end of the year. The project won’t be finished until sometime early in 2022.
The project includes construction of a bridge over the Arkansas River. The west loop will consist of five miles of new four-lane highway starting from where the Gilcrease Expressway connects to I-44.
Tim Gatz, Transportation Authority Director and Transportation Secretary said the need for the corridor was actually identified more than half a century ago.
“It was part of the original Tulsa Expressway Master Plane that was done in 1961,” he said. “I look forward to getting the project under construction.”
The project is described as a public private partnership and involves the Indian Nations Council of Governments, the city of Tulsa, Tulsa County, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.