The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently honored U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) with the unveiling of the U.S. Sen. James Inhofe Interchange in Midwest City, located at Interstate 40 and South Douglas Boulevard. This $170 million project will reconstruct the interchange into a safer, single-point urban interchange.
Sen. Inhofe attended the groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, November 22nd, morning, alongside Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice and Midwest City Mayor Matt Dukes.
“As I’ve said many times, there are two things we should be doing in Congress: defending our military and rebuilding our infrastructure. I’m proud to look back and know that during my tenure in Congress, we have fulfilled that mission together, and that I did it with the help of great partners like ODOT,” Inhofe said.
“The I-40 corridor connects fast growing rural areas to the Oklahoma City metro area. This project is critical to upgrading one of the oldest sections of federal interstate in Oklahoma while improving a number of functionally obsolete bridges. I’m grateful to ODOT for their partnership over the years and for their recognition during the unveiling of the U.S. Sen. James Inhofe Interchange.”
“Improving bridges on this project is just another example of Oklahoma’s larger bridge story in how the state went from 49th in the nation a short 15 years ago to now No. 5 nationally for good bridge conditions. All Oklahomans should be proud of that and our senior senator has been a big part of why we’ve been able to achieve that ranking. That means that fewer than 1 percent of Oklahoma’s highway system bridges are structurally deficient and there are no structurally deficient bridges remaining in this area,” said Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz.
“It is impossible to truly express the importance of Sen. Inhofe to the state of Oklahoma. …He has been a titan, especially when it comes to transportation, infrastructure and his support for our military,” said U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Edmond. “… For many years he served as chairman and ranking member of the Environment and Public Works committee and worked to craft major pieces of transportation and infrastructure legislation that greatly benefited Oklahoma, including MAP 21 and the FAST Act. This interchange is right near the gates to Tinker Air Force Base, making this both a key military and economic investment. In fact, I think it’s perfectly fitting that the largest dollar amount contract in Oklahoma Transportation history be named after him.”
“Senator, words escape me to appreciate the number of years you have served this country, state and, of course, our community. Thanks for being here, this is a great project for our community. It’s going to facilitate traffic flow, but better yet, it demonstrates the partnership with the City of Midwest City, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration,” Midwest City Mayor Matt Dukes said.
This project was partially funded with a Department of Transportation’s $51 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant that Sen. Inhofe supported in 2021. More information on the funding spearheaded by Inhofe can be found here.