Turner Turnpike Widening Project Begins This Month

At the end of this month, the Turner Turnpike will be undergoing a major expansion project.

The Turner Turnpike is going to be three lanes, both directions, all the way from Tulsa to Oklahoma City. 

In less than two weeks, barriers will be going up and prep work will start for the two-year project.

This part of the widening project will start at Kellyville and continue west to Bristow, with the plan to eventually continue all the way to Oklahoma City.

Additional widening will take place that won't initially be striped for future high-occupancy vehicle and truck lanes.

They're also adding new interchanges to help get traffic on and off when there are crashes, and allow better access for emergency crews.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority says the project is the first in their 15-year, $5 billion ACCESS Oklahoma plan.

"The reason why we're starting on the Turner Turnpike is both practicality and looking towards the future,” OTA Spokeswoman, Lisa Shearer-Salim said. “There are improvements and work that need to be done on our oldest Turnpike"

Initially, there won't be any impacts to motorists as the work will be outside of the main lanes.

Eventually, expect lane narrowing, reduced speed limits, and shoulder closures to slow down traffic.

Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for late February.

The OTA would like to remind drivers to slow down and put down distractions in all work zones.