Tulsa World: Patience, attention

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Patience, attention
Highway, street repairs worth the inconvenience

Aerial photo of construction along I-44 near the Arkansas River on May 28. TOM GILBERT/Tulsa World file

By MIKE JONES Associate Editor
Published: 11/8/2009 2:24 AM
Last Modified: 11/8/2009 4:15 AM

The headline in an edition of last week's Tulsa World read: "I-44 work to start in earnest."

Which led me to wonder: What has it been for the last few months, disingenuous?

I drive the stretch of Interstate-44 between Yale Avenue and Riverside Drive almost every morning. It has been a mess. That's not a complaint; I understand that we all must suffer some inconvenience in the name of progress.

For the last few months motorists on I-44 and now on Peoria Avenue have been detoured by work on the Perryman Ditch, a $42 million, much-needed project that will funnel storm-water from the Peoria area to the Arkansas River.

First, the westbound Peoria exit from I-44 was closed, then it briefly opened, then it closed again. Now Peoria is closed under the bridge to both northbound and southbound traffic. That forces commuters to use either Riverside or Lewis Avenue and anyone who has driven in those areas lately, especially during rush hour, knows the problems.

But, again, that is progress. I lived with the work on I-44 that had Yale Avenue in a mess for about two years. The end result, however, was a state-of-the-art interchange at I-44 and Yale, a wider roadway on both Yale and I-44 and a much smoother ride. It was well worth the wait and the inconvenience.

This latest project on I-44 will widen the highway from Lewis and Harvard avenues to just west of Yale. The interstate will become six lanes with improved off-ramps at Harvard. Also the Harvard bridge, built in 1956, will be replaced,

although the old bridge will remain in use until the new one is finished. Construction on the $65 million project is expected to start early next year and is projected to take about four years to finish.

The entrance from Riverside westbound on I-44 has been permanently closed but the Oklahoma Department of Transportation expects a new Peoria ramp to handily compensate for losing the Riverside ramp. ODOT considered the Riverside ramp onto I-44 dangerous. It probably was.

I only have one real gripe about the work in progress. Work on the Perryman Ditch required that barriers had to be placed along the side of I-44 from a couple of hundred yards east of Peoria to the Riverside exit. Therefore, the road needed to be narrowed while maintaining two westbound lanes and some temporary repairs made.

Just before reaching the Riverside exit, drivers notice, at least I hope they do, two signs. One cautions "rough road ahead" and the other warns motorcyclists to be particularly careful.

For good reason. It's not simply a rough stretch of road. It is a very dangerous rough stretch of road. It's not long, maybe 50 yards or so. But I have seen SUVs hit that patch and actually wobble. It is particularly dangerous at night when the signs are not all that visible.

I know what's coming and usually slow down a little. I hope big rigs, RVs and other visitors passing through remain safe and heed the signs. I can't imagine what it would be like to hit that spot doing 60 miles per hour on a motorcycle or even one of those expensive SUVs that look as if they are about to topple over at any moment.

In all the inconvenience, I wouldn't mind a day or two of further delays if ODOT would shut down that lane and put a good, safe layer of asphalt on that rough patch.

There are going to be a lot of traffic delays and detours in the next few years as ODOT completes the I-44 work and the city of Tulsa gets to work on repairing the streets with $452 million bond issue voters passed last November.

There are going to be some rough times. And a lot of orange cones. It will take some patience and good planning, but, in the end, it's going to be a lot better for everyone down the road.

Mike Jones, 581-8332
mike.jones@tulsaworld.com www.tulsaworld.com/jonesblog By MIKE JONES Associate Editor

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If you see a comment that violates our terms and conditions, please help us by clicking the "Report this Comment" link next to a comment. That will alert the web staff to review the comment. Thank you. -- Web Editor Jason Collington

	Report Comment droopy, wagoner (11/8/2009 7:43:03 AM) What, no mention of the poor, downtrodden illegals?
	Report Comment mr.peabody, country side oklahoma (11/9/2009 12:29:46 PM) Hey Mike, I'm thinking it's kind of like living in your house while a remodel is going on. Sounds like you are taking it in stride. Mike, I want to give you some credit. I've often disagreed with you, taken gratuitious shots at your articles. But when somebody else writes something elsewhere about you,I stand up for you, always reminding people your articles are opinions and should be taken as such. Your piece a few weeks ago about the Berlin wall was a honest tribute to President Reagan, I told you so on my post. I'm dis-heartend that President Obama doesn't share your regards for the historic significance of the events twenty years ago. Thank You
	Report Comment Ric, Broken Arrow (11/10/2009 8:16:51 AM) Mike, You should really write more articles in this manner. This one is good.
	Report Comment :), (11/9/2009 9:09:19 AM) ^ You two need help! ^ - Mike, this is Tulsa. Before this stretch is completed, it will be obsolete.

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