The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

How many highways do we need?

How many highways do we need?

Fewer highways.  Less sprawl.  This is a continuation of the old way of thinking about cities.  

Lets take the money we would spend on a highway and use it to encourage the desired economic development. Boulevards, beautification, tax breaks, good schools... lets see if that can't do it when a highway can't (see, .e.g., the Tisdale loop having tons of empty lots). I'm sure we can come up with a creative proposal that beats a highway.

Wasn’t the Northwest Passage development announced in the late 1990s supposed to be just that sort of grand development that was going to spur growth in the entire area?  Seems that very little came of it.

The Gilcrease Expressway has been on the planning map for something like 50 years and at the current pace will not be completed for another 40 years.  By building it in such small segments, it is something of a highway from nowhere to nowhere.  While I doubt completing the Gilcrease will have anywhere near the developmental effect that the Creek Turnpike had, it’s hard to argue that without it nothing much has happened in the area or is likely to happen in the coming decades.

If Tulsa grows, it is going to keep pushing its boundaries outward.  It would be better to do that in all directions, instead of primarily to the south/southeast.

Fewer highways.  Less sprawl.  This is a continuation of the old way of thinking about cities.  

JMO, if road access is the only thing supposedly stifling growth in NW Tulsa, then the area would benefit just as well with Edison being four-laned to 65th W. Ave.  Apache has been improved in recent years as well as (I think) 36th St. North west out to 52nd West. Ave.  That puts highway access within a few miles or less from the south (I-244 with exits every mile or so) and the east (The LL Tis) to those areas.  FFS, you don’t have to bring a highway to the front door to make for better access.

Perhaps those living west of Central HS don’t care for dense neighborhoods and that’s why they moved out that way in the first place.

“It may be a road to nowhere and a complete boondoggle, but it’s been on the books for years, therefore let’s build it!"

I knew some people back in the 80's and the early 90's that lived in that area between Chandler Park/Berryhill and West 41st and I would tell them that I forgot about that area, and they would say "That's why we moved there." W 41st & Hwy 97 was where they shopped and I want to say back then it was a Safeway that became a Homeland store was where the went, and working downtown was a nice drive with way less traffic. It's what a 15 to 20 minute drive from that area into downtown?

It's what a 15 to 20 minute drive from that area into downtown?

Been a while, what can I say. Have to say I think it's stupid to cut through that area now. Maybe back in the 60's when it would have connected all of the manufacturing along Charles Page, west 21st and over to where Unit Rig and all the manufacturing that was/is in that area. But with the Red Fork 244/444 and highway 97 it just seems pointless, unlike the heads of many in charge at the state. (Bless their little hearts)

What are the challenges with reviving the Charles Page industrial corridor?  

What are the challenges with reviving the Charles Page industrial corridor? 

There is a Frank Lloyd Wright building in the area and of course the old Cord auto manufacturing plant.

Major industrial park development at former steel mill site to change heart of Sand Springs

The Sand Springs City Council has entered into an agreement to be a part of a major redevelopment plan for the former Sheffield Steel mill in the middle of the city.

Officials said the project will breathe new life into a very visible part of Sand Springs.

“This will be transformative for generations for the citizens of Sand Springs,” City Manager Elizabeth Gray said.

The Sheffield Steel plant and rail line to Tulsa were purchased by Gerdau Ameristeel, which eventually halted production in 2009. OmniTRAX bought the site in 2014, apparently with plans for redevelopment.

Major highlights of the proposal include the demolition of some of the former mill’s massive metal structures, which directly abut the west side of Oklahoma 97 and can be seen from U.S. 412 toward the south.

About 26 acres of the property are planned for retail development. For city officials, that could translate not only to jobs but also sales-tax revenue.

Per the development agreement Monday, the city eventually would have an option to buy a 10-acre parcel for use as a public-safety complex. Officials said that project has about $10 million through the city’s Vision renewal, which Sand Springs voters approved last fall.

Other public funding needed for the redevelopment would be for construction on Morrow Road along the project’s north border from Oklahoma 97 to Broad Street, Gray said.

“We’ve been working on this for about six months,” Gray said. “But we want to give as much credit to the OmniTRAX people.”

Sand Springs officials had previously planned the public-safety complex for property on the west side of the city, but met public pushback due in part because the proposed facility was not in a central location.

Gray and other officials said building the police, fire, 911 and municipal court facility on part of the former Sheffield Steel property is the perfect opportunity to keep it centralized.

“That’s not a done deal either,” Vice Mayor John Fothergill said. “We’re definitely going to take it to the public.”

Fothergill said he hopes residents agree that a public-private partnership to redevelop the former steel plant is a strong opportunity.

“It was something that we needed anyway,” Fothergill said. “We can put police just about anywhere, but you really want your fire department centrally located.”

Fothergill said OmniTRAX has a track record of buying rail lines and then fueling development all along the lines.

“I think it’s going to be bigger than this,” Fothergill said. “This is just the Sheffield site. That rail goes all the way through Sand Springs and into Tulsa and unincorporated (Tulsa) County property.”

Fothergill pointed at Charles Page Boulevard, which runs along the line, as an area ripe for redevelopment.

Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith said she hopes the redevelopment of the property will repair damage to Sand Springs done when the jobs at the steel mill were lost.

“When they lost those jobs, it was just brutal,” Keith said. “Elizabeth (Gray) is a hero in pulling this together. She’s bringing life back into the community.”

jarrel.wade@tulsaworld.com

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/major-industrial-park-development-at-former-steel-mill-site-to/article_63d4aa59-e776-5dd0-b593-a53ac1b34859.html

North Tulsans will be told this will really benefit them and create new jobs and they will fall for this like every other panacea for their economy that’s been promised over the years.  In reality, a few people will gain financially.

The Cord plant is right where the railroad crosses Charles Page diagonally across from the old Knotty Pine Barbeque.  Red brick. Its actually for sale right now. I think it is the original. There was a newer one in Broken Arrow.

The FLW is a bit farther east towards downtown on the south side of Charles Page. Its glass brick windows have been covered up and it has a deco look to it. Seems like it was a valve company. I go by there occasionally so I'll check it out.

Speaking of Sand Springs and their industrial district here is some good news:

North Tulsa is easy to get around in...and there is already H75 cutting up neighborhoods. This highway will not be for the residents...

I'm interested in the possible FLW building. My understanding is that the only FLW building in Tulsa is WestHope. (Currently for sale, if anyone is looking for a really cool fixer-upper.)  

Do you think this is actually FLW, or is it Bruce Goff, or another of FLW's disciples?  (Just checked the Goff site, and can't find anything there, either.)

Rebound, you could be right. I'm at the age where I say, "I used to know where I got that story...". It could have been in one of the Tulsa World books on Tulsa history, or it could have been one of the locals who told me. It remember reading it was early in the architect's career. Something about "Equitable Metering" comes to mind but when I was told the story I visited the building and could see Deco elements in its style. Then they covered up the windows and I feared it would be destroyed. I will go by there today.

note: I just visited a list of Deco buildings on Wikipedia and it lists the building as Midwest Equitable Meter at 3130 Charles Page blvd, built in 1929 but it doesn't list the architect. Would have been about the right time for either Goff or FLW. Also of interest in the area is a nice little fire station at 3924 Charles Page blvd built in 1931 by Albert Joseph Love.

City leaders will announce a plan early next month to complete the Gilcrease Expressway using a unique funding approach that includes turnpike tolls.
Invitations from Mayor G.T. Bynum and Gov. Mary Fallin are being delivered this week to area leaders for a March 10 event at Chandler Park, 6500 W. 21st St., to announce details of the plan.
“It’s a partnership between the city of Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and Oklahoma Department of Transportation (which are) committed to the completion of the concept of the Gilcrease Expressway,” Tulsa Deputy Mayor Michael Junk told the Tulsa World.
The Gilcrease Expressway project began in the 1950s to create a loop around the city. Finished portions largely include Interstate 44 and Oklahoma 11, and the planned loop has stalled at a necessary crossing of the Arkansas River west of downtown.
The final portion needed to complete the loop, west and northwest of downtown, will require a substantial investment, largely for a bridge across the river.
At current funding rates that come largely from local contributions, the project is scheduled for completion close to 2050 — 100 years after it was started.
The approach being announced March 10 — while still requiring more pieces to fall into place — will be a multisource funding process to complete the loop with a turnpike and a substantially quicker timeline than current funding allows, Junk said.
“It will be a turnpike,” Junk said.
“It’s a result of many months of planning and coordinating. … We have seen the need for access to that side of Tulsa.”
The project has two main goals: to provide road access for development of northwest Tulsa and to lighten the wear and tear that heavy traffic puts on Tulsa’s Inner Dispersal Loop, Junk said.
One key component of turning the new part of the loop into a turnpike is that the city of Tulsa wouldn’t ultimately be on the hook for maintaining the roadway, Junk said.
“There’s going to be a lot of questions regarding the viability of this project,” Junk said. “We have done an extensive study to ensure the need of the project.”

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/final-stretch-of-gilcrease-expressway-to-be-finished-as-turnpike/article_4245a629-7c5d-511c-a406-ca627f2300fd.html (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/final-stretch-of-gilcrease-expressway-to-be-finished-as-turnpike/article_4245a629-7c5d-511c-a406-ca627f2300fd.html)

(http://i1265.photobucket.com/albums/jj517/Brettakins/proposed%20route_zpsyeni0iz8.png)

Private investor found to fund the turnpike:

Fallin said finishing the Gilcrease has been a priority for her since she was first elected.
"One of the first things I told Secretary Ridley was, 'Get this thing done,'" she said.

If everything continues as planned, by this time next year we should see construction underway.

“Yes, finally its coming together," Keith said.

The total price tag for the project is $300 million.

Big ole bucket of stupid.   Just what we need - spend another $300 million for a road to nowhere.

It would help to balance Tulsa's growth around downtown. Some sprawl around cities is inevitable and better there than past Coweta or Collinsville.

That said, that area, despite it being beautiful, will never grow with it's current school district situation no matter what kind of access it has.

You know people said the same thing about the Stapleton neighborhood in Denver when the airport moved.  Developers wanted to turn the site into a residential neighborhood next to some of the city’s worst neighborhoods with bad schools.  So to counter that the local district (DPS) set guidelines that only residents in the new neighborhood could attend the new schools.  And attracted by (then) cheaper new housing a few miles from downtown the area grew and 25 years after the airport closed there are 35,000 people living in Stapleton with 4 elem schools, 2 middle schools and a high school. 

Yea another similar example, Glenpool had some of the worst test scores and such in the entire area but once growth began to spill over into that area the scores went up.

Well, we are all up in arms out in Cimarron about the new trails the mule deer are taking as a by-pass from Philmont to Ted Turner's ranch.  They transit my land all the time and aren't even paying toll.

It's scandalous I tell you!

The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday approved the issuance of up to $125 million in revenue bonds to help fund construction of the Gilcrease Expressway turnpike in the Tulsa area.

No legal protests were filed with the court, justices noted.

The five-mile, four-lane road construction project will link Interstate 44 with U.S. 412 and complete the western loop around the Tulsa metro area.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/million-bond-approved-for-gilcrease-expressway-turnpike-construction/article_2a4990fd-684c-55b3-ade7-fa50f538e3b5.html

God I hate the Tulsa World.

So I have to go to Newsok.com to finishing reading an article at the Tulsa World site about a new Turnpike IN TULSA, but I can't finish the article because I subscribe to the World and not to the Oklahoman.  So what is the point of the Tulsa World even existing, much less me paying for it?

My bad I should've just posted the full article lol. The quote I did post is really the only thing news worthy in that article anyways.

What an utter waste of money and other resources.  Enjoy your new turnpike!

Thank you.  It will be the driving force to realizing our dreams

So you can have more, you know, stuff?

What an utter waste of money and other resources.  Enjoy your new turnpike!

Motorists could be driving along a five-mile extension of the Gilcrease Expressway tollway by June 2022 or sooner under a plan outlined Thursday by state transportation officials.


While the five-mile toll road still has a few financial hurdles to clear before construction can begin, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Executive Director Tim Gatz told a gathering of local and state officials Thursday in Tulsa that his agency has made “really, really good progress” in recent months.


“We’re getting to the point where we’re going to make this project a reality,” Gatz said, during a meeting of the Gilcrease Expressway working group, a mix of local and state officials and companies working on the project.


Gatz said right-of-way acquisition is expected to be complete by early 2019, with about 58 parcels yet to be acquired.


“We’re in pretty good shape there from a right-of-way acquisition standpoint and we do not see those activities presenting any issues on the critical path of the project,” Gatz said.


Utility relocation continues and will be coordinated as construction progresses, Gatz said.


Gatz said a “major milestone” was reached Wednesday when the state Supreme Court greenlighted a request by the OTA to issue construction bonds for the project.


“We’re pretty happy, we’re pleased that the court has gone through and given us that validation,” Gatz said.


About $100 million of the tollway construction costs will be borne initially by the contracting team, Gatz said.


The interim financing will be repaid with a low-interest loan taken out by the OTA from the U.S. Department of Transportation — available through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.


The so-called TIFIA loan will be repaid with toll revenues.


The total cost of the roadway is estimated to cost between $330 million and $340 million.


Gatz said the OTA has in recent months narrowed a list of 22 respondents for qualifications for the tollway project to three teams of contractors. The three-teams, each comprised of two contractors and a financier, will be narrowed to a final recommendation for OTA board consideration by Spring 2019, Gatz said.


The three teams vying for the project are:


• AECOM Energy and Construction/Duet Construction and Wells Fargo Securities


• Manhattan Road and Bridge Co. /Sherwood Construction and RBC Capital Markets


• Lane Construction Corporation/Allen Contracting with KeyBanc Capital Markets


Plans call for construction on the turnpike, which will run from near West Edison Street south to near the intersection of Interstates 244 and 44, to be complete in about three years.


The toll road will cost $1.85 to make the full trip. The tollway will feature no toll booths with drivers paying either via an electronic toll reader or via license plate camera readers.


Building the five-mile, four-lane extension would leave only the stretch from Edison Street to the Tisdale Expressway to be completed in northwest Tulsa.

Building the five-mile, four-lane extension would leave only the stretch from Edison Street to the Tisdale Expressway to be completed in northwest Tulsa.

So is this just this leg and doesn’t include connecting it to the existing highway north of 412?

(https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/tulsaworld.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/8e/68e41153-418d-5738-bd7c-d483b8b5a4a8/58c87c4b6e4b0.image.jpg)

I would argue that the long term benefit of completing this loop is pushing traffic out from our city center. The more we can loop pass-through traffic around the edges of the city the more likely we can eventually reclaim land in our city center for development.

A good example of something proactive being done is the expansion of Turner Turnpike. We don't necessarily NEED it to be 6 lanes right now, but by the time they expand the entire stretch from Tulsa to OKC, we probably will. Or maybe they just want a reason to hike the toll again...who knows.

OKLAHOMA City — The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority on Tuesday set in motion a nearly $261 million project for construction on the west loop of the Gilcrease Expressway.


The contract was awarded to a partnership involving AECOM, an engineering and construction firm based in Los Angeles, and Duit Construction Co., based in Edmond.


Work is expected to start by the end of the year, said Jack Damrill, an OTA spokesman


It is expected to be finished in February 2022, said Tim Gatz, OTA director and transportation secretary.


The toll road will include a bridge over the Arkansas River.


The project consists of construction of a new, four-lane highway beginning where the existing Gilcrease Expressway connects to Interstate 44 just south of West 51st Street South and ends just north of U.S. 412 at Edison Street.


It is part of the Driving Forward program, a turnpike expansion and improvement initiative for six roads.


“I look forward to getting the project under construction,” Gatz said.

I mostly agree. I see the criticism that there is no real need for this to be done now, given the part of town it's in, but city planning is about preparing for future growth and staying ahead of the problems, right? The city and state needs to be proactive rather than reactive to the increasing traffic in our cities.


A good example of something proactive being done is the expansion of Turner Turnpike. We don't necessarily NEED it to be 6 lanes right now, but by the time they expand the entire stretch from Tulsa to OKC, we probably will. Or maybe they just want a reason to hike the toll again...who knows.

I guess my point is that I'm good with doing this project before we....really need it? lol

After more than 50 years of maybes, somedays and possibilities, the west leg of the Gilcrease Expressway took a giant step toward reality at a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday morning.

At the corner of 56th West Avenue and 21st Street, Gov. Kevin Stitt, Mayor G.T. Bynum and County Commissioner Karen Keith gathered with other local and state officials to commemorate the final leg of the expressway first envisioned in 1961.

Bynum thanked former Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley for his work on getting the project started. He said the new highway will open new opportunities for parts of Tulsa left out of economic growth elsewhere in the city.

“Knowing that both north Tulsa and west Tulsa for so many years took a back seat to the rest of the city when it came to economic development,” Bynum said. “There are so many people who kept pushing to continue, year by year incrementally assembling funding needed for the land to build this expressway.

“Now here we are, in position where this thing is going to be built over the next three years, and it is going to unlock the economies in north Tulsa and west Tulsa in a way they’ve never been before.”

Tim Duit, with Edmond-based Duit Construction, said construction on the $261 million project will begin in earnest in January after the holidays. With good weather, the expressway should open in March 2022.

Complete with shovels and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority hardhats, officials broke ground just south of 21st Street.

Stitt said the project stands to spur further growth in the Tulsa area and demonstrate the state’s economic strength.

“I’m just so excited to showcase our state and our city with this new expressway,” Stitt said.

“This is going to be fantastic. When you think about this route, the economic development, I’m just so excited for that. We’re going to recruit more companies here. It’s going to alleviate a lot of the traffic issues.”

The west leg will connect the leg spanning north Tulsa to 51st Street near the I-44/I-244 western split in west Tulsa. It will include multiple bridges, including over Charles Page Boulevard and the Arkansas River west of downtown.

Keith — whom Bynum called “the patron saint of long term causes in our community, and she always ends up being right” — said she’s ecstatic that the expressway is no longer a shelved plan for the future.

“We all know too well how important this new transportation link is,” Keith said. “Gilcrease is a safety valve, an additional and much-needed connection for first responders, and a less congested route for Chandler Park, west Tulsa and Sand Springs.”

The Gilcrease Expressway extension is 72% complete, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Deputy Director Joe Echelle said Monday following a meeting of the authority’s board.
The project consists of five miles of new four-lane toll road beginning where the existing Gilcrease Expressway connects to Interstate 44 just south of West 51st Street and ends just north of U.S. 412 at Edison Street. It will provide for a new route across the Arkansas River west of downtown Tulsa.

The $336 million stretch of road is expected to be opened in May or June 2022, Echelle said.
The roadway is part of the Driving Forward program, an expansion and improvement initiative for six turnpikes announced during former Gov. Mary Fallin’s administration.

The entire Driving Forward initiative is 96% complete, Echelle said

TULSA, Oklahoma - Construction crews are making progress on the Gilcrease Expressway extension that will connect Highway 412 with I-44.
News On 6 has been following this project for a few years now and has seen major progress over that time. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority said the five-mile stretch is expected to relieve congestion during peak travel times from Interstate 244 and Highway 97.

The Gilcrease Expressway Extension will connect Highway 412 and, ultimately, the Tisdale with I-44 on the west side of town.

The bridge being built over the Arkansas River will cross at 57th West Avenue, and this project will cost around $330 million.

The project was started late in 2019 and Turnpike Authority Leaders expect the highway to be open by November of 2022.

Work on what is being called the Gilcrease Turnpike is wrapping up, with the $340 million project on the western extension of the Gilcrease Expressway expected to be open to traffic sometime near the end of August to early September, officials said.


A Tulsa World tour of the highway on Friday revealed some of the work left: guardrail and cable barrier installation, wiring on highway lights, concrete work on the adjoining foot/bike path, highway striping and the addition of toll cost signs.

Work on the highway was paused Friday due to rain, but it will resume next week.

Gary Evans, with the consulting firm EST, said toll cost signs are among the last pieces to be ordered for the project.

The cost to motorists to travel the state’s shortest turnpike has yet to be decided. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority could decide at its next meeting how much to charge motorists for using the five-mile long highway that connects west Tulsa and Sand Springs to Interstate 44.

Last September, OTA officials said the toll to travel the entire turnpike would be about $2, although specific rates for individual sections had not been estimated.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s next regular board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 23.

T.J. Dill, Oklahoma Turnpike Authority director of construction, said the contractor has set Aug. 29 as the date for the project to be substantially complete. Turnpike officials will then review the work, a process that could take a few weeks, before opening the divided four-lane highway to the public, he said.

Once open, the toll road will connect Interstate 44 just south of West 51st Street to Edison Street, just north of the Arkansas River and U.S. 412.

The project is a collaboration between city, county, state, federal and other officials.

Officially deemed Oklahoma 344, the toll road eventually will connect on the north side to the Gilcrease Expressway, completing the long-awaited transportation loop around the city of Tulsa.

Signs along the highway indicate the speed limit to be 70 mph. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol will have jurisdiction on the turnpike, as it does by contract on other OTA turnpikes.

The highway will feature 22 bridges, including two spanning the Arkansas River.

A 10-foot wide concrete trail will follow the highway’s general alignment, with the path generally on the west side of the road.

Turnpike officials have said they expect about 4,000 vehicles a day to use the highway by the end of the first year it is open.

The road will be owned by the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and will include three cashless toll-collection points.

Cashless collection methods include PikePass and PlatePay, where the bill is sent to the person who holds the registration on a vehicle that passes through a toll point.