Oklahoma City Crosstown

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 This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.
Maintained by ODOT
Length: 4 mi (6 km)
West end: Agnew Ave.
East end: Byers Ave.

The Oklahoma City Crosstown is an elevated four mile (6 km) stretch of Interstate 40 that dissects downtown Oklahoma City from Agnew Avenue to Byers Avenue. It is owned and maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT). It is the primary east-west artery through Oklahoma City, and serves an unofficial dividing line between north and south Oklahoma City (the official dividing line for address purposes is Sheridan Avenue). While the Crosstown designed to withstand 48,000 vehicles a day, it is currently used by nearly 120,000 vehicles a day. The Crosstown was completed in the 1960s using an engineering process commonly termed as "fracture critical" [1], a process that has not been used since the 1970s because it does not provide redundancies.[2] According to Brian Windsor, an ODOT structural engineer, without redundant support, the failure of a single beam creates the risk of total collapse of that section of bridge.[3] The entire stretch of the Crosstown is elevated, and at some points, the elevation is as much as 50 feet (15.2 m). Other safety problems of the existing Crosstown include falling chunks of concrete and a lack of shoulders or breakdown lanes. In an August 2007 poll sponsored by The Oklahoman, nearly ⅔ of respondents indicated that they were "afraid to drive across the Crosstown bridge in Oklahoma City". [4]

Contents

[edit] I-40

Main articles: Interstate 40 and Interstate 40 in Oklahoma

Constructed nearly fifty years ago, Interstate 40 (I-40) stretches from Wilmington, North Carolina to Barstow, California. The highway roughly traces the path of historical Route 66 west of Oklahoma City.[5]

[edit] Oklahoma City Crosstown

The Oklahoma City Crosstown is the busiest of Oklahoma's many aging bridges. According to a 2006 report, Oklahoma leads the nation with 6,299 "structurally deficient" bridges.[6] Attention to the Crosstown project increased after the collapse of a stretch of I-35 in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 1, 2007. At that time, ODOT released a statement indicating that the condition of the Crosstown was "deteriorating", but that it "remained safe."[7] Concerns about whether the Crosstown will last until its 2012 replacement date increased on September 23, 2007, when a hole in the Crosstown resulted in closure of all but one lane and created significant traffic delays.

[edit] Project status

In May, 2002 federal funding was secured to finance replacement of the Oklahoma City Crosstown. Rather than replace the existing structure, a new stretch of I-40 will be constructed about five blocks south of the current location. Initial estimates of the Crosstown replacement project were that the project would take 8 years with a completion date of 2010,[8] and would cost $360 million dollars.[9] The most recent revision to this estimate was released in July 2007, and indicated that the project will be completed in 2012 and will cost $557 million. The new Crosstown will have ten lanes for traffic, is being designed to carry 145,000 vehicles per day, and will have shoulders for disabled vehicles.

[edit] Project timeline

  1. January 1996 — Citizens advisory committee formed.[10]
  2. December 1998 — ODOT chooses route for new Crosstown[11]
  3. February 7, 2001 — Formal public hearing held at the Myriad Convention Center.[11]
  4. May 12, 2002 — ODOT announces federal funding secured.[12]
  5. May 13, 2002 — Kick off meeting/groundbreaking.
  6. March 20, 2003 — Acquisition of all occupied residential property completed.[13]
  7. August 1, 2005 — Construction contract awarded to Muskogee Bridge Company.[14]
  8. July 2007 — The first section of the new Crosstown Expressway . Three sections, including two 80 foot long bridges and one railroad bridge were completed.[15]
  9. August 1, 2007 — Collapse of I-35 bridge in Minnesota
  10. September 20, 2007 — Hole in Crosstown closed all but one lane of traffic and created significant traffic delays.
  11. November 29, 2007 - Hole in Crosstown closed all but one lane of westbound traffic east of Robinson Avenue. [16]
  12. March 14, 2008 - Hole in Crosstown closed all but one lane of westbound traffic.[citation needed]
  13. March 28, 2008 - Hole in Crosstown closed all but one lane of westbound traffic from the I-235 junction to Classen Boulevard. [17]

[edit] Neighborhood displacement

Residents of two neighborhoods were displaced by construction of the new Crosstown Expressway. Construction resulted in the demolition of 165 properties in the Walnut Grove and Riverside neighborhoods.[18]

[edit] Future land use (Core To Shore)

After the completion of the new I-40 Crosstown, the existing bridge will be demolished. While ODOT is responsible for the relocation of the I-40 Crosstown and the subsequent demolition of the existing structure, the city of Oklahoma City will take the lead in determining the future use of the land currently occupied by the existing crosstown. On June 20, 2006 the Oklahoma City Council [19] announced a $387,000 contract for professional consulting services with the URS Coroporation to "to recommend specific actions to facilitate redevelopment within the area impacted by the relocation of the downtown section of I-40, Reno Avenue, new I-40 alignment, Western Avenue and I-35/I-235" [19]

On October 5, 2006, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett introduced the 'Core to Shore' project team which has the task of "planning and developing the area south of downtown and north of the Oklahoma River where Interstate 40 currently runs." [20] This team consists of community leaders as well as representatives from URS Corp.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Southerland, Paul. "Crosstown close up", The Daily Oklahoman, 2007-08-05, p. A11. 
  2. ^ Transportation Resource Board. Development of system fracture analysis methods and inspection standards for fracture critical steel bridges. 12 December 2006. Available at http://rip.trb.org/browse/dproject.asp?n=12670
  3. ^ The Oklahoman. 2007 August 05 Page 11A
  4. ^ The Oklahoman. 2007 August 09 Page 2A
  5. ^ Interstate 40 @ Interstate-Guide.com
  6. ^ TRIP. 2006. Bridge conditions 2006. http://www.tripnet.org/BridgeConditions2006.pdf
  7. ^ ODOT. 2007 Crosstown bridge remains safe. 02 August. http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/press/07-000_crosstown_bridge_remains_safe.pdf
  8. ^ Oklahoma Department of Transportation. n.d. I-40 Crosstown Expressway estimated future timeline. http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Est-Future-Timeline.pdf
  9. ^ U.S. Office of Management and Budget. 2005. I-40 Oklahoma City Crosstown Expressway earmark. http://www.earmarks.omb.gov/earmarks/earmark_189756.html
  10. ^ http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Time-Line-of-Events.pdf
  11. ^ a b http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/I-40_Crosstown_History.pdf
  12. ^ http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Crosstown-NR5-13.pdf
  13. ^ http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Benchmark_With_Crosstown_Property_Acquisition.pdf
  14. ^ http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/080105_I40_Crosstown_First_Construction.pdf
  15. ^ McNutt, Michael. 2007. Paving the way. The Daily Oklahoman 06 July. Section A Page 15.
  16. ^ http://purl.oclc.org/NET/1-40_Crosstown_OKC/07_11_29_Closure.pdf
  17. ^ Officials: I-40 Crosstown Down To 1 Lane Due To Hole - Oklahoma City News Story - KOCO Oklahoma City
  18. ^ ODOT. 2003. ODOT hits benchmark with I-40 crosstown property acquisition. Press Release 03-018. 20 March. http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Benchmark_With_Crosstown_Property_Acquisition.pdf
  19. ^ a b The City of Oklahoma City Journal of Council Proceedings Regular City Council Meeting June 20, 2006 http://www.okc.gov/council/council_library/minutes/060620.pdf
  20. ^ Core to Shore Steering Committee Meeting Synopsis, October 05 2006 [1]

[edit] External links