Mayor Karl Nail used his time at the recent Coffee with the City to provide another update on the turnpike work and the Chickasaw Nation hospital coming to Newcastle.
Nail, addressing attendees at the police station for the City’s quarterly event, said the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority would be starting on the bridge portion of the East-to-West Connector turnpike east of Portland Avenue in December this year. The bridge will cross the South Canadian River. Nail said OTA has projected taking bids for this work in December, and then construction will begin in the first quarter of 2026. He said OTA’s opening date goal to be driving on this is September 2027.
He said the City has been busy relocating utilities and taking the opportunity to upgrade their facilities, spending a lot of money to address the expected future growth.
Nail said other City projects have been placed on the back burner because of the turnpike activities. He added that the City and OTA have a good partnership. Ultimately, he said, the turnpike will impact the safety of travelers getting in and out of the communities.
The Mayor said the City has been in constant communication with the Chickasaw Nation planners and designers about the new Indian hospital.
He reminded those attending the Coffee that the Chickasaw Nation is building the facility, and the Indian Health Services is staffing the facility. Because of this, the Chickasaws were working for months with their architects and designers, based on the amount of staffing.
Nail said while there are no major plans available right now, projections are for the facility to be 4.2 million square feet and have 5,500 employees. He said it will be transformational for Newcastle, adding that the community may see facilities coming out of the ground within 15-16 months. Phase 1 of the hospital is still scheduled to be complete in four years. Nail added that projections are for 1,000 people a day to have health care in Newcastle. As work gets underway, there will be between 600700 people working on the project.
HOSPITAL on page 2 The City of Newcastle is working with the Chickasaw Nation on water, sewer and roads for the facility. Nail said they aren’t just focusing on roads near the facility, but also on roads through Newcastle such as Country Club which will be used to get people in and out of the hospital and community. Nail said the City has been working on road projects the last couple of years.
HOSPITAL: City working on roads to aid transportation
Other City projects underway include the new $50 million wastewater treatment facility. Nail said the facility is coming online in mid-July. It can be expanded in the future, and will last the City generationally. He said an Open House is being planned and will be announced at a later date.
A second wastewater facility is being planned in the State Highway 9 and State Highway 62 area. Land has been secured for this project — an MBR facility which uses a bioreactor process of vacuuming through membranes to clean water. Nail said this facility will serve the new hospital and all of the area south of the hospital.
In order to address the future growth and determine the City’s needs, staff and administration have been holding planning meetings every two weeks. Nail said they are planning for the long-term future of Newcastle — 3040 years out, adding that the changes in Newcastle will be “astronomical.”
He said, “We want to make this community the best place to live and raise your family.”
