Governor Kevin Stitt is coming to Newcastle at 10 a.m. Thursday, October 22 at 275 Snow Drive to join with city leaders, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, the Federal Highway Administration and invited community members to commemorate the building of the Toby Keith Expressway I-44 Interchange.
Newcastle City Manager Kevin Self said, “They plan to do a groundbreaking ceremony at 275 Snow Drive for the I-44 interchange. There have been a lot of dignitaries invited including Governor Stitt, Senator James Lankford, Tim Gatz (Oklahoma Turnpike Authority) and Joe Echelle (Oklahoma Department of Transportation).”
Mayor Karl Nail said, “There will be several speakers attending and talk about what this project is going to do for Newcastle and the area. The interchange is a joint project between OTA and ODOT. This is a big deal for Newcastle.”
Nail said the approximate $70 million project, when complete, will be a big help to area motorists as they travel in and out of Newcastle. He said we’ve all dealt with what happens when there is a wreck on I-44. He also said there have always been limited opportunities to drive across the river. The turnpike and the I-44 interchange will help with access, safety and development.
“This will bring more people to the area — bring people who want to call Newcastle home — and we anticipate a whole lot more commercial GROUNDBREAKING on page 3 development,” he said. “There will be increased sales activity and ad valorem to support the schools.”
GROUNDBREAKING: Project overview is online
Nail said growth is coming and can be a struggle. He said every suburb to Oklahoma City is experiencing the same significant pace of growth, with Newcastle being no exception.
“We can help guide the growth, but we can’t stop it,” Nail said. “Having this highway is critical.”
The construction of the I-44 interchange will be in two phases in order to keep the traffic flowing during construction. To see the various projects, you can go online to Accessoklahoma.com.
There is a project overview which has a layering of the plans showing where roadways go, and the planned flyovers.
To see a video from OTA, you go online to newcastlepacer. com and click on the I-44 interchange story, then click on the video.
