Crews poured the first concrete bridge deck on the Toby Keith Expressway on Tuesday, October 8, the same morning the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority Board awarded three new construction contracts totaling about $70.2 million, with two of those for the new turnpike.
The board also approved a dedicated stream restoration site to offset ACCESS Oklahoma construction. Related story in this issue of the Newcastle Pacer.
Duit Construction Co. won a $53.6 million contract to build the Toby Keith Expressway between South Santa Fe Avenue and South Telephone Road west of I-35, including an interchange at Telephone Road.
The project also widens 0.84 miles of Telephone Road and includes water line work for the City of Norman. Manhattan Road & Bridge won an $11.9 million contract to build turnpike bridges over Santa Fe Avenue.
The awards bring the number of Toby Keith Expressway projects underway or about to start between I-44 and I-35 to eight, totaling about $328 million, said OTA Executive Director Joe Echelle.
Two more projects expected in the next few months will complete the turnpike’s first connection between the interstates.
Echelle shared photos of that morning’s deck pour on the corridor’s bridges, known as the 10 Mile Flats, which are expected to open to traffic in a little more than a year.
“This is the very first bridge deck pour to be done on the Toby Keith Expressway,” Echelle said. “So, the first real concrete is being laid this morning.”
