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Interstate 35 Widening Public Information
(Oklahoma
Department of
Transportation)
Interstate 35
(Miles 107-146)
Interstate 40
(Miles 133-172)
Interstate 44
(Miles 109-135)
Interstate 235
Interstate 240
U.S. 77
(Broadway Extension)
OK
74
(Lake Hefner Parkway)
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Airport Rd.
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Widening Project Between
Exit 121A (S.E. 82nd St.)
&
Exit 122B (S.E. 59th St.)
Interstate 35 has been widened
throughout south Oklahoma City since the mid-1990s. I remember being
rerouted onto the service roads while the first section was being rebuilt
around S.E. 15th St., and over ten years later, the highway is still in
the process of being widened to three lanes in each direction from
Interstate 40 to U.S. 77 in Norman.
That process, however, is
almost complete! The last major part to be widened is scheduled to be
completed in May 2004. I see the progress on this stretch between S.E.
82nd and S.E. 59th twice a day, five days a week, as I go to and from
college. Along the way, I
have taken a few pictures to show the progress.
On February 19, 2004, the
southbound lanes were shifted from the detour to the two inside lanes of
the new mainline. That was followed two weeks later by the opening of the
two inside northbound lanes on March 6. The right lane ended at
S.E. 89th instead of the left lane for northbound travelers (and at S.E.
59th for southbound travelers), but that lasted for about three months.
The project was completed on May 27, 2004, just in time for Memorial Day
weekend.
The highway is six lanes wide
from S.E. 59th to Interstate 240, and eight lanes wide from Interstate 240
to S.E. 89th. This appears to have been a last minute decision, as the
exit sign for S.E. 82nd St. on southbound has an Exit Only tab. It has
been covered up since I took the pictures of the completed project.
Let's start with how it was
before the construction began, and yes, this part was directly copied from the
Interstate 35 @ OKC Highways page.
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Interstate 35 North at Exit 121A - S.E.
82nd St. This exit no longer exists with
the construction project. (Photo taken
10/4/02) |
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Interstate 35 South at Exit 121A - S.E.
82nd St. This exit, however, will remain,
even though the off-ramp to it will be in
close proximity to the on-ramp from
Interstate 240. (Photo taken 9/4/02) |
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Interstate 35 North at Exit 121B -
Interstate 240 - Lawton/Ft. Smith. This
section of highway is being widened to
six lanes, so this sign no longer exists
either. (Photo taken 10/4/02) |
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Interstate 35 South at Exit 121B - Interstate
240/U.S. 62 West/OK 3 - Lawton/Ft. Smith.
(Photo taken 9/4/02) |
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Interstate 35 North at Exit 122A - S.E. 66th
St. It was kind of sad to see this sign
gantry go, because these were the oldest
exit signs in Oklahoma City. (Photo
taken 8/24/02) |
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Interstate 35 South at Exit 122A - S.E.
66th St. (Photo taken 11/8/02) |
Now for some northbound pictures from May
19, 2003, when construction was just beginning:
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Interstate 35 North
at what was once Exit
121A - S.E.
82nd St. The exit has been
permanently removed
as part of the
widening project taking place in the
area. The overpass was removed so a new
one could be built that can accommodate
six lanes. |
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Interstate 35/U.S.
77 shields near Interstate
240. These shields are now gone. |
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Interstate 35 North
at what is normally Exit
122A - S.E.
66th St. |
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Interstate 35 North
at Exit 122B - S.E. 59th
St. This is
the northern end of the widening
project. |
Perspectives from southbound
on August 9, 2003:
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Interstate 35 South approaching Exit
121B -
Interstate 240/U.S. 62 West -
1/2 mile. |
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Interstate 35 South at Interstate
240
West. |
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Interstate 35 South at Interstate
240
East. |
Finally, one picture from
September 2003 and three pictures from February 2004:
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The new S.E. 82nd St.
overpass, as seen
on September 26, 2003. |
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The new 82nd St. overpass as
seen on
February 13, 2004. The center concrete
median had just been poured a few
days earlier, and the light poles were
put up the day before this picture was taken. |
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Interstate 35 North around
Interstate 240. |
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Interstate 35 North at the
repainted S.E.
66th St. overpass. This bridge did not
need to be torn down, but it did get a
new paint job and some redecking. |
Here is what the area looked
like on March 12, 2004, two weeks
after traffic had been shifted to the new lanes in both directions:
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Interstate 35 North as it
prepares to go
over S.E. 89th St. The right lane now ends
at this interchange. This will be the case
until the construction is complete. |
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The detour route used during
the
construction went off to the right at this
point. |
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The new S.E. 82nd St.
overpass. |
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Interstate 35 North at the
Interstate 240
exit. Access to the service road, S.E.
66th St., and S.E. 59th St. is also
provided from this ramp. |
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The Interstate 240 overpass.
About all
this got was a new bridge clearance
sign. |
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The newly painted S.E. 66th
St. overpass. |
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The northern end of the
widening
project at S.E. 59th St. The exit ramp is
to S.E. 59th, but is closed while the
construction wraps up. |
 |
Now heading southbound; the
view from
Interstate 35 South just south of S.E.
59th St. |
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The S.E. 66th St. overpass
from
southbound. |
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Interstate 35 South at
Interstate 240. |
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The Interstate 240 overpass
from
southbound. |
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The S.E. 82nd St. overpass
from
southbound. |
Here are some pictures of the
new signs on the highway as the construction wrapped up. These pictures
were taken April 28 and May 5, 2004:
Finally, here are the pictures
from the new stretch of Interstate 35! All of these pictures were taken
May 28, 2004, the day after the construction wrapped up.
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Interstate 35 North
approaching the now-
closed S.E. 82nd St. exit. This sign has
still not been replaced as of June 16,
2004, even though the exit has been
closed since February 2003. |
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Interstate 35 North
approaching Exit
121B - JCT Interstate 240/U.S. 62/OK
3 - 1/2 mile, and Exit 122A - S.E. 66th
St. - 1 1/4 miles. |
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Interstate 35 North at Exit
121B -
JCT Interstate 240/U.S. 62/OK 3 -
Lawton/Ft. Smith. |
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Interstate 35 North c/d lane
at
Interstate 240/OK 3 East/TO Interstate
40 - Ft. Smith. |
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Interstate 35 North c/d lane
at
Interstate 240/U.S. 62/OK 3 West -
Lawton. |
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Interstate 35 North at Exit
122A -
S.E. 66th St. This exit ramp is placed
right after the lane from Interstate 240
merges on the highway. This is going
to cause lots of problems in the future. |
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Interstate 35 North at Exit
122B -
S.E. 59th St. |
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Switching directions, this is
Interstate
35 South at Exit 122B - S.E. 59th St.
The middle sign indicated that S.E.
66th St. was closed. The sign had
not been replaced as of June 2004. |
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Interstate 35 South at Exit
122A -
S.E. 66th St. There was an exit tab
added to this sign in the final hours
of the project. |
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Interstate 35 South at Exit
121B -
JCT Interstate 240/U.S. 62/OK 3 -
Lawton/Ft. Smith. Notice the advance
signage for S.E. 82nd St. says S.E.
82th St. |
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Interstate 35 South c/d lane
at Interstate
240/U.S. 62/OK 3 West - Lawton. |
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Interstate 35 South c/d lane
at Interstate
240/OK 3 East/TO Interstate 40 - Ft.
Smith. |
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Interstate 35 South at Exit
121A -
S.E. 82nd St. The "Exit Only" text has
since been greened out, since the right
lane continues to S.E. 89th St. However,
the yellow border on the bottom half
remains. |
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Interstate 35 South at Exit
120 -
S.E. 89th St. The Exit Only tab belongs
here, as the right lane does exit here. |
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