Kickapoo Turnpike


The Kickapoo Turnpike is a toll road currently under construction in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.

Route description

The turnpike is set to begin just east of Luther Road, at an at-grade intersection with SE 89th Street, on the Oklahoma–Cleveland county line. It will then head north and feature a southbound-only interchange with I-40 a half-mile later. There are four other interchanges set to be built between its termini: SE 29th Street, Reno Avenue, NE 23rd Street, and Britton Road. A toll plaza is to be constructed on the turnpike in the vicinity of Hefner Road and NE 122nd Street. The Kickapoo Turnpike will end at a trumpet interchange with I-44 in Luther, just east of I-44 exit 146.

History

The turnpike project originally was given the name "Northeast Oklahoma County Loop." The road itself was proposed on October 29, 2015, by Gov. Mary Fallin, as part of the state's Driving Forward initiative. On June 6, 2016, the tollway was approved by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, under the working title Eastern Oklahoma County Turnpike. In September 2019, "Kickapoo Turnpike" was announced as the tollway's official name.

Construction

The first piece of the turnpike to be constructed is the interchange with I-44, at the northern end of the route. Construction on this interchange began in January 2018, and the entire turnpike is expected to be complete by 2021. The cost of constructing the Kickapoo Turnpike has been estimated to be more than $440 million.

Opposition

In January 2016, a group calling itself Citizens Opposed to the Eastern Oklahoma County Loop-Turnpike-Interstate was reported to have created a Facebook page in opposition to the proposed turnpike. Following months of meetings and protests, Neal McCaleb, interim director for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, released a statement saying that, because of public input and the work of engineering professionals, the estimated number of homes that would eventually be lost to construction had been reduced by 22 percent, from 103 houses to 80.
In August 2016, a lawsuit was filed against the OTA, claiming that the agency, in issuing $900 million in bonds to be used for multiple toll road projects, was in violation of the Oklahoma Constitution, which stipulates that laws passed may address only one subject. On December 13, 2016, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of the OTA, stating that the agency had properly authorized the bond issue and given "valid notice of this application."

Tolls

On March 1, 2016, toll rates on all turnpikes in Oklahoma increased for the first time since June 2009. The rate hike was implemented to help fund the Driving Forward initiative, which includes improvements and/or extensions to five other Oklahoma toll roads, as well as the construction of the Kickapoo Turnpike from scratch.

Exit list