The state is seeking comment on a proposed overpass to be built in Glenpool.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is aiming to improve traffic flow by elevating US-75 over 141st Street. Entrance ramps and turnarounds will be constructed, and three median openings on I-75 will be closed.
The changes are needed, ODOT says, because of an increase in projected traffic. Currently, 48,260 vehicles pass through the intersection every day. In 2055, ODOT projects 75,820 daily.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of Glenpool already increased about 4% between April 2020 and July 2022.
At a public meeting Tuesday night, some residents who live near the project expressed concern about noise from the elevated highway. Craig Moody of contracted engineering firm Poe & Associates said the company’s current assessment doesn’t warrant noise barriers.
“You either have to have a continuous wall all the way or, you know, if you have hot spots, locations, receptors we call them, you can’t break up the wall. And to build those walls it does cost quite a bit of money, so right now we’re not planning on adding any noise walls,” said Moody.
A noise study shows picnic tables at the Muscogee Nation Recreational Center and Lambert Park will be affected.
Garver, another engineering firm, has been contracted by ODOT to update an environmental assessment first completed in 2002.
The overpass’ planned cost is $27.5 million. Officials say it will take a year to complete, and the project start date is summer 2024.
You can see maps and leave comments online here. Comments are due by Dec. 12.
