By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
Yukon-area motorists who drive along Interstate 40 east of Canadian County must wait through the summer before a Rockwell Avenue bridge rehabilitation project is finished.
Drivers have faced increased vehicle “bottlenecking” that occurs during “rush hour” and other peak traffic times on I-40 between Council Road and MacArthur Boulevard.
I-40 has been narrowed at Rockwell Avenue and Rockwell has been closed near Reno Avenue through this summer, according to an Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) traffic advisory.
“We highly encourage motorists to expect delays and plan extra travel time on I-40 at Rockwell through the end of summer,” ODOT spokeswoman Lisa Shearer-Salim said. “Motorists will need to be especially alert and put away distractions while traveling this area.”
This project will rehabilitate the Rockwell Avenue bridge over I-40 in western Oklahoma City. The work includes repairs to the bridge deck and structural elements underneath Rockwell.
The ODOT traffic advisory lists these closures:
- I-40 has been narrowed to two lanes in each direction between MacArthur (mm 144) and Council (mm 142);
- Rockwell is closed between S.W. 3rd and the south I-40 Service Road “through summer 2022”. All through traffic has been detoured to MacArthur; local traffic will be able to access I-40 south of Rockwell via the eastbound I-40 on- and off-ramps;
- Southbound Rockwell will be narrowed to one lane and open to local traffic only from Reno to S.W. 3rd on Mondays through late February.
During ODOT’s construction project:
- The I-40 lanes have been shifted under the Rockwell Avenue bridge;
- The speed limit has been reduced to 55 miles per hour in the construction zone.
- While the I-40 on- and off-ramps at Rockwell will remain open, traffic will not be able to cross the Rockwell bridge over I-40.
WHEATLAND CONTRACTOR
K & R Builders Inc. is the contractor for the Rockwell Avenue bridge rehabilitation project.
ODOT awarded the Wheatland company a more-than $1 million contract, which calls for an eight-month construction.
Nearly 21,000 vehicles travel Rockwell in this area each day, on average. Traffic volumes on I-40 in this area are more than 85,000 vehicles per day.
