Construction on the US 77 -- Flood Avenue -- overpass has reached a "major milestone" and the bridge would be opened late Tuesday night, officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation said Tuesday afternoon.
ODOT spokesperson Terri Angier said crews were "expected to remove barrier walls Tuesday night" which would allow motorists to use the bridge during morning rush hour today.
"It's opening about two weeks early, according to the contract," she said.
The northbound lanes under the bridge opened late Monday evening, she said.
Angier said motorists on southbound Interstate 35 also will see other improvements this week, when the Robinson Street on and off-ramps are reopened Friday morning.
She said construction on the bridge -- which carries southbound traffic onto U.S. 77 over northbound I-35 -- was scheduled to be completed by the end of July, in time for the fall school term.
"We tried to incorporate the dates of the OU's fall semester and the opening of the OU football season into the construction schedule," she said.
In addition to its early finish, Angier said the overpass incorporates aesthetic treatments which "add a distinctive Oklahoma flair" to the structure.
The bridge -- painted cream and trimmed with crimson-colored support beams -- features embossed designs of the state bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
"This bridge is one of the first major products in the state we've done aesthetic treatments on," she said. Angier said the design was chosen by Norman city officials and is unique to the area.
"This design is specifically for Norman," she said. "We worked with the city a lot on this."
In addition to the new overpass, Angier said the southbound on and off-ramps to Robinson Street were extended and resurfaced.
Other improvements include additional lanes, and safety features such as concrete median barriers and overhead lighting.
The project is part of a $40 million effort to widen the interstate from Indian Hills Road to north of Main Street. The entire project is expected to be finished in the summer of 2010. And while various ramp closures are still expected, Angier said crews plan to keep two lanes in each direction open to traffic during the daytime during construction.
Currently, about 75,000 vehicles use that stretch of I-35 daily, making it one of the state's busiest four-lane stretches of highway.
At the time it was designed in the 1950s, the interstate was expected to carry 25,000 to 30,000 vehicles daily.
M. Scott Carter 366-3545 scarter@normantranscript.com
Local news
US 77 overpass opens early
- Local news
-
-
Theater’s the scene for Norman marketing director
Nancy Coggins landed a job with a prestigious Oklahoma City advertising agency before the ink dried on her OU journalism diploma. The job was a first rung on her career ladder and she admits that it didn’t call for her creative talents. ...
-
New jail to install curtains
The F. DeWayne Beggs Detention Center, though still in its infancy, is getting a facelift: new curtains....
-
Businesses go the extra mile for Valentine’s Day
Among the various images the phrase “Valentine’s Day” might conjure in one’s mind, probably the most immediate is the iconic dozen roses and heart-shaped box of chocolates....
-
New rehabilitation, skilled care center will be next to HealthPlex
StoneGate Senior Living President and CEO John F. Taylor announced Friday that his company has completed the purchase of approximately 6.7 acres of land in the Norman Regional Health System’s Medical Park West project at NW 36th Avenueand ...
-
Mystery performance provides theatrical fatal attraction
James Briggs has a pretty steady day job with the city parks department, doesn’t live anywhere near Little River and probably never owned or slept in a hatchback. He doesn’t usually wear sport coats that are two sizes too small, either ...
-
'Get the Lead Out' annual children's art festival enters 10th year
Longfellow Middle School had a special “GLO” about it Saturday morning....
-
County prisoners moved to new jail
Cleveland County sheriff’s deputies began moving prisoners from the detention center adjacent to the courthouse to the new F. DeWayne Beggs Detention Center at Franklin Road and U.S. 77 early Saturday morning....
-
School board elections Tuesday
Voters go to the polls Tuesday in four Cleveland County school districts. Cleveland County Election Board Secretary Jim Williams said this will be the first election using the new voting system. Polls will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on ...
-
Identity theft crackdown sweeps nation
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department recently announced a national sweep cracking down on suspected identity theft perpetrators as part of a stepped-up effort against refund fraud and identity theft....
-
Darry Stacy seeking county commission seat
Darry Stacy, a fifth generation Oklahoman and lifelong resident of Cleveland County, announced Friday that he will be a Republican candidate for the District 2 Cleveland County commissioner seat....
- More Local news Headlines
-
Theater’s the scene for Norman marketing director
