New I-244 Bridge

[Conan71]

I drove by Yale/I44 Westbound and was almost sure it was open this weekend.

I've done the same tests you've done Conan.  Have you tried Highway 51 out of my neighborhood to 75N to 244W?  I've been using that.

As of last Thursday night, there's no WB entrance open on I-44 west of 41st St. until Lewis.  The frontage road is open at Yale but I don't think there will be an entrance at Yale until all the WB lanes are open.  I have considered the 244 detour, but what happens when they take down the bridge.  That will be another cluster F...

Actually, I plan to commute via bike 3-4 days a week now, so I'll just take the bike route starting at 36th St.  I left my old truck at work so I will have a vehicle when I need it during the work day.

[Townsend]

  I have considered the 244 detour, but what happens when they take down the bridge.  That will be another cluster F...

I'm hoping for other options to become easier by then.  I have no idea how long until they blow it up and create a new low water dam there.  Look out Aquaman!

[Hoss]

I live near 31st & Yale and work off Hwy 75 and West 41st.  They are determined my commute will be pure hell for at least the next year or two.  Once they get a westbound Yale on-ramp to I-44 operational again, it will get easer....no...wait, that will be about the time they start construction on the Lewis segment of I-44.

I'm trying all sorts of things, so far, 31st to Riverside, to 21st bridge to SWB, has worked okay, just a lot of stop lights on my commute.

When I worked at 23rd and Jackson and lived at 16th and Memorial, I found out nearly 4 years too late that the 15th to Harvard/21st to Jackson over the River Bridge was quicker than my old commute of north on Memorial to I-244 and get off by the refinery.  And less mileage.

[Conan71]

When I worked at 23rd and Jackson and lived at 16th and Memorial, I found out nearly 4 years too late that the 15th to Harvard/21st to Jackson over the River Bridge was quicker than my old commute of north on Memorial to I-244 and get off by the refinery.  And less mileage.

Unfortunately with a growth in density along the 21st St. Corridor, especially near St. John's, you can get some pretty good congestion heading west.

[Hoss]

Unfortunately with a growth in density along the 21st St. Corridor, especially near St. John's, you can get some pretty good congestion heading west.

I got it worse back then when they were doing all that construction in the late 90s/early 00s.  My brother was the electrical foreman for the St John's build.

[YoungTulsan]

Unfortunately with a growth in density along the 21st St. Corridor, especially near St. John's, you can get some pretty good congestion heading west.

Actually now that Utica from 21st to Terwilliger is under construction, East/West on 21st @ Utica is a green light for about 5 minutes, then North/South on Utica gets about 30 seconds to proceed.   I think 21st & Wheeling got left on a stupid timer from when the water main break construction was going on, and no one bothered to fix it though.  Consider taking the neighborhood streets.   That is a scenic area of town

[TheArtist]

  If you don't like road construction and delays, you should try living where I do behind the Promenade.  First it was widening Yale, then the highway overpass/interchange over Yale, then Darlington.  Now its messing with 41st, the exits and entrances from the highway to Yale, (sometimes they are open, sometimes you have to exit the highway at Sheridan or Lewis and not Yale, you never can really know) and now the area of 41st going over the highway is a mess.  West bound off Yale and onto the highway was closed for the longest time though it looked done to me so have no idea why it was closed. Sometimes almost all my potential exits going south from my house and east and west are messed up and rerouted.  Egads, I will be glad when its all over lol.  Been at least 7 years I have been here and something has been under construction.  The only consolation I have is that when I am home, just about everything I need is right nearby.  Its trying to get to another part of town for work or meetings thats the challenging part lol.   Will be stellar when its all done.... whenever that will be.

[Townsend]

  If you don't like road construction and delays, you should try living where I do behind the Promenade.  First it was widening Yale, then the highway overpass/interchange over Yale, then Darlington.  Now its messing with 41st, the exits and entrances from the highway to Yale, (sometimes they are open, sometimes you have to exit the highway at Sheridan or Lewis and not Yale, you never can really know) and now the area of 41st going over the highway is a mess.  West bound off Yale and onto the highway was closed for the longest time though it looked done to me so have no idea why it was closed. Sometimes almost all my potential exits going south from my house and east and west are messed up and rerouted.  Egads, I will be glad when its all over lol.  Been at least 7 years I have been here and something has been under construction.  The only consolation I have is that when I am home, just about everything I need is right nearby.  Its trying to get to another part of town for work or meetings thats the challenging part lol.   Will be stellar when its all done.... whenever that will be.

The overall project is expected to be complete in 2013.

This doesn't include the Sheridan project but I'd hazard that won't take much longer than 2013.

http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i44riverside/index.htm

[TheTed]

This project has diverted a far higher percentage of lost idiots to the southwest corner of downtown. The Houston exit from the BA (where people are forced off) is just full of morons who don't have any clue where they're going.

It used to be a fairly quiet intersection. Now you can pretty much count on someone trying to kill you with completely ridiculous and unpredictable turns.

I see they've even put up a big "no through traffic" sign at the hospital there to prevent idiots from clogging up the hospital entrance.

Even that crazy Mayfest trucker nutjob exited there.

[Townsend]

This project has diverted a far higher percentage of lost idiots to the southwest corner of downtown. The Houston exit from the BA (where people are forced off) is just full of morons who don't have any clue where they're going.

It's diverted this idiot to 75N for now until I can't do that anymore then I'll prob help clog up 23rd, SW BLVD, or I44.

If you live or work on the West side of the river...you're inconvenienced until 2013 or 2014.

[TheTed]

It's diverted this idiot to 75N for now until I can't do that anymore then I'll prob help clog up 23rd, SW BLVD, or I44.

If you live or work on the West side of the river...you're inconvenienced until 2013 or 2014.

Are Southwest Blvd or 23rd ever really crowded? I've never seen that many cars on them. Maybe I just haven't seen them at rush hours. But mid-day they seem fairly quiet.

[Townsend]

Are Southwest Blvd or 23rd ever really crowded? I've never seen that many cars on them. Maybe I just haven't seen them at rush hours. But mid-day they seem fairly quiet.

The lines can be long heading West on 23rd at the intersection.  SW Blvd isn't bad for now but the switch over might be problematic.  Time will tell.

[Hoss]

The lines can be long heading West on 23rd at the intersection.  SW Blvd isn't bad for now but the switch over might be problematic.  Time will tell.

SW Blvd turning south from 23rd could be kinda nasty at times.  It's been over 10 years since I worked over there with any regularity (23rd and Jackson to be specific), but I also took the 21st Street bridge and east on 21st home (at the time I was living at 16th and Memorial).

[Conan71]

It's diverted this idiot to 75N for now until I can't do that anymore then I'll prob help clog up 23rd, SW BLVD, or I44.

If you live or work on the West side of the river...you're inconvenienced until 2013 or 2014.

I made the commute to my office via bike last Thursday for the first time, 45 minutes including adding in some miles by riding north to the SW Blvd bridge then back to the soccer fields south of PSO then up W. 41st to my office.  I'll be doing it a whole lot more especially after that major clusterf*ck starts up.

[rdj]

This bridge is going to cause traffic to really snarl in the SW corner of the IDL/244/75.