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OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority last week approved several resolutions to issue $1 billion in revenue bonds for a long-term project and the agency's 2025 budget request. The bond revenue will go to ACCESS Oklahoma, a turnpike expansion and improvement project that was initially supposed to cost $5 billion. The new estimate is $8.
2 billion and the increase is due to 60% inflation in material and labor costs since the announcement of the program in 2021, according to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. "The highway transportation industry is not tracking inflation-wise with the cost of a loaf of bread or a gallon of milk. We are experiencing a higher inflation rate and there are lots of causes to it," Executive Director Joe Echelle said Friday in his report to the board.
"Everything in this plan is more expensive and I do mean every line item is more expensive than when we estimated this three years ago." People are also reading..
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OTA says it is focusing on easing traffic congestion on turnpikes in metro areas, moving freight more efficiently across the state and connecting more communities to the turnpikes by adding interchanges. The budget request from OTA, which was approved by the board, includes $156 million for operations and maintenance. The budget includes money for eight more Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers, market adjustment of employee salaries due to inflation and an increased amount to pay for software subscriptions.
The board also approved a $1.3 million operations and maintenance budget for Gilcrease Expressway. The Tulsa World is where your story lives.
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