Oklahoma City Crosstown

Infobox road
marker_

road_name=Oklahoma City Crosstown
length_mi=4
direction_a=West
direction_b=East
terminus_a=Agnew Ave.
terminus_b=Byers Ave.
maint=ODOT

The Oklahoma City Crosstown is an elevated four mile (6 km) stretch of Interstate 40 that dissects downtown Oklahoma City from Agnew Avenue to Byers Avenue. It is owned and maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT). It is the primary east-west artery through Oklahoma City, and serves an unofficial dividing line between north and south Oklahoma City (the official dividing line for address purposes is Sheridan Avenue). While the Crosstown designed to withstand 48,000 vehicles a day, it is currently used by nearly 120,000 vehicles a day. The Crosstown was completed in the 1960s using an engineering process commonly termed as "fracture critical" cite news |first=Paul |last=Southerland |title=Crosstown close up |work=The Daily Oklahoman |page=A11 |date=2007-08-05 ] , a process that has not been used since the 1970s because it does not provide redundancies. [Transportation Resource Board. Development of system fracture analysis methods and inspection standards for fracture critical steel bridges. 12 December 2006. Available at http://rip.trb.org/browse/dproject.asp?n=12670] According to Brian Windsor, an ODOT structural engineer, without redundant support, the failure of a single beam creates the risk of total collapse of that section of bridge. ["The Oklahoman." 2007 August 05 Page 11A] The entire stretch of the Crosstown is elevated, and at some points, the elevation is as much as 50 feet (15.2 m). Other safety problems of the existing Crosstown include falling chunks of concrete and a lack of shoulders or breakdown lanes. In an August 2007 poll sponsored by "The Oklahoman", nearly ⅔ of respondents indicated that they were "afraid to drive across the Crosstown bridge in Oklahoma City". ["The Oklahoman." 2007 August 09 Page 2A ]

I-40

Constructed nearly fifty years ago, Interstate 40 (I-40) stretches from Wilmington, North Carolina to Barstow, California. The highway roughly traces the path of historical U.S. Route 66 west of Oklahoma City. [ [http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-040.html Interstate 40 @ Interstate-Guide.com ] ]

Oklahoma City Crosstown

The Oklahoma City Crosstown is the busiest of Oklahoma's many aging bridges. According to a 2006 report, Oklahoma leads the nation with 6,299 "structurally deficient" bridges. [TRIP. 2006. Bridge conditions 2006. http://www.tripnet.org/BridgeConditions2006.pdf] Attention to the Crosstown project increased after the collapse of a stretch of I-35 in Minneapolis, Minnesota on August 1, 2007. At that time, ODOT released a statement indicating that the condition of the Crosstown was "deteriorating", but that it "remained safe." [ODOT. 2007 Crosstown bridge remains safe. 02 August. http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/press/07-000_crosstown_bridge_remains_safe.pdf] Concerns about whether the Crosstown will last until its 2012 replacement date increased on September 23, 2007, when a hole in the Crosstown resulted in closure of all but one lane and created significant traffic delays.

Project status

In May 2002, federal funding was secured to finance replacement of the Oklahoma City Crosstown. Rather than replace the existing structure, a new stretch of I-40 will be constructed about five blocks south of the current location. Initial estimates of the Crosstown replacement project were that the project would take 8 years with a completion date of 2010, [Oklahoma Department of Transportation. n.d. I-40 Crosstown Expressway estimated future timeline. http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Est-Future-Timeline.pdf ] and would cost $360 million dollars. [U.S. Office of Management and Budget. 2005. I-40 Oklahoma City Crosstown Expressway earmark. http://www.earmarks.omb.gov/earmarks/earmark_189756.html] The most recent revision to this estimate was released in July 2007, and indicated that the project will be completed in 2012 and will cost $557 million. The new Crosstown will have ten lanes for traffic, is being designed to carry 145,000 vehicles per day, and will have shoulders for disabled vehicles.

More recently, the Crosstown project has come under serious controversy. In an era of rising energy prices, numerous citizen's groups are challenging the project. Oklahoma City's Union Station, with a 10-track right-of-way through the heart of Oklahoma City, would be ripped up and replaced by a 10 lane freeway. An unprecedented ruling in June of 2008 by the Federal Surface Transportation Board held that the BNSF railway made fraudulent representations in their request for abandonment of the freight line that would enable the Crosstown, and denied the abandonment.

Project timeline

#January 1996 — Citizens advisory committee formed. [http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Time-Line-of-Events.pdf]
#December 1998 — ODOT chooses route for new Crosstownhttp://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/I-40_Crosstown_History.pdf]
#February 7, 2001 — Formal public hearing held at the Myriad Convention Center.
#May 12, 2002 — ODOT announces federal funding secured. [http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Crosstown-NR5-13.pdf]
#May 13, 2002 — Kick off meeting/groundbreaking.
#March 20, 2003 — Acquisition of all occupied residential property completed. [http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Benchmark_With_Crosstown_Property_Acquisition.pdf]
#August 1, 2005 — Construction contract awarded to Muskogee Bridge Company. [http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/080105_I40_Crosstown_First_Construction.pdf]
#July 2007 — The first section of the new Crosstown Expressway . Three sections, including two convert|80|ft|m|sing=on long bridges and one railroad bridge were completed. [McNutt, Michael. 2007. Paving the way. "The Daily Oklahoman" 06 July. Section A Page 15.]
#August 1, 2007 — Collapse of I-35 bridge in Minnesota
#September 20, 2007 — Hole in Crosstown closed all but one lane of traffic and created significant traffic delays.
#November 29, 2007 - Hole in Crosstown closed all but one lane of westbound traffic east of Robinson Avenue. [ http://purl.oclc.org/NET/1-40_Crosstown_OKC/07_11_29_Closure.pdf ]
#March 14, 2008 - Hole in Crosstown closed all but one lane of westbound traffic.Fact|date=March 2008
#March 28, 2008 - Hole in Crosstown closed all but one lane of westbound traffic from the I-235 junction to Classen Boulevard. [ [http://www.koco.com/news/15735162/detail.html Officials: I-40 Crosstown Down To 1 Lane Due To Hole - Oklahoma City News Story - KOCO Oklahoma City ] ]
#August 20, 2008 - Hole in I-40 - Closed lanes [http://www.koco.com/news/17247180/detail.html?rss=okl&psp=news]

Neighborhood displacement

Residents of two neighborhoods were displaced by construction of the new Crosstown Expressway. Construction resulted in the demolition of 165 properties in the Walnut Grove and Riverside neighborhoods. [ODOT. 2003. ODOT hits benchmark with I-40 crosstown property acquisition. Press Release 03-018. 20 March. http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/press/Benchmark_With_Crosstown_Property_Acquisition.pdf ]

Future land use (Core To Shore)

After the completion of the new I-40 Crosstown, the existing bridge will be demolished. While ODOT is responsible for the relocation of the I-40 Crosstown and the subsequent demolition of the existing structure, the city of Oklahoma City will take the lead in determining the future use of the land currently occupied by the existing crosstown. On June 20, 2006, the Oklahoma City Council The City of Oklahoma CityJournal of Council Proceedings Regular City Council Meeting June 20, 2006 http://www.okc.gov/council/council_library/minutes/060620.pdf] announced a $387,000 contract for professional consulting services with the URS Coroporation to "to recommend specific actions to facilitate redevelopment within the area impacted by the relocation of the downtown section of I-40, Reno Avenue, new I-40 alignment, Western Avenue and I-35/I-235"

On October 5, 2006, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett introduced the 'Core to Shore' project team which has the task of "planning and developing the area south of downtown and north of the Oklahoma River where Interstate 40 currently runs." [Core to Shore Steering Committee Meeting Synopsis, October 05 2006 [http://www.okc.gov/planning/coretoshore/documents/061005_steering_notes.pdf] ] This team consists of community leaders as well as representatives from URS Corp.

References

External links

* [http://www.okc.gov/planning/coretoshore/index.html Core to Shore Planning Project, City of Oklahoma City]
* [http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/index.htm Oklahoma Department of Transportation - Public Information]
* [http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/newsmedia/i40-okc/index.htm Oklahoma Department of Transportation - I-40 Relocation Project]