Tulsa World
By Anna Codutti
April 11, 2023
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is pausing its long-range plan to make improvements and expand the state’s turnpike system.
ACCESS Oklahoma, a 15-year, $5 billion plan, includes the $495 million expansion of the Gilcrease Expressway in Tulsa and $370 million to widen a 12-mile segment of the Will Rogers Turnpike between Claremore and the U.S. 412 interchange near Catoosa.
According to a news release from the state agency Tuesday, the hurdle is “our inability to enter the bond market,” Secretary of Transportation and OTA Executive Director Tim Gatz told the agency’s board in the memo.
“We rely on those revenues to help us make progress,” Gatz said in a news conference Tuesday. “We’ve progressed ACCESS Oklahoma on a pay-as-you-go basis. ... This is as far as we can go without access to those revenue bonds.”
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