Kickapoo Turnpike (Tulsa, Norman, Edmond: new house, live in, cost)

[MrJester]

They're building a 21 mile turnpike from Luther to around Harrah in Oklahoma County called the Kickapoo turnpike. It passes through mostly rural areas and connects the I 44 with the I 40. I guess it will provide a shortcut between Harrah and Luther, but kind of seems like a funny place to build a turnpike, out in the middle of a mostly rural area. I wonder if OKC is going to sprawl out massively to the East, and soon that corridor will be another suburb. Or maybe the turnpike there will energize the area and a lot of developers will flock there to build new houses--but not sure how that will happen with all the existing farms there.

What do you think about the Kickapoo Turnpike?

[eddie gein]

First of all....

I realize you are new to the area.... but around here we don't do the "the" thing for our Interstates. It's a dead giveaway that you are from Cali..

As for your question...It is an interesting one in that the new road won't really do all that much to help the locals with their commute. It will mostly just allow the people who are traveling from Dallas <>Tulsa or points beyond to bypass most of OKC.

Ironically, the new road will help you avoid traffic snarls but the actual travel miles will be more to get to the same place as going through OKC.

[Threestep2]

It is a turnpike and designed as such to route traffic from local stop and go.


What happens to farms when developers flock to an area? The same as everywhere else considering the demand being created by an influx of residents.

[eddie gein]

Originally Posted by Threestep2

It is a turnpike and designed as such to route traffic from local stop and go.

That's the thing. This turnpike doesn't take you anywhere locally. All the traffic in that area flows east and west. There is absolutely no reason for local people to use it for local commuting. That's why I'm skeptical if there will be a lot of residential development due to the turnpike.

[case44]

It will, nonetheless, be beneficial to the entire east side and to the region. Plus, if I-35 has a serious accident or some other thing that shuts it down for a bit, then this road will come in handy as an alternate route. Mobility will also be improved, as this road will close up a loop "system" around OKC. And truck traffic can use it even if some local residents don't.

[StillwaterTownie]

I've driven on 1-35 to get to OKC for years from Stillwater. If the new turnpike can take traffic off there, like starting by Edmond, that will be nice.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by case44

It will, nonetheless, be beneficial to the entire east side and to the region. Plus, if I-35 has a serious accident or some other thing that shuts it down for a bit, then this road will come in handy as an alternate route. Mobility will also be improved, as this road will close up a loop "system" around OKC. And truck traffic can use it even if some local residents don't.

But if I 35 is clogged, you already have the 74 and 77 to take you up North to connect to I 44 East to Tulsa.

Also, OKC has very little traffic, after all, it's a small metro area. Even during weekday rush hour, taking the Kirkpatrick turnpike from the Mustang Area to Edmond only saves me two or three minutes versus taking only the freeway because there just ain't much congestion at all on I-44 or US-77 or I-35, and it's seldom that all three are clogged at the same time.

At least the Kirkpatrick turnpike does save you time if you live in Yukon and anywhere near the turnpike. But the Kickapoo Turnpike? That will only save you time if you live near it (which few people do, cause it goes through a rural area), or if you're traveling between Fort Smith or Tulsa and DFW, and there's a massive traffic jam on I 44, US 77, and I 35 all at the same time, which seldom happens.

I am definitely very impressed with how many freeways OKC has for a metro area of only 1.3 million. The fact that they are building the Kickapoo Turnpike in a rural area is a sign of how zealous OKC is on improving its freeway infrastructure. I'm just questioning how necessary it is and if the traffic on it will justify the cost to build it.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by eddie gein

As for your question...It is an interesting one in that the new road won't really do all that much to help the locals with their commute. It will mostly just allow the people who are traveling from Dallas <>Tulsa or points beyond to bypass most of OKC.

Ironically, the new road will help you avoid traffic snarls but the actual travel miles will be more to get to the same place as going through OKC.

But if you're driving from Dallas to Tulsa, and I-35 to Kilpatrick Turnpike gets clogged, you can easily bypass that with US-77 or Freeway 74, both of which connect to the Kilpatrick Turnpike to Tulsa. It's very, very seldom, if ever, that I-35, US-77, and Freeway 74 are all clogged at the same time. Actually, OKC traffic is pretty darn smooth flowing, so even just one of those three freeways backing up is unusual, and when it happens, is just for a short section of freeway.

[Threestep2]

Originally Posted by MrJester

But if I 35 is clogged, you already have the 74 and 77 to take you up North to connect to I 44 East to Tulsa.

Also, OKC has very little traffic, after all, it's a small metro area. Even during weekday rush hour, taking the Kirkpatrick turnpike from the Mustang Area to Edmond only saves me two or three minutes versus taking only the freeway because there just ain't much congestion at all on I-44 or US-77 or I-35, and it's seldom that all three are clogged at the same time.

Have you taken a rig or a larger SUV through OKC? I do not know at what time of the day you save 2-3 minutes from Mustang to Edmond on the turnpike.

Originally Posted by MrJester

At least the Kirkpatrick turnpike does save you time if you live in Yukon and anywhere near the turnpike. But the Kickapoo Turnpike? That will only save you time if you live near it (which few people do, cause it goes through a rural area), or if you're traveling between Fort Smith or Tulsa and DFW, and there's a massive traffic jam on I 44, US 77, and I 35 all at the same time, which seldom happens.

Again - it is a turnpike to contain throughtraffic.

Originally Posted by MrJester

I am definitely very impressed with how many freeways OKC has for a metro area of only 1.3 million. The fact that they are building the Kickapoo Turnpike in a rural area is a sign of how zealous OKC is on improving its freeway infrastructure. I'm just questioning how necessary it is and if the traffic on it will justify the cost to build it.

As resident you can vote.

[eddie gein]

The Kickapoo is needed as a bypass for sure. It will help reduce traffic in OKC and allow travelers to avoid traffic snarls in the city. It will still really be bad for people once they get back on I-35 and have to get through Moore and Norman but still it will certainly make things better for anyone trying to just get through OKC.

It really needs to be extended around Norman and Noble and hook into I-35 south of Noble but that would require bridging the Canadian River. Probably will never happen.

Just like the Kilpatrick should have been developed around the southwest before Mustang blew up. That will never happen now.