I-40 map
ation
lah
om
aR
ive
r
I-35
a River
Wheeler Park
Oklahom Shields
Ok
Producers Co-op Mill
Robinson
ge an ch Ex
I-235
Bricktown
reloc
Walker
Pennsylvania
Current construction Completed construction Mixed completion
Agnew
May
I-40
Downtown
Reno
Byers
Existing I-40
Western
I-40 relocation progress
I-40 Crosstown Timeline
Here are some of the milestones in the history of the I-40 Crosstown Expressway:
Jan. 1966
Nov. 1962 First work on I-40 Crosstown Expressway is scheduled to begin next month.
The elevated highway opens Jan. 8, 1966 at a cost of $12.6 million. The crosstown expressway’s official name is the Stanley Draper Expressway. The 1.77-mile stretch of elevated highway between Byers and Western was the state’s first skyway.
Nov. 1974 State highway officials battle serious corrosion problem due to winter use of salt to thaw ice on the highway.
Nov. 1989 April 1978 Re-opening of all lanes on the highway is pushed back after a two-year repair project is delayed.
Oct. 1987 Jan. 1967 Initial portion of expressway celebrates the first anniversary of its opening.
Westbound I-40 traffic is turned onto a newly constructed highway section, with new lanes starting just east of the Dallas junction and extending west to the beginning of the Crosstown.
Cracked support beam on portion of the Crosstown closes large section of eastbound I-40.
At left, a scale model of the relocated I-40 crosstown expressway shown during a public hearing in 2001.
May 2002
Jan. 1996 Citizens Advisory Committee and Technical Advisory Committee formed; first public meeting held to discuss relocating the Crosstown.
July 1996 Seven new potential routes developed, along with an option not to build a new Crosstown Expressway.
Environmental clearance for the project is received.
March 2003 Feb. 2000
First property is cleared.
Oklahoma City completes land use and mitigation plan for the project. State Transportation Department incorporates retaining walls and a pedestrian bridge between Walker and Hudson avenues into the construction plan, commits to creating a nearby park.
April 2004 Final design work begins.
Nov. 2005 Construction begins.
Oct. 2008 Butzer Design Partnership beats out three other teams for the chance to design the pedestrian bridge, SkyDance Bridge, over I-40. The bridge is inspired by the “skydance” of the state bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
May 2009 The Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency, authorizes the relocation of an Oklahoma City railway line that lies in the path of the I-40 Crosstown Expressway project.
Aug. 2010 State Transportation Commission approves first paving contract for the Crosstown relocation.
June 2011
Construction of the Skydance Bridge set to begin in August.
2012
New Crosstown Expressway is slated to open by mid-2012.
lah
om
aR
ive
r
I-35
a River
Wheeler Park
Oklahom Shields
Ok
Producers Co-op Mill
Robinson
ge an ch Ex
I-235
Bricktown
reloc
Walker
Pennsylvania
Current construction Completed construction Mixed completion
Agnew
May
I-40
Downtown
Reno
Byers
Existing I-40
Western
I-40 relocation progress
I-40 Crosstown Timeline
Here are some of the milestones in the history of the I-40 Crosstown Expressway:
Jan. 1966
Nov. 1962 First work on I-40 Crosstown Expressway is scheduled to begin next month.
The elevated highway opens Jan. 8, 1966 at a cost of $12.6 million. The crosstown expressway’s official name is the Stanley Draper Expressway. The 1.77-mile stretch of elevated highway between Byers and Western was the state’s first skyway.
Nov. 1974 State highway officials battle serious corrosion problem due to winter use of salt to thaw ice on the highway.
Nov. 1989 April 1978 Re-opening of all lanes on the highway is pushed back after a two-year repair project is delayed.
Oct. 1987 Jan. 1967 Initial portion of expressway celebrates the first anniversary of its opening.
Westbound I-40 traffic is turned onto a newly constructed highway section, with new lanes starting just east of the Dallas junction and extending west to the beginning of the Crosstown.
Cracked support beam on portion of the Crosstown closes large section of eastbound I-40.
At left, a scale model of the relocated I-40 crosstown expressway shown during a public hearing in 2001.
May 2002
Jan. 1996 Citizens Advisory Committee and Technical Advisory Committee formed; first public meeting held to discuss relocating the Crosstown.
July 1996 Seven new potential routes developed, along with an option not to build a new Crosstown Expressway.
Environmental clearance for the project is received.
March 2003 Feb. 2000
First property is cleared.
Oklahoma City completes land use and mitigation plan for the project. State Transportation Department incorporates retaining walls and a pedestrian bridge between Walker and Hudson avenues into the construction plan, commits to creating a nearby park.
April 2004 Final design work begins.
Nov. 2005 Construction begins.
Oct. 2008 Butzer Design Partnership beats out three other teams for the chance to design the pedestrian bridge, SkyDance Bridge, over I-40. The bridge is inspired by the “skydance” of the state bird, the scissor-tailed flycatcher.
May 2009 The Surface Transportation Board, a federal agency, authorizes the relocation of an Oklahoma City railway line that lies in the path of the I-40 Crosstown Expressway project.
Aug. 2010 State Transportation Commission approves first paving contract for the Crosstown relocation.
June 2011
Construction of the Skydance Bridge set to begin in August.
2012
New Crosstown Expressway is slated to open by mid-2012.
