Duit wins $53.6 million Toby Keith Expressway job as Oklahoma pours the turnpike's first bridge deck

Duit's contract covers the segment west of I-35, an interchange at Telephone Road, a 0.84-mile widening of Telephone Road and new water lines for Norman, KOKH reported. The authority's board approved three contracts that morning worth about $70.2 million, two of them for the new turnpike, and set aside land for stream restoration to compensate for ACCESS Oklahoma work, according to the Newcastle Pacer.

The awards put eight Toby Keith Expressway projects on the I-44 to I-35 stretch under way or about to start, worth about $328 million together, said Joe Echelle, the authority's executive director. He said two more contracts expected within months will give the turnpike its first continuous link between the two interstates. The first deck went onto the 10 Mile Flats bridges, due to open to traffic in just over a year.

Work is also starting at the west end. State and turnpike officials broke ground on Oct. 22 in Newcastle for a diverging diamond interchange tying the expressway into I-44 and SH-37. Allen Contracting and Shell Construction hold the first-phase contract, which the Pacer lists at $75.3 million, with completion planned for late 2028. OTA plans to have the I-44 to I-35 stretch open with two or more lanes by late 2027.