The Oklahoma Transportation Commission during their Monday, June 5 meeting approved a contract to move forward on reconstructing the U.S. Interstate 35 and State Highway 9W interchange south of Newcastle.
Approved at the commission meeting was an up to $105 million project to reconstruct the I-35 and SH-9W interchange in order for it to be able to accommodate heavy traffic in the area. The project will convert the interchange into a Divergent Diamond Interchange configuration, similar to the one now in use in Elk City at U.S. Interstate 40 and Main Street.
The project will also expand I-35 to six lanes from the Canadian River south to the Goldsby interchange. The reconstruction will begin this fall and is expected to complete in summer of 2026.
The commission voted to approve the annual update to the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges Plan for Federal Fiscal Years 2024 through 2028. The plan includes $804 million for reconstruction or rehabilitation of 176 county bridges and improvements to nearly 400 miles of county roads during the next five years.
The CIRB program uses designated state funding administered by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation combined with federal, local and tribal funds for the highest priority county trans- portation projects. McClain County has three projects on the CIRB Plan. The first includes work in 2023 on bridges and approaches over an unnamed creek located .4 miles east of I-35 on 280th Street.
Another project is in 2024 for bridge and approaches over Sandy Creek, located 3 miles west and .4 miles north of Woody Chapel.
The third is a 2027 project which will provide engineering on a five-mile stretch of road to reconstruct Cotton Gin Avenue, from State Highway 59 south two miles to 120th Street, then west one mile to North 3180 Road, then south two miles to 100th Street.
The CIRB plan is updated annually in partnership between county commissioners, their Circuit Engineering Districts and ODOT.
