A new, completely redesigned interchange at one of Tulsa’s busiest intersections is about to open to traffic.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is completing a “diverging diamond” interchange at the intersection of Memorial Drive/U.S. 64 and the Creek Turnpike/U.S. 169 in south Tulsa.
“This is a heavily congested interchange, and travelers experience significant delays at the current access points,” ODOT said in a news release.
The contractor will begin moving traffic into the final configuration on Memorial Drive at 9 a.m. Monday, with that work to be completed by 3 p.m.
Drivers on U.S. 169 and Creek Turnpike ramps, as well as Memorial Drive, may experience intermittent closures as work continues, according to ODOT. The area will remain an active construction zone with active lane closures through June, the agency said.
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“Drivers should use caution as they enter the reconfigured interchange for the first few times,” ODOT said.
The new design “reduces several left turn conflict points and congestion by shifting traffic to the opposite side of the roadway at the ramp areas through a series of traffic signals,” the agency said.
Vehicles traveling through the diverging diamond cross over to the opposite side of the roadway so that left turns no longer cross the path of oncoming traffic.
“While crossing to the opposite side of the road may sound confusing, vehicles are guided through the interchange via use of channelized islands, and signing and striping enhancements on the roadway make the routes very clear for drivers to get accustomed to the new design,” ODOT said.
“Removing left turns from the traffic signals greatly increases the number of vehicles that can pass through the signal during a cycle.”
A conventional diamond interchange has 18 conflict points, or locations where collisions can occur. A diverging diamond reduces the number to eight, ODOT said.
More than 200 diverging diamond interchanges have been completed across the country since the first one opened in Springfield, Missouri, in June 2009.
“The original DDI constructed in Springfield … reduced collisions by 60% over five months,” ODOT said.
“A survey done by the Missouri DOT shows that 97% of drivers feel safer using the new DDI. Daily traffic backups that were up to a mile long were completely eliminated after the DDI was completed.”
The first DDI in Oklahoma was recently completed in Elk City at Interstate 40 and Oklahoma 6.