Edmond's notorious intersection at Danforth Road and Kelly Avenue, acknowledged for its perilous traffic conditions, is slated to commence a much-needed $9 million safety upgrade starting, September 8, as confirmed by city officials who were interviewed by KFOR and KOCO. The intersection which sees a daily deluge of approximately 50,000 vehicles, surged to the top of Edmond's charts as the locale with the highest crash rates in 2024.
The construction plan involves intricate engineering, it aims to integrate dual left-turn lanes at every approach, and the inclusion of right-turn lanes on both Danforth and southbound Kelly, the iterations are expected to alleviate the traffic bottlenecks that have long plagued local commuters. Moreover, the addition of raised center medians surfaced in discussions as another strategy to refine vehicle flow and safety, a detail echoed in KFOR's coverage of the city’s project announcement.
Efforts transcend the basic alterations to the asphalt as they also touch on the needs of pedestrians with sidewalk replacements that align with the Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The infrastructure overhaul encapsulates a fresh traffic light system as well with the spotlight on Hawthorne Lane and Kelly Avenue, a site that flanks the current focus area to the south, shared News 9.
As bulldozers prepare to rumble and shape a safer commute, travelers can anticipate temporary traffic signals and sporadic lane closures that will mark the territory of progress in the interim for what may span a stretch of approximately seven months, weather and unforeseen circumstances in infrastructure notwithstanding, while the City of Edmond has poured over $2.3 million from its coffers into the venture, bolstered by federal funding, the full execution of the project rests under the vigilant gaze of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, as per additional details gleaned from News 9's report.
