Tulsa drivers, brace yourselves for a series of ongoing construction projects set to reshape the city's commuting landscape through the next few years. The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) has detailed numerous closures and detours across Tulsa’s key highways, inevitably making traffic a crux of daily navigation.
A significant makeover at the I-44 and US-75 interchange aims to improve traffic flow, with its eyes set on a completion date in the summer of 2028. During this period, the east and westbound I-44 ramps to northbound US-75 are closed, forcing detours via eastbound I-244. Additionally, both the southbound US-75 ramp to westbound I-44 and the ramp to eastbound I-44 are shut, routing drivers through westbound I-244; meanwhile the southbound on-ramp from 41st St. remains closed, Skelly Dr. is sealed off between Union Ave. and Olympia Ave., 51st St. has no access between Jackson Ave. and Olympia Ave., and 46th St. finds itself reduced to a single lane at US-75 equipped with temporary traffic signals, as detailed by ODOT.
Over in Catoosa, the I-44, SH-66 interchange improvement continues through 2026, imposing varying degrees of closures and narrowed lanes. Traffic on east and westbound I-44 and SH-66 experiences shifts and limited merge areas; for instance, the off-ramp to northbound SH-66 from westbound I-44 is monopolized by closure, with a detour in place via the 165th E. Ave. exit. Peak travel times will nevertheless ensure two lanes of traffic on I-44 are kept operational in each direction.
US-75 corridor drivers will have to navigate narrowed lanes between 56th St. N. and 66th St. N. through summer 2026 due to bridge rehabilitation efforts, compounding commutes with only one lane open in each direction for the construction span. In Sand Springs, SH-97 from S. Main St. to W. 2nd St. remains a work in progress for pavement reconstruction until November 2025, with Morrow Rd. at a standstill and Wekiwa Rd. constricted to one lane each way at SH-97, complicating the quest for normal travel cadence. Pertinently, SH-66 won't escape traffic agitation, squeezing to one lane at Bird Creek near Catoosa through early 2026 as part of a bridge replacement project, according to information provided by ODOT.
