New interchange planned for U.S. 75 and 141st Street in Glenpool

A controlled-access highway interchange is planned for the intersection of U.S. 75 and 141st Street, currently the site of the only traffic signal on the 38-mile stretch from downtown Tulsa to Okmulgee.

Plans call for a roughly $20 million project to raise U.S. 75 above 141st Street, with ramps and access roads.

“With the growth of Glenpool, … it just grew too fast for us to do upgrades,” ODOT spokesman T.J. Gerlach said.

“We’re going to raise (U.S.) 75 over 141st Street and provide access roads to make sure there is access to nearby businesses and private property owners,” he said.

Glenpool’s population doubled from 6,920 in 1990 to 13,859 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The population has gone up nearly 27% since 2010, from 10,935 that year.

In 2018, the average daily number of vehicles was 39,300 just north of the intersection and 29,600 just south of it, according to ODOT.

The number at the intersection is now 48,260, for increases in the average daily number of vehicles in the past five years of 18.5% just north of the intersection and 38.6% just south of it, according to ODOT traffic counts.

No additional right-of-way acquisition is anticipated for the project.

A public meeting in which people can learn about plans for the new interchange and ask questions is set for 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Glenpool Conference Center, 12205 S. Yukon Ave.

“This will be an open house, come-and-go meeting with no formal presentation,” ODOT said in a news release. “Staff will be available to answer questions.”

A detailed presentation with maps, a description of the project and frequently asked questions is available at odot.org/US75Glenpool.

Many of those materials will be available for public view at the Glenpool information session on Tuesday, Gerlach said.

ODOT requests that all public comments be submitted no later than Dec. 12.

Construction on the project is expected to start next year, but the timing is still subject to state and federal funding, ODOT said. Once construction begins, the new interchange is expected to take a little over a year to complete, ODOT said.

A request for construction bids for the project has not yet gone out, and its $20 million cost is a rough estimate, Gerlach said.

Poe and Associates of Oklahoma City is the consulting engineering firm for the project.

“Glenpool needs this highway infrastructure improvement. It benefits everyone who regularly travels (U.S.) 75 and will help our community grow,” Glenpool City Manager David Tillotson said in a statement.

“We’ve been working with ODOT for some time on this critical project and are pleased to see it coming to fruition,” he said. “We encourage everyone to attend the public meeting happening on Nov. 28.”

U.S. 75 runs from Dallas north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota to the Canadian border.