After almost four years, the $152 million dollar highway reconstruction project on US-69/75 is finally completed. Making it official, members of ODOT, The Choctaw Nation, and city officials from both Durant and Calera held a ribbon cutting ceremony on the Rose Hill Bridge on November 3. The four-mile stretch of highway between Calera and Durant underwent a complete overhaul in early 2020aftera$62milliondollar Federal FASTLANE grant was received to help with the funding of the project. With almost 100,000 tons of asphalt and 2.5 million pounds of reinforced steel the “Commerce Connection” is a major highway corridor connecting Texas and Missouri to Southeastern Oklahoma.
ODOT District Two Engineer Anthony Echelle said the new project was needed.
“This project allowed for increased efficiency with the elimination of traffic signals which minimizes conflict points and stop-and-go traffic,” said Echelle. “Citizens benefit from six east to west connections reaching both sides of the community without having to interact with the high-speed highway.”
Prior to the reconstruction of this part of US-69/75, the local communities were experiencing an influx of high traffic making this area a safety concern. Removing the stop lights and adding new lanes and improving the one-way frontage roads have addressed these and many other issues.
ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz said the improvements helps with safety issues.
“These improvements to US-69/75 further expand this modern freight corridor to accommodate interstatelike conditions and allow for safe passage and to support continued growth and commerce in the area,” said Gatz.