The Marshall County Economic Development Authority met on April 9, 2021 to get updates from ODoT on the possibility of putting a bypass in Marshall County. The county has been requesting a bypass for over 20 years, or at least something to be done to alleviate traffic issues. Anthony , the ODoT representative said the current project is in the eight-year plan. The initial stage of the project is gathering information, meeting with city officials to figure out the optimal course of action.
Anthony said that in 2028, ODoT will begin to purchase land for the right of ways and moving utilities. The current project plan will fix the hill at Whiskey Creek and 199, add shoulders to 199 all the way toward Little City, and place a bridge over the railroad tracks.
One of the hopes for the bypass is to alleviate truck traffic going through town and giving Oklahoma Steel and Wire an exit so trucks can access the business easier.
Robert Holliday, president of the MCEDA asked David Moore, a representative for OSW approximately how many trucks need access to the business on a daily basis. Moore said that at least 250 trucks per day arrive at the business.
Anthony noted that the bypass should alleviate quite a bit of the congestion that the square currently has. He also said that the project will be done in phases, then pointed to a spot on the map where the initial construction will stop before phase two is enacted. That was when Brent Goodwin commented. He noted that if the construction stopped at the aforementioned spot, it would not alleviate congestion because it is nowhere near the access point allotted for OSW trucks. Until phase two begins, the trucks will still have to travel through the downtown square.
Herschel Beard was in attendance and spoke about how much Marshall County has grown. The growth is what has forced a need for the bypass. This should make the roads safter to travel.
One of the main topics was the fact that the bypass is on ODoT’s eight-year plan. Many groans were heard around the room every time Anthony mentioned that fact.
One attendee asked if there was a way to speed up things and put Marshall County on the fast track to beginning the project. Anthony replied that ultimately, it is about funding. He told all the eager ears in the room to reach out to their legislators and let them know just how dire of a situation the traffic has become in Madill. If the legislators know how bad traffic has become, they will make sure that some of the funding will be allotted for Marshall County’s bypass.