I-44 Widening and Improvements to Perryman Ditch Begin

The long awaited widening of I-44 between Riverside Drive and Yale Avenue will begin this month as workers begin construction of drainage improvements to an area known as the Perryman Ditch.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation project is a 1.25-mile long concrete drainage structure 30 feet underground in the Perryman Ditch area. Perryman Ditch extends on the north side of I-44 from Riverside Drive to just west of Yorktown Avenue. This will serve as a major drainage structure for this corridor and must be started before any widening work on I-44 can begin. The $42 million drainage improvement project is scheduled to be completed in 23 months.

I-44 was built in the 1950s and has been overloaded, obsolete and hazardous for decades. According to Mayor Kathy Taylor, the expansion is long overdue. The inadequate, outdated drainage culverts along with increased construction have led to flooding problems in the nearby residential areas.

The overall $330 million I-44 widening project includes expanding traffic lanes between Riverside Drive and Yale Avenue from four to six and improving on and off ramps at the Harvard Avenue, Lewis Avenue, Peoria Avenue and Riverside Drive intersections. Currently, right-of-way acquisitions and utility relocations are continuing throughout this corridor.