Eighty-First Street has been widened to five lanes between Harvard Avenue and Oral Roberts University, which has eliminated a major traffic bottleneck in south Tulsa. The project began in March 2007 with the excavation of the hill at Delaware Avenue. The roadway then was widened and opened in the summer, although finishing touches weren't completed until later in 2007. The new street is five lanes of asphalt with a concrete curb and gutter. The Delaware Avenue intersection is concrete with retaining walls on the southeast corner. Delaware Avenue was widened to two lanes (asphalt with concrete curb/gutter) between 81st and 83rd streets. The new lanes are in the southbound alignment at 81st Street and then shift into the previous alignment south of the intersection. There is concrete in place that eventually will connect to Delaware Avenue's northbound lanes when that roadway someday is widened. A new traffic signal was installed at Delaware Avenue, which includes a westbound left-turn signal but no right-turn arrows. The widening was funded by the 2001 and 2006 sales tax packages. This view looks east from near Oral Roberts University. Photograph taken October24, 2007.
