This intersection has gone from being one of the worst I-44 intersections to being one of the best, which occurred over a five-month period in 1985. The key improvement was replacement of the 41st Street bridge over I-44 in 1985. In July 1984, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation announced plans to widen I-44 to six lanes in Tulsa between the I-244 East interchange and the Arkansas River bridge. Meanwhile, a project to widen and redeck the 41st Street bridge had just begun. That project immediately was cancelled, and the bridge was repaired and reopened within two weeks. In early June 1985, work began on demolishing the old 41st Street bridge and building a new structure in its place. The new bridge opened in late October 1985 and is six lanes, which includes four lanes for through traffic and two full-length left-turn lanes. A wider sidewalk was added to the bridge, which is two spans instead of four spans like the original bridge. The 41st Street approaches to I-44 also were widened to accommodate the wider bridge and include express right-turn lanes to the I-44 frontage roads. Photo taken January 1987.
DEVELOPING TULSA: THE AUSTIN HELLWIG COLLECTION
