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Oklahoma Memo Podcasts
OKLAHOMA MEMO
John Croisant on his narrow defeat, Oklahoma's blue ripple and what comes next
Poll results:
We received 321 votes on the Thursday poll, “What surprised you most about Oklahoma's election results?”
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨 Democrats flipping six seats in the Oklahoma House (96)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ Republicans sweeping the statewide races (70)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Oklahoma County voters rejecting the jail tax (24)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Democrats sweeping Oklahoma County offices (31)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Nothing — the results were what I expected (100)
New poll question at the bottom of today’s newsletter. (You can also suggest a poll question by emailing me at [email protected].)
Oklahoma turnpike tolls to rise, increasing the cost to travel to Tulsa by about 35 cents
A street sign marks the interchange of Interstate 40 and the Kilpatrick Turnpike. (Photo by Kyle Phillips/For Oklahoma Voice)
By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
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Tolls on Oklahoma turnpikes are set to increase Jan. 5.
For PikePass customers traveling on the state turnpike system, the cost will increase by about a penny to 8 cents for every mile driven.
The toll increase will bring the cost for PikePass holders traveling from Oklahoma City to Tulsa in a passenger vehicle to $5.75, up from $5.40, said Lisa Shearer-Salim, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
The agency on Thursday approved the toll increase to pay for a 15-year, $9 billion turnpike expansion and improvement project, called the Advancing and Connecting Communities and Economies Safely Statewide, or ACCESS.
The increase is designed to generate a 6% revenue increase for the turnpike authority, said Mary Biswell, the agency’s director of revenue assurance.
“We anticipate coming back every two years to consider another 6% increase,” Biswell said.
The hike keeps revenues adjusted for inflation and pays for the significant reinvestment into the system, Biswell said.
The last toll hike was in 2025, Biswell said.
The agency’s governing board also approved a toll hike for the Gilcrease Expressway, which is not on the turnpike system due to how it was financed.
The increase for PikePass passenger vehicles will be about 15 cents if they travel the entire five miles of the roadway, Shearer-Salim said.
“Even with this increase going into effect Jan. 5, we will still have the ninth lowest toll rate in the nation for a transponder,” Shearer-Salim said.
Turnpike customers can use the agency’s toll calculator to look up rates, she said. It will be updated to reflect the new rates when the increased tolls take effect.
The ACCESS project was to initially cost $5 billion, a figure that later rose to $8.2 billion due to inflation.
It is now projected to cost about $9 billion as additional projects, such as eight-laning the Turner Turnpike from Bristow to Oklahoma City, have been added, she said. It had originally planned for six lanes, she said.
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The Oklahoma Rundown
Editor’s note: Links requiring subscriptions have an *.
Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:
Incoming governor Mike Mazzei offers Oklahoma tribes path to renewed partnership (KOCO)
Time is ticking as officials warn about new Medicaid rules (KFOR)
Corporation Commission approves PSO request to raise residential rates 3.55 percent (NonDoc)
New Oklahoma schools chief preparing for ‘behemoth’ challenge of education turnaround (Oklahoma Voice)
Oklahoma releases 2026 School Report Cards: See grades, test scores and spending (News 9)
New Oklahoma law paves way for cold case families to request independent review of case (News On 6)
Five Oklahoma federal judges’ financial disclosures are missing. The deadline is next week. (Oklahoma Watch)
Nationwide voter turnout surge skips Oklahoma, where less than half of registered voters cast a ballot (Tulsa Flyer)
Downtown Tulsa promotes free safety escorts as earlier nightfall raises concerns (The Oklahoma Eagle)
Oklahoma senator welcomes deputies to patrol state property near Norman encampment (Fox 25)
Representative Dode Barnett found in violation of harassment and intimidation (Mvskoke Media)
‘They really were hoping that it was going to work’: Inside The Frontier’s California rehab investigation (The Frontier)
Animal cruelty case rattles Tulsa dog rescue community (Broken Arrow Sentinel)
Friday Poll
Oklahoma turnpike tolls are going up to help fund $9 billion in improvements. Do you support the increase?
Explain this to me!
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