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University of Oklahoma president wades into turnpike interchange fight
University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz, Jr., speaks Tuesday to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority as OTA Executive Director Joe Echelle, standing right, looks on. (Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.)
By Barbara Hoberock, Oklahoma Voice
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The University of Oklahoma’s president on Tuesday said he supports adding two interchanges along a planned turnpike route despite environmental concerns and local opposition.
OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. told the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority that his university supports adding two interchanges in Norman because they are “essential” and “desperately needed” for “economic prosperity.”
“Having these two gateways to Norman will absolutely magnify the prosperity of the city,” Harroz said.
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority is proposing building interchanges at Alameda Drive and Tecumseh Road as part of its South Extension Turnpike, which will carry traffic from Interstate 40 south and west to Interstate 35.
The proposed interchanges are part of a 15-year, $8.2 billion statewide turnpike improvement project, dubbed ACCESS.
Harroz’s support comes despite a prior Norman City Council vote opposing frontage roads and interchanges at other locations on another Norman-area turnpike, called the Toby Keith Expressway, and other local opposition. The expressway will serve as an east-west connector.
Harroz said millions of visitors each year come to Norman, not just for football games, but to visit other attractions.
He said waiting to install the interchanges will drive up the cost.
Trey Kirby, who represents Ward 5 on the Norman City Council, said some members of the council are discussing the proposed interchanges.
“OU sticks its nose in a lot of places it doesn’t belong,” he said of Harroz’s comments.
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Here’s what’s happening in Oklahoma today:
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Wednesday Poll
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