The I-40 interchange at U.S. 59 has been widely scorned as Sequoyah County’s most dire highway construction priorities, with a chorus of voices petitioning for an updated intersection capable of carrying the burden of increased traffic that has been exacerbated by Sallisaw’s growth. The mile marker 308 exit topped the list recently when community stakeholders from businesses, organizations and education, along with city leadership and influential residents identified replacement of the interchange as what should be one of the city’s most urgent undertakings.

And the Oklahoma Department of Transportation agrees … kinda.

Well, at least ODOT is willing to launch an exploratory assessment of the project, earmarking $550,000 for preliminary engineering beginning in 2030.

But that’s not soon enough for most critics.

But it’s a start. ODOT expects to spend more than $215 million on Sequoyah County highways and bridges from fiscal year 2026 through fiscal year 2035, according to updates announced recently in ODOT’s Eight-Year Construction Work Plan (CWP).

Topping the list of projects for the county are $129 million earmarked for I-40 pavement rehabilitation and bridges, the biggest undertaking being the bridge over the Arkansas River, with a price tag of $75 million, and a modest $550,000 preliminary engineering project for the I-40 and U.S. 59 interchange in Sallisaw, a traffic headache widely regarded as the most critical of the county’s needs.

“Oklahoma’s highways and bridges are the backbone of our economy and daily life,” ODOT Executive Director Tim J. Gatz said as his agency unveiled its long-term plans. “They get people to work, goods to market and connect our communities across the state and beyond. Keeping this system strong takes careful planning and consistent investment.”

Each year, ODOT updates its Eight-Year Construction Work Plan. The statewide CWP is built by ODOT’s district engineers in a data driven approach that includes input from a wide variety of stakeholders and approval from the Transportation Commission. Of course, financial resources determine what projects are undertaken, as well as the timing of those projects.

“Oklahoma’s highway system needs always outpace our resources, and the work plan reflects the tough choices we make to balance priorities with available funding,” Gatz said.

Since 2020, the biggest change is cost. Across the country, departments of transportation have experienced nearly 18 years of cost inflation over just the past three years, Gatz said. “This generational reduction in buying power has impacted the totality of our operations, forcing us to carefully evaluate our investment strategies and update our project estimates to more realistic numbers. As a result, we were unable to include any new projects in the work plan, despite knowing that many existing roads or bridges desperately need attention. Some projects from last year’s plan had to move outside the eight-year window, but they remain priorities that we’ll continue to develop and bring back as funding allows.”

ODOT is accelerating a few major projects, including the Roosevelt Bridge, the Chickasha Bypass and I-35 widening through bond funding. This approach allows the agency to deliver them sooner, though repaying the bonds will tighten future budgets.

Roosevelt Bridge on U.S. 70 in Bryan and Marshall counties, is set to receive significant upgrades through federal and Oklahoma state funding to ensure it remains a safe and reliable crossing over Lake Texoma.

The $250 million Chickasha Bypass will create a new two-lane, controlled-access realignment thoroughfare to create better traffic flow for vehicles that currently use the congested U.S. 81 alignment to pass through downtown Chickasha in Grady County.

The I-35 widening project is an ambitious campaign for the state’s second busiest traffic corridor — and, along with I-40, among the most dangerous highways in Oklahoma — stretching from Kansas to Texas.

“It’s important to note that no new one-time funds were appropriated by the legislature to ODOT this year, and the one-time RETRO funding boost we received in previous years will be fully used in the early part of this work plan. That is why a meaningful policy conversation about sustained, reliable and increasing funding is critical for ODOT to keep from falling further behind,” Gatz said.

“Despite these challenges, our priorities remain clear – keep travelers safe, manage bridges, improve pavement conditions and modernize rural twolane highways. This plan is a realistic roadmap that balances urgent needs with available resources, while keeping the future in focus.”

ODOT’s statewide Eight-Year Construction Work Plan involves 1,266 projects valued at more than $7.7 billion.

“Safety is and always will be the driving force behind every project in this plan,” Gatz says. “Oklahoma has made tremendous progress over the last 20 years in improving our bridges and highways, and we are committed to keeping that momentum. At the same time, we must be realistic — inflation has dramatically increased construction costs and our available funding simply doesn’t stretch as far as it once did. This plan represents our best effort to balance urgent safety needs with fiscal responsibility, ensuring we continue to deliver the improvements Oklahomans expect and deserve.”

SEQUOYAH COUNTY’S CWP ODOT’s eight-year plan lists the following projects for $215.311 million: FY2026

• $18.5 million grade, drain and surface of state Highway 10A from state Highway 100 for 4.4 miles west through Paradise Hill and Aqua Park to 4439 Road

• $1.11 million resurfacing of state Highway 64B in Muldrow from U.S. 64 north for 4.85 miles FY2027

• $33.555 million construction of state Highway 100 bridge over the Arkansas River in Webbers Falls, replacing a bridge built in 1969

• $16.426 million I-40 bridge construction over U.S. 64, west and east of Muldrow, replacing a bridge built in 1964

• $1.5 million resurfacing of state Highway 82 in Vian from I-40 north for 2.2 miles to Vian city limits FY2028

• $25 million pavement rehabilitation for I-40 from MM 299 to MM 303 (Dwight Mission Road)

• $3.7 million bridge construction for I-40 over Little Skin Bayou Creek, replacing bridge built in 1964

• $1.57 million resurfacing of U.S. 64 in Sallisaw from No Name Street for 2.6 miles west to 4590 Road FY2029

• $8.3 million pavement rehabilitation of I-40 from 1.4 miles west of U.S. 64B east to MM 325, a total of 5.35 miles

• $1.5 million resurfacing of U.S. 64 in Roland from east of Taylor Drive for 2.88 miles to Old Highway 64 FY2030

• $550,000 for a preliminary engineering project at I-40 and U.S. 59 interchange — $550,000 (2030) FY2031

• $75 million for construction of an I-40 bridge over the Arkansas River FY2032

• $11.6 million for bridge construction on U.S. 64 over Garrison Creek, replacing a bridge built in 1956

• $4 million (money only) for an undescribed project on state Highway 10 at the Lake Tenkiller Spillway FY2033

• $10 million for widening and resurfacing of state Highway 100 from state Highway 82 west 3.6 miles to Lake Tenkiller NEIGHBORING COUNTIES

In neighboring Le-Flore County, ODOT has set aside $51.3 million for four projects through 2033: FY2026

• $46.632 million for grade, drain and surface U.S. 59 from Sunset Corner west 5.9 miles

• $1.75 million for resurfacing U.S. 271 from state Highway 112 in Pocola 5.3 miles east to Gray Street west of the Arkansas state line FY2027

• $2 million for resurfacing U.S. 271 from Spiro 3.8 miles to state Highway 9A FY2033

• $917,431 for preliminary engineering on state Highway 112 for 5.5 miles from Rock Island north to Pocola, fueling rumors that Highway 112 will be developed as four lanes from Poteau to Fort Smith In Muskogee County, an ODOT project of interest in Sequoyah County is the $6.92 million pavement rehabilitation of I-40 ramps at state Highway 100.

An interactive map showing all projects can be found on the ODOT homepage at ODOT. org, under “Programs and Projects” then “8Year ODOT Construction Projects.” This tool allows users to easily locate projects and related information.