New 6-Lane Road Opens At South Yale Between 81st And 91st Streets

The largest road project in Tulsa's history is complete at South Yale Avenue between 81st and 91st.

This has been years in the making and the city says a wider road is safer for everyone.

The city says the original two-lane road was built long before the population boom in South Tulsa, and the new lanes will be able to handle the growth for decades to come.

Digital Extra: Video Montage Of Yale Widening Project

“We had way too many cars going through here just on one lane in each direction,” said city councilor Phil Lakin.

Lakin says this used to be the only two-lane section of road between I-244 and the Creek Turnpike and was too busy for just two lanes.

The city relied on neighbor's input and opinions on how the project should be done.

“A lot of times we go in and build roads and say hey neighbors we hope you're happy with what we built, the neighbors really helped build this road,” Lakin said.

Lakin says safety is one of the major reasons this expansion needed to happen.

Jim Crosby lives at the bottom of the hill and says his neighborhood has had to repair its retaining wall and signs several times because of all the crashes.

“This is going to be a great improvement to safety and for us to get in and out, and I think people will be able to be in control now with the concrete streets, shouldn't be slicker or anything like it was in the past,” he said.

Crosby has already used the new lanes several times and says dealing with the construction the past couple of years was beyond worth it.

“Now that it's over you kind of forget about all of that, it's really working out great, just the little bit that it's been open, I've probably driven on it 10 times just this weekend,” he said.

There are also new six-foot-wide sidewalks that are now on both sides of the road for pedestrians to enjoy.