OTA Increases ACCESS Oklahoma Cost Projection By $3 Billion

Controversy over the proposed ACCESS Oklahoma turnpike that would run through east Norman continues.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority announced a projected cost increase of $3 billion.

In 2022, the OTA said its ACCESS Oklahoma Turnpike plan would cost around $5 billion. Now that estimate has increased to $8.2 billion.

“I was not surprised,” Tassie Hirschfeld, a sharp critic of the OTA, said. 

Hirschfeld's home is one of 600 that could be demolished to build the turnpike and she’s a member of Oklahomans For Responsible Transportation.

“No one has done a real cost-benefit analysis. Like, we see the cost getting out of control, but the benefits so far just look like illusions that were manufactured to sell this project,” Hirschfeld said. 

The OTA told News 9 in a statement the increase is due to inflation.

“OTA started estimating the future long-range program in 2021 and could never have predicted the 60 percent inflation in the highway construction industry since that time,” the OTA said in part. “While it's impossible to plan for everything, the Authority believes this to be as realistic a cost estimate as possible through the end of the long-range plan.”

Hirschfeld feels there's more to the story.

“The debt service will be around $20 billion. All of that will be paid by Oklahoma drivers who had no say,” Hirschfeld said. 

The OTA confirms a toll increase has always been part of the forecast for the long-range plan, but did not confirm how big the increase will be.

Its statement goes on to say, "The Authority has done everything it can to keep tolls low for motorists and will continue to do so."

When asked if this project would add to the tolls across the state, the OTA said it's still working on estimates for possible toll increase for its board to consider. 

The OTA is moving forward with the expansion despite controversy and plans to open the first part of the east-west connector to traffic in 2027.