Pike Off OTA and Oklahomans for Responsible Transportation held a press conference Wednesday in response to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s revised alignment for the South Extension Turnpike project.
The press conference was held at the Nancy O’Brien Center for Performing Arts where OTA hosted an open house for residents impacted by the new alignment directly after. A few dozen people attended, including Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman, Ward 5 Councilmember Brandon Nofire, Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) and Rep. Annie Menz (D-Norman).
OU anthropology professor Tassie Katherine Hirschfeld said her late husband designed and built their home, which she said is in the path of the planned highway.
“It was special to me in a way no other place I ever lived will be, and all of the people who are standing behind me have similar stories to tell,” Hirschfeld said. “It's not my story, it's our story. … There is an injury to your heart and soul when someone comes for your home.”
The South Extension Turnpike is part of OTA’s ACCESS Oklahoma plan, a 15-year, $8 billion plan to develop new turnpikes and renovate and expand existing highways statewide.
The new alignment for the four-lane, 500-foot-wide South Extension would run south through Norman between 48th and 60th avenues, from the East-West Connector at East Indian Hills Road to Interstate 35 at State Highway 74.
The revised alignment moves the South Extension west by two miles and features simplified interchanges at its north and south connections. Interchanges on the South Extension would connect to Highways 9 and 77, and interchanges would be considered at intersections with Alameda Street, Lindsey Street, East Etowah Road and Maguire Road.
The South Extension alignment would still run approximately 19 miles through Cleveland County from the East-Connector atFranklin Road to I-35 in Slaughterville, as initially proposed. The project is expected to cost $1 billion.
Holman said the proposed alignment would negatively impact Lake Thunderbird’s water and environment.
“All over Norman, people are concerned about this,” Holman said, “and the overwhelming feedback that I've heard from Norman residents consistently for the last three years is that we do not want this in Norman.”
Pike Off OTA is a grassroots organization that opposes the development of the ACCESS Oklahoma turnpikes. Its focus is to prevent the development of the East-West Connector and the South Extension. Dave Moore, a member of Pike Off OTA, said the organization is tired of saying it doesn’t want the turnpike to be built, but it won’t stop until a change is made.
Moore said the proposed alignment impacts more than just people who live in the area.
“Everybody in the city of Norman is affected by the turnpikes, not just the people whose houses are going to get bulldozed down, …” Moore said. “In fact, everybody in the state of Oklahoma is affected by what would end up being a $20 billion project.”
Nofire, who was newly seated to represent the area of Norman primarily affected by the turnpikes, said Norman residents will continue to advocate against the proposed turnpikes.
“As long as they are coming through, I and we the (residents) of Norman, are going to continually push back, and we’re gonna try and make it constantly (and) fiscally unfeasible to put this turnpike in,” Nofire said. “We will never give up, and we will never back down from them.”
In March, the South Extension was rerouted to avoid federal property at Lake Thunderbird. The Oklahoma Supreme Court approved the project in 2023 after the original alignment was denied by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
“You can't hold accountable an organization that doesn't hold itself accountable, and that's why these people are here,” Boren said. “When you see these signs, this is what accountability looks like in Oklahoma.”
Boren said that the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that approved the project in 2023 does not end the matter.
"The plaintiffs were different, the map was different, they didn't have a chance to plead their case,” Boren said.
Boren mentioned that Oklahoma will elect a new governor next year who might not be interested in continuing turnpike plans.
“It's our turn now to protect Oklahomans, all Oklahomans, every ZIP code, every house, every home, every precinct from having a corrupt system that prioritizes bond holders over sound economic policy and sound transportation policy,” Boren said. “There are reams of plans that were disregarded to advance this plan. The only reason that this bad plan has the power that it has behind it is because of the funding mechanism that is underneath it.”
Menz said she recently spoke at an elementary school and received a lot of questions from students regarding the turnpike.
“As soon as I said the word ‘turnpike,’ … I saw little hands go up all over the classroom,” Menz said.
Menz said most of the kids told her that they are worried about their homes and farms getting impacted by the proposed turnpikes and asked her questions about where it will be placed.
“I would bring forward the voices of my constituents who can’t vote yet,” Menz said, “they would want me to tell you to help them protect their homes, protect their neighbors (and) their churches. Please, don’t take their school.”
Holman said Norman residents will continue to protest the turnpikes with hopes of protecting other communities from the OTA in the future.
“We are not going to stop fighting this in Norman,” Holman said. “We are going to fight this to the very end, and even if we are not able to stop it, this will be the biggest fight that OTA has ever had to deal with, and it will change how they do business going forward in the rest of the state.”
This story was edited by Ana Barboza and Thomas Pablo.
