The property owner is given three ways to proceed with the purchase of their property. 

1.) OTA will hire a third party appraiser to determine the fair market value of the property and an offer is made to the property owner. OTA will work with property owners to determine and negotiate a mutually agreed upon sale price. 

2.) If a sale price cannot be negotiated, the authority may look at eminent domain procedures. A sincere effort will be made to avoid the use of eminent domain through fair appraisal, thorough negotiation and just compensation. 

3.) The property owner has the right to sue in court should they find that eminent domain has not provided them fair compensation, and the court will then determine a value for the property.

The turnpike right of way will be 300 feet wide, extending outside of that in some areas for cases such as culverts, bridges, interchanges and frontage or service roads.

Transportation corridors have not yet been finalized. We anticipate announcement of possible routes by late spring or early summer. Numerous surveys will take place to determine topography of land, environmental studies, etc. before a route can be determined.

No alignments for the transportation corridors have been established yet. When the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority has finalized the transportation corridors, maps of the routes will be made available to the public. The OTA is expecting to announce alignments for the transportation corridors by late spring, early summer of 2016.

The OTA will work on a case-by-case basis with property owners to determine the best procedure for reducing impact locally. If the OTA identifies that enough damages will occur, or if property will be severely impacted, they will look at a purchase of the total property.

Traffic, growth and public safety. Between 2005 and 2015, there have been 6,649 collisions take place on I-35 between I-240 and the Ft. Smith Junction, resulting in 33 fatalities. During that same time period in the rural corridor between I-40 to I-44 and Luther Road to Henney Road, there have been 1,572 collisions resulting in 15 fatalities. The data from ODOT’s collision studies demonstrate a clear need for greater public safety.

The further a new north-south corridor is pushed east, the less effective it gets to accomplishing its goal of helping to divert traffic. Using Highways 177 or 102 would also result in a greater impact to private and public properties than the current corridor study and does not follow the criteria set out by the OTA for alignments.

Exits, frontage and service roads will be determined following the surveying period and after the announcement of the alignment.