An excerpt from an article posted by the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
Oklahoma has been able to improve road and bridge conditions and boost highway safety in recent years according to a report released by TRIP, a national transportation research group. Since transportation funding increases were implemented by the state Legislature in 2005, Oklahoma has rehabilitated approximately a quarter of state-maintained roads and highways, cut the number of structurally deficient state maintained bridges in half and reduced the traffic fatality rate by 6 percent.
“Transportation infrastructure truly is the veins and arteries of a healthy community’s economic success and quality of life,” said Roy H. Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. “Oklahoma has certainly made significant progress in improving its transportation systems, but we need the support of the state, the federal government and our local communities to continue this forward momentum. The future of our state depends upon it.”
The efficiency of Oklahoma’s transportation system, particularly its highways, is critical to the health of the state’s economy and its competitive business environment. According to the 2013 Business Retention and Expansion Report compiled by the Chamber, businesses are pushing for long-term solutions on the local, state and federal level to continue to overcome years of underfunding and neglect to the state’s transportation systems.
The number of Oklahoma’s state-maintained structurally deficient bridges has been cut in half in recent years as a result of accelerated bridge replacement and rehabilitation efforts that were made possible by additional funding provided by the state Legislature. By 2021, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) anticipates reducing the number of state-maintained structurally deficient bridges to near zero.
