Guest column backs ACCESS Oklahoma turnpike expansion
In The Oklahoman, Jalal Farzaneh argues the long-range turnpike plan will strengthen regional mobility and growth, while acknowledging the disruption some property owners may face.
A guest opinion column in The Oklahoman argues Oklahoma’s ACCESS Oklahoma turnpike program is a long-term infrastructure bet that will strengthen the Oklahoma City metro’s growth and competitiveness.
Guest columnist Jalal Farzaneh compares the initiative to past, forward-looking public works efforts — pointing to the Atoka Dam and pipeline as an example of projects that were controversial and expensive in their moment but shaped Oklahoma City’s future.
Farzaneh writes that ACCESS Oklahoma would complete a greater OKC loop by connecting the Kickapoo Turnpike south from Harrah to Interstate 35 near Purcell and west to Interstate 44 north of Newcastle.
He says the additional routing could improve freight mobility, ease pressure on I-35 and I-40, and support business attraction by strengthening regional infrastructure. The column also acknowledges that some property owners may be displaced by the project’s footprint and frames that as a community sacrifice tied to broader benefits.
