A long-planned, $9.3 million streetscape project along the Route 66 alignment of NW 23rd Street in Oklahoma City is set to begin on Jan. 12.
The Oklahoman newspaper reported that construction in the area will last about 18 months, but the street won’t be closed entirely.
Business owners and neighboring residents alike have long requested better pedestrian protections along the traffic-heavy NW 23rd thoroughfare.
Spearheaded by Rudy Construction, the redesign of the iconic Route 66 corridor will stretch between Western Avenue and Broadway Avenue, enhancing and rejuvenating infrastructure while creating a more walkable environment. […]
The improvements will include cosmetic renovations of pavement resurfacing, while updating roadways with a new traffic signal at Hudson Avenue, new streetlights, and a replacement of an aging waterline between Western and Lee Avenue. The project will also install additional bus stops along NW 23rd. […]
As construction begins, traffic will be shifted into single lanes to maintain flow of east-west traffic and access to Interstate 235.
That street served as a Route 66 alignment from the 1930s through the 1970s. Among the historic businesses there is the Tower Theatre, which opened in 1937 and was converted into a music venue in 2016.
(Excerpted image from Google Street View of NW 23rd Street in Oklahoma City)