OKLAHOMA CITY – The fight over a proposed turnpike extension between the southern part of Oklahoma City and Norman took yet another turn last week after a state lawmaker filed a resolution to audit the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority.
On May 10 state Senator Mary Boren, a Democrat from Norman, filed Senate Concurrent Resolution 28 which calls on the State Auditor and Inspector’s office to conduct an audit of the OTA. Boren said filed the resolution because she had concerns over the planned southern expansion between Oklahoma City and Norman.
Part of the authority’s widely touted ACCESS plan, the southern expansion of the Kickapoo Turnpike is a 29-mile stretch that would run from I-40 in Oklahoma City to I-35 near Purcell and through the eastern part of Norman.
The second expansion is a 28-mile outer loop east to west connector from the I-44 Tri-City area, running east to I-35 and east to I-40, through Moore and Norman. That route would track near Lake Thunderbird along Indian Hills Road. Turnpike officials said the plan could displace those who live in the area.
Opponents of the plan said the expansion could threaten more than 600 homes.
Boren’s resolution comes just a few days after the Oklahoma Bond Council ruled that the turnpike authority could not use an expected $200 million line of credit because it faced lawsuits over the expansion plan.
“The language of SCR 28 is like my previously filed SCR 25 and demands a moratorium on the building of new turnpikes,” Boren, an opponent of the expansion project, said. “But given OTA’s decision to proceed with plans to keep buying properties for disputed projects, SCR 28 adds new language for the State Auditor to review ODOT’s and OTA’s financial documents for the purchase of homes and property for right-of-way access.”
The nonprofit group Pike Off filed a lawsuit against the turnpike authority on May 2. That case, filed in Cleveland County District Court, has been assigned to Judge Lori Walkley. The petition asked the court to declare that the OTA was not authorized by the Legislature to build the Southern Extension Turnpike and other segments of the turnpikes in the ACCESS plan.
“There are 35 authorized turnpike locations specified in the Oklahoma Turnpike Enabling Act; however, the South Extension ACCESS Oklahoma (that) would put through East Norman, Noble, Slaughterville, Cleveland County and McClain County down to the vicinity of Purcell is not authorized by any of the 35 possibilities,” the petition said.
Turnpike authority officials said they would continue their planned engineering design and environmental survey activities on the project.
“OTA will also fulfill its commitment to several property owners with whom negotiations for property acquisition began prior to approval of the line of credit,” the authority said in a media statement. “These property owners proactively approached OTA about the sale of their property. OTA will pay for these services exclusively from its General Fund. The OTA will monitor and continuously evaluate to determine that these efforts do not violate or conflict with the conditions provided by the Council.”
Boren said she hoped her resolution would give state officials a better understanding of how state and federal tax dollars, along with bond dollars, are being used to purchase property.
“This review of financial documents will also make sure everyone is getting the same favorable terms when negotiating with the state,” she said. “It’s important that we demand accountability and transparency of our agencies, like the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority that is proposing to spend billions of dollars over the next several years on projects that would displace hundreds of homes and businesses. Before we start making plans to build new turnpikes, we need to figure out how to pay off what we already have and make sure every homeowner is empowered to negotiate for the best terms possible, even if they are not wealthy and well-connected.”
Senate Concurrent Resolution 28 is on first reading in the Senate. The proposal has drawn five co-authors and is currently awaiting a committee assignment. Lawmakers have until May 27 to act on the resolution.