LAWTON – A proposal to extend Goodyear Boulevard to U.S. Highway 62 will benefit Lawton by reducing wear and tear on city streets, said the city’s director of engineering, Joe Painter.
“It is our industrial area, and what we’re trying to accomplish is keep the heavy truck traffic on roads that are designed for heavy truck traffic,” he said. “This will keep them from driving on some of the arterial roads that aren’t really designed for the volume of heavy truck traffic.”
Painter was one of several city officials who attended an open house about the U.S. 62 project, which took place April 11 in the banquet room at Lawton City Hall. The city and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation hosted the public event to educate people about the $20 million project, which will be funded by a combination of local, state and federal dollars.
Lawton City Councilman Kelly Harris said he was enthusiastic about the project because truck drivers will use the new route to reach Lawton’s West Industrial Park.
“Instead of having to come into town and go up Lee Boulevard and tear up Lee, now they can go all the way up this federal highway, come across and never touch one of our interior city streets,” he said.
Better access Goodyear Boulevard runs north and south through the Lawton West Industrial Park, and it currently ends at Cache Road, ODOT officials said. They added that vehicles headed to the industrial park would benefit from improved access to the area.
“With commercial development to the east and residential areas to the west, vehicles entering the West Industrial Park from US-62 need more direct access to the industrial park,” officials wrote in a pamphlet describing the project. “The proposed project will extend Goodyear Boulevard 0.5 miles north and create a new grade separated interchange with US-62.”
The city and ODOT have proposed a series of improvements along U.S. 62, including the extension of Goodyear Boulevard. Other improvements include:
• On- and off-ramps from Goodyear to U.S. 62.
• Ramps on the highway’s westbound lane.
• A new overpass over the highway, which will connect Goodyear Boulevard with the westbound ramps.
The new interchange and the Goodyear Boulevard extension will consist of two 12-footwide travel lanes – one in each direction – with 10-foot-wide outside shoulders, according to ODOT. Those elements of the project will also include 15-foot-wide ramps with 10-foot-wide outside shoulders and 2-foot-wide inside shoulders.
Officials considered various options for the project before settling on the current plan, said Caleb Austin, vice president of transportation for the engineering firm WSB.
“We were trying to determine what the best way would be to extend Goodyear Boulevard to U.S. 62,” he said. “This was the safest and most economical solution out there, so this is the one we chose.” Construction timeline The project is currently in the design phase, and ODOT is giving Lawton residents a chance to comment on the proposed improvements, according to the agency’s proposed timeline. ODOT will complete the environmental process sometime this summer, and the city will acquire the necessary rights of way and relocating utility lines in August 2025.
ODOT will seek construction bids for the project sometime in 2025, and construction may begin in late 2025 or early 2026, said Austin.
“Probably about a year and a half of construction duration,” he said.
ODOT is accepting public comments on the project through April 26. People may submit comments through the agency’s website, www. odot.org/publicmeetings, or email comments to envronment@odot.org. Comments may also be sent to the Environmental Programs Division Manager, Oklahoma Department of Transportation, 200 NE 21st St., Oklahoma City, OK, 73105.