I-35 to be detoured at Fountain Road this weekend

I-35 traffic will be detoured to the on- and off-ramps at two northern Oklahoma locations for bridge projects this weekend. The closures include:

• Northbound and southbound I-35 traffic at Fountain Rd. (mm 211) near Tonkawa in Kay County from 8 p.m. Friday to 10 a.m. Saturday for bridge beam installation. I-35 will be inaccessible from Fountain Rd. during this time.
• Northbound and southbound I-35 at SH-15 (mm 203) near Billings in Noble County from 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday for ongoing bridge reconstruction. I-35 will be inaccessible from SH-15 during this time.
• Motorists should expect delays and congestion during these closures and are strongly encouraged to use US-77/US-177 as an alternate route between US-60 and US-412.

Northbound and southbound I-35 will remain narrowed to one lane in each direction at Fountain Rd. through early fall and at SH-15 through summer. The Fountain Rd. bridge over I-35 and the SH-15 bridge over I-35 are both closed to traffic until the bridge reconstruction completes, however, motorists still may access I-35 from those interchanges when the ramps are open. SH-15 traffic will be detoured to SH-74, US-412, US-77 and US-60.

In September, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission awarded an $8.8 million contract for this work to OBC Inc. of Edmond. The contract also includes replacement of the Bender Rd. bridge over I-35 in Kay County, with reconstruction anticipated to start by late June.