We have great news for anyone who likes risking their life on N. May!
Apparently unaware that Oklahoma drivers are some of the worst motorists on the planet, the City of OKC announced last week they’re wanting to make the infamous N. May Ave. and NW Expressway interchange even more difficult to navigate for reckless teenagers, weary old people, and everyone else texting while driving.
On one hand, I guess you can’t blame the City for the proposed “upgrade.”
If you’ve ever been run off the road by someone merging onto NW Expressway from May Ave.—or, better yet, been in the car with your great aunt when she did it to someone else—I think we can all agree that spot of town is old, outdated, and borderline cursed.
The merge lanes onto Expressway don’t actually have merge lanes, it’s missing some exits onto N. May, and the bridge is routinely dotted with bumps and potholes.
Plus, you just never know when some moron in a big truck is going to crash into it and topple the thing.
That being said, despite all its troubles—trucks have technically crashed into the bridge only twice in the last 70 years—it runs pretty smoothly considering how many cars pass through. Say what you want about how old it is, but you never hear someone complaining about being stuck at a red light on NW Expressway and May for 10 minutes.
Sadly, it looks like the City wants to change that.
Last week, they revealed four possible interchanges they’re eyeing for the area and—presumably to help spread the blame when things go wrong—are now asking for public comment.
According to News 9, these are the options:
Conventional Diamond Interchange
The Conventional Diamond Interchange, similar to most interstate on- and off-ramps, would add two signals to May Avenue at the ramp intersections.
However, this plan would increase the number of traffic conflict points, which also increases the chance of crashes.
As I mentioned, one neat thing about that area is—for the most part—traffic flows well. Why ruin it by adding stoplights on May? That’s a hard pass. Next.
Cloverleaf Design
The Cloverleaf Design is similar to the bridge’s current setup but would add another “leaf” to the bridge's southeastern quadrant, allowing eastbound Expressway traffic to exit onto northbound May.
City leaders say this design conflicts with plans to raise the bridge higher.
Again, trucks have only hit the May bridge twice since it was built. Do we really need to make it bigger? I think I speak for everyone when I say the last thing we need is another ADA-noncompliant bridge to nowhere on NW Expressway.
Seriously, the low-bridge stuff is overblown. Even though a truck could slam into it and send it falling down, you’re still far more likely to be killed or injured trying to avoid a homeless person jaywalking across the road with their Target shopping cart.
Diverging Diamond Interchange
The Diverging Diamond Interchange offers fewer traffic conflict points and can accommodate more left turns, with shorter, more efficient signal phases.
That sounds good on paper. Reduced “conflict points” is a plus, so let’s take a look at an example:
Uhm, I thought the goal was to make things safer… not explode the brains of every driver over the age of 70!
Have the people in charge ever driven in this city? We can barely stay in our lane when making a left turn, much less navigate a crisscrossing traffic pattern straight out of Mario Kart.
Diamond Interchange with Roundabouts
This design is similar to the Conventional Diamond but swaps out traffic lights for roundabouts at the north and south ends of the bridge.
If you think this is a good idea, go sit on the patio at McNellie’s, grab a beer, and watch painfully confused motorists fumble their way through the little roundabout at 10th and Walker.
I’ve seen people come to complete stops and freeze, turn the wrong way, or pull a full Clark Griswold and just spin in circles.
And while your attention will be on the morons up front, don’t forget to check out the people behind them losing their minds. That’s where the real entertainment is.
Anyway, those are the four bad options for the NW Expressway and May.
My gut instinct says they’ll go with the confusing Diverging Diamond Interchange. As a fan of chaos, I’m all for it—but at this point, maybe just keep it as close to the original as possible.
It seems like the simplest solution. Plus, it gives the local media something easy to cover the next time a truck plows into the bridge.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
