The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau is providing up to a $120.1 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act or TIFIA loan to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to help finance the Gilcrease Expressway West project.

[Above photo by the Ohio Turnpike Authority.]

That project consists of a five-mile four-lane divided tollway that includes 22 bridges – two of which span the Arkansas River – four major interchanges, and a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail. It is also the first transportation project in Oklahoma to ever use TIFIA credit assistance, USDOT noted in a statement.

The primary source of repayment for the TIFIA loan helping fund this highway project – intended to relieve congestion during peak travel periods and provide a new and more direct route to city attractions and various points of interest – is gross toll revenue and supplemental funds from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation via an assistance agreement.