Tulsa Stonehenge Is Oklahoma’s Most Expensive Transportation Project In State’s History

An interchange in Tulsa, Oklahoma, earned the name "Tulsa Stonehenge," or "Traffic Henge," due to rows of empty bridge piers. Now construction has begun on those empty piers to complete a long-delayed construction plan.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) began on Monday, April 8 for an interchange improvement project at I-44 and US-75. The abandoned bridge piers were part of the first phase of the project, which was completed in 2023.

The project has been done in phases to reduce traffic disruptions. Now that funding is available, the next three phases of the project will be combined into one big project, making it the most expensive contract in the state's transportation history.

Phase one, which was the construction of the bridge piers, costs $90 million. The next three phases will cost a total of $252 million. The Tulsa-based construction company Manhattan Road and Bridge was awarded the contract. The project is expected to be complete by the summer of 2028.

The Tulsa Stonehenge became a local landmark.

Since the bridge piers sat empty for nearly two years, the Tulsa Stonehenge has become a local landmark. Tulsa residents were familiar with the bridge piers and knew why they sat vacant, but those passing through Tulsa were perplexed by the empty bridge piers, and gave them a sense of England's prehistoric megalithic structure.

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Eventually, the Tulsa Stonehenge went viral on social media, and Tulsa residents thought it was funny that the city rose to internet fame because of an incomplete construction project.

@oklahomaexperiences When a road construction project in Oklahoma takes so long it becomes publicly accepted as a landmark. #tulsastonehenge #oklahoma #tulsaoklahoma #famouslandmarks #constructionfails #bridges ♬ Pirates Of The Caribbean - Main Theme - He's A Pirate - Geek Music