The Oklahoma Transportation Authority voted unanimously Nov. 25 to transfer operation of a southeastern Oklahoma toll road to the state Department of Transportation with the intention that it will become a free road.

The authority would pay ODOT $14 million to maintain the 17-mile Chickasaw Turnpike, which runs south of Ada to Sulphur. It is the only two-lane turnpike in the state system.

The agency doesn't need the state Legislature's approval, Holly Lowe, OTA acting director and chief financial officer, told the Ada Evening News. But the Transportation Commission, which oversees ODOT, must consider the proposal.

Lowe said she didn't know when the tolls would be removed from the road if the deal were approved.

Drivers of five-axle trucks pay $2.25 in tolls to drive the road, and car drivers pay 55 cents. About 2,000 vehicles a day travel the turnpike.

Gov. Frank Keating told the Tulsa World making the Chickasaw Turnpike a free road had been discussed for a long time.

"It makes sense to remove it from the system," Keating said. "It is not a viable part of the system. I think it clearly is the right thing to do."

Alabama leaders hope new governor also supports I-85 plan

Western Alabama leaders pushing for a new highway in the region hope they don't have to start over when Gov.-elect Bob Riley takes office next year.

Departing Gov. Don Siegelman has supported the idea of extending I-85 from Montgomery to the Mississippi line, and the idea's promoters hope Riley will follow suit.

Under Siegelman, the state has sought consultants to begin preliminary work on the $1.5 billion, 140-mile extension of I-85 from Montgomery to Cuba, near the Mississippi line.

Riley spokesman David Azbell told The Associated Press the incoming administration would assess projects within various state agencies, including the transportation department. But he said the concerns about the I-85 project underscore the need for Riley's proposal to create a commission to run the highway department that would not be as likely to change priorities when the state changes governors.

U.S. 80 is a four-lane highway from Montgomery to Uniontown. There is, however, a three-mile stretch between Uniontown and Demopolis that is still two lane, and more than 20 miles between Demopolis and Cuba in Sumter County that remain two-lane.