The Oklahoma Transportation Authority may ask the state Transportation Department to assume responsibility of a southeastern Oklahoma toll road, according to a published report. The authority would pay ODOT $14 million to maintain the 17-mile Chickasaw Turnpike as a free, public road.

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

The two-lane road, which runs south of Ada to Sulphur, cost nearly $44 million to build and was opened in 1991, Lowe said. The OTA loses money operating the Chickasaw Turnpike, she said.

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."