Heading Through the City
Alri.thgught, so the plan was simple: drive straight through. Northbound, cutting across the city. I knew I-35 in OKC could be a beast, especially around rush hour, but this was supposed to be an off-peak time. Or so I thought.
First thing I did, before even getting close, was check that state traffic app. Oklahoma's got this ITS thing, supposed to show you traffic, road conditions, all that. Fired it up on the phone. Looked okay-ish on the map, maybe a little slowdown shown near downtown, but nothing crazy red.
The Reality on the Road
Well, maps and reality, right? Hit the edge of the city limits and things started to bunch up. Wasn't standstill, not yet, but definitely slowing down. You see all that urban sprawl Oklahoma City has? Yeah, you feel it on the highway. Cars pouring in from every direction.
The pavement condition was... mixed. Some stretches felt pretty smooth, actually. They must have worked on those recently. But then you'd hit sections, especially on the older bridges or overpasses, and bam – rough patches, bumps. Heard they rank somewhere in the middle for urban road conditions, but their maintenance spending isn't top-notch, maybe that explains it. You see the evidence right under your wheels.
- Traffic packed tight, way more than the app suggested.
- Road surface varied quite a bit.
- Lots of merging lanes, people cutting in.
- Saw some cameras up high, part of that ITS system I guess.
Stuck for a While
Ended up losing a good chunk of time. Not the worst traffic jam ever, but easily added 30-40 minutes to what should have been a quick pass-through. They say commuters here lose almost 30 hours a year stuck in traffic. I believe it. I really do. Felt like I contributed my share just on that one drive.
It wasn't just the volume. There seemed to be some lane closures way up ahead, maybe unscheduled maintenance or clearing debris. The app didn't show that specific detail when I first checked. Things change fast, I guess.
Finally broke free north of the city center. Smooth sailing after that, mostly. But that stretch through OKC on I-35? Yeah, it's something you gotta budget time for. Doesn't matter what the app says sometimes. You just gotta drive it and see.
So that was my latest round with Oklahoma City 35. Just putting it down here. It is what it is, just gotta plan for it next time. Always an adventure on those interstates.
