The Route 66 centennial this year has been at the heart of new investments across Tulsa, including new public art and a Guinness World Record attempt. Officials were hoping to have another project ready for rollout: a new bus line.
Voters approved funding and the alignment of the Route 66 AERO Bus Rapid Transit as part of the economic development program Vision Tulsa in 2016. The route would stretch from downtown to the Eastgate Metroplex once completed.
But construction hasn’t started yet.
“I just wish it could have happened by 2026 with the centennial here in June coming up, that’s what we were really hoping for,“ said Scott Marr, general manager for MetroLink Tulsa, the city’s primary public transportation provider.
Here’s what to know about where the project stands.
What is the Route 66 Aero Bus Rapid Transit?
The Route 66 Aero Bus Rapid Transit would be Tulsa’s second rapid-transit bus route, with 44 bus stations along the route and seven buses operating.
The route kicks off at the downtown Denver Avenue Station and stretches to the Eastgate Metroplex on 145th Avenue.
It will have the same hours of service as the Peoria BRT once completed. The new bus stations will have Route 66 branding with similarities to the ones off Peoria.
What would the line mean for east Tulsa?
The bus rapid transit will stretch into east Tulsa once it’s completed.
It’s important to get the community involved since transit drives economic development, Marr said. That has already been visible with the Peoria route, he added.
“The economic development on 11th Street, Garnett and even 21st is going to only shoot up,” he said. “So having those stations, not just on 11th but on Garnett, a different street, is very important and it looks good.”
Marr recognizes MRT needs to continue engaging with the Latino community. He said communication around the new BRT will be in Spanish and in English, but language around the branding of it will depend on city council.
“We have work to do every day to get people to trust that we’re simply a bus service trying to get people from one point to the other,” he said.
Throughout planning for the project, MetroLink formed committees to provide feedback on where the route should be placed. Community engagement was crucial to MetroLink deciding to stretch out to Eastgate Metroplex for people to connect to more resources, Marr said.
Why have there been delays?
When Marr first joined in 2022, MetroLink was planned to start construction on the Route 66 bus line shortly thereafter. The bus line was slated to come on line in April 2024.
MetroLink Tulsa had a $15 million funding gap at the time. They’ve worked closely with the City of Tulsa to leverage federal grants for the project.
In 2024, MetroLink Tulsa was awarded a $12 million grant to help develop the 44 bus stations. Each bus station is priced at $335,000.
What’s next?
With funding in hand, MetroLink officials plan to start construction on the project in late 2027 and early 2028. Service is planned to start operating in late 2028 or early 2029.
HNTB, a consulting company overseeing the project, has told MetroLink Tulsa that there could be potential “supply chain demands as we get closer to construction,” Marr said.
A ribbon cutting ceremony to break ground on the bus line is planned in the next year. MetroLink is still working with some property owners on the 11 Street design.
“So we have 95% of the design complete but, still, some of the stations we’re working with the owners, so they feel comfortable as well where those stations will be,” Marr said.
This article was produced as part of a partnership between the Tulsa Flyer and La Semana, a Tulsa-based bilingual Spanish-English newspaper serving Latino communities in Oklahoma.
News decisions at the Tulsa Flyer are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
