The Bond Oversight Commission will hear a request Thursday from the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for $178 million of 20-year revenue bonds. The authority will use the proceeds to add lanes to road sections in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
No toll increase is required to support the bonds, according to transportation director Gary Ridley.
The Tulsa project is expected to cost $75 million and will involve the widening of a bridge across the Arkansas River. The Oklahoma City project will cost $69 million.
Bids for the projects will be awarded in early 2012, according to the Turnpike Authority.
Commissioners voted last week to refinance $617.5 million of the turnpike's $1.07 billion in outstanding debt. Chief financial officer Wendy Smith said the refunding would reduce total debt service costs by about $19 million without extending the final maturities.
The Turnpike Authority's debt is rated AA-plus by Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor's, and Aa3 by Moody's Investors Service. It operates 10 turnpikes totaling 606 miles.
