Concerned citizens are mounting a last-ditch effort to stop a contentious turnpike project that many worry could negatively affect Lake Thunderbird and the Canadian River in southern portions of the Oklahoma City metro area.
The federal lawsuit is aimed at a four-lane “east-west connector” toll road currently under construction and recently named after late country music artist Toby Keith. The new expressway is meant to begin at Interstate 44 and State Highway 37, cross the South Canadian River east to Interstate 35, and then continue east and then north to Interstate 40, connecting to the Kickapoo Turnpike.
Filed in Oklahoma City federal court Tuesday, June 23, the suit alleges violations of clean water integrity, administrative procedure, federal transportation law, and national environmental policy, among other concerns…