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 Another Building Comes Down to Make way for the Expansion of I-44
There are more signs of progress as the expansion of Interstate 44 keeps moving forward. Now, demolition crews turn their attention to the former Victory Bible Institute, an iconic building south of I-44 near Peoria. Work started yesterday on the interior walls which will help with dust control when the exterior comes down later this week. At 20-thousand square feet, this is the largest building set for demolition on the highway expansion taking I-44 from four to six lanes with new interchanges planned at Harvard, Peoria and Lewis.
Fewer to travel for holiday
For the first time in six years, fewer Americans will be traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday than a year earlier, travel and airline officials said.
"There is some softness in the economy," said American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith. "We will have the peaks and valleys, but there may be slightly fewer travelers at many of the peaks."
Even a major decrease in gasoline prices during recent weeks is not expected to boost vehicle traffic at Thanksgiving compared with 2007, AAA estimates.
The national average price of self-serve regular gasoline is $2.07 per gallon, $1.03 less than the $3.10 average price of a year ago, the auto club said.
In Oklahoma, retail gas prices have dropped $1.80 in the past two months. The average for self-serve regular in the state now stands at $1.85 per gallon; it was $3.03 a year ago.
Among the 50 states, only Missouri's average price of $1.77 a gallon is lower than Oklahoma's price, AAA surveys have found.
About 41 million U.S. residents will travel 50 miles or more from home this Thanksgiving weekend, a decrease of 1.4 percent from last year's total of 41.6 million, surveys indicate.
"The overall state of the economy continues to present real challenges for many Americans looking to travel this Thanksgiving," said Chuck Mai, spokesman for AAA-Oklahoma.
AAA expects 439,500 Oklahomans will be driving during the Thanksgiving weekend, down 0.6 percent from last year. An additional 47,500 state residents will fly to their holiday destinations, a 6 percent decline from Thanksgiving 2007.
Nationwide, AAA projects more than 33.2 million people — 81 percent of all holiday travelers — will go by motor vehicle, a 1.2 percent decrease from the 33.6 million people who drove a year ago.
An additional 4.54 million travelers — 11 percent of the total — expect to fly to their destinations in the U.S., down 7.2 percent from a year ago.
Although passenger traffic is projected to be 10 percent lower, airplanes will be full, according to the Air Transport Association, a trade group representing the nation's airlines.
"Despite the expected decline in passengers this Thanksgiving holiday travel season — the first such decline in seven years — Thanksgiving remains the busiest travel time of the year for airlines," said ATA President and CEO James C. May.
ATA forecasts the busiest travel days surrounding Thanksgiving Day will be Sunday, Nov. 30; Monday, Dec. 1; and Wednesday, Nov. 26, respectively. On those three days, ATA projects that planes will be, on average, close to 90 percent full.
Southwest Airlines spokesman Chris Mainz said the discount carrier expects traffic and load factors — the percentage of seats filled — to trail those of Thanksgiving 2007.
"The busiest travel days will be the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving, when we expect a lot of traffic," Mainz said.
Alexis Higgins, deputy airports director of marketing for the Tulsa Airport Authority, said she expects higher passenger traffic levels the afternoons of Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving but no major bottlenecks.
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