After seven months of being closed for construction, a 19 mile stretch of road linking Sulphur to Ada is now open again. A turnpike authority spokesperson says the Chickasaw Turnpike was officially opened Friday evening. KTEN's Andrea Kurys spoke to Sulphur residents and commuters to get their reaction.      

Since the turnpike closed in February, Sulphur residents have had to accomodate the heavy traffic-flow increase in town.     

The turnpike starts west of Sulphur and ends just south of Ada. While it was closed, drivers had to take a detour through Sulphur to get onto Hwy. 7 to get to Ada. It not only increased the driving distance, but Sulphur residents say it was a headache in town. Traffic had to come right through the city and traffic jams were frequent.

Daivd Pearo, Sulphur Police Chief said, "Actually, we had no idea how many people actually used that turnpike to get to Ada. How many trucks were involved, how many people commuted to Ada and back until the turnpike was closed."

Frankie Baldwin, a Sulphur resident said, "I'm looking forward to the traffic being back on the turnpike again. I think it's gonna be much better, especially for the safety aspect of it, plus it'll be quieter and that'll be nice."

Michael Northcutt, a Sulphur business manager said, "With it opening up, hopefully it will relieve some of the congestion in town and get everything back to normal during the holidays."

Turnpike Authority officials say the reconstruction cost 12.8 million dollars.

Andrea Kurys, KTEN News.