As Elgin benefits from outside traffic, Fletcher mayor looks to revive off-ramp project

The mayor of the small town of Fletcher, OK, is trying to revive a discussion that many thought was dead in hopes to provide the town and those living in it with more opportunities. Years ago, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority (OTA) presented the option of constructing an interchange, connecting I-44 (H.E. Bailey Turnpike) and US-277. According to Mayor Dick Herrin, that discussion would allow residents of Fletcher an easier, less stressful drive home. 

Throughout Southwest Oklahoma, there are many smaller communities where residents’ work outside of the town they live in. This is the case for the Town of Fletcher. Currently, the most efficient route for a person living in Fletcher, but working in Lawton, is to drive through Elgin to get to I-44. This interchange, Herrin believes, would fix that problem.

Herrin and many people who have had to experience Elgin’s traffic agree that it’s an issue. Over 2025, Elgin officials worked to address this issue by constructing a center turn lane along 8th Street, the main road coming off of the highway. In doing this, construction would back up traffic even more, oftentimes onto the highway itself. Despite this, now that construction is done, Mayor of Elgin, JJ Francais said conditions have gotten better.

“We’ve seen a dramatic improvement in the flow of traffic since then,” Francais stated.

However, while some commuters, including Herrin, agree that traffic has slightly gotten better, knowing this off-ramp is a possibility is hard to ignore. For this reason, Herrin is attempting to reignite this discussion.

The original conversation took place back in February of 2022 and was between OTA Executive Director Joe Echelle and both mayors. According to Echelle, the authority made it a goal to implement interchanges every five miles to allow for more efficient first responder navigation between cities following a deadly incident that happened at a toll booth in 2020. 

“In most cases, when we’ve had these conversations across our network, it’s usually been seen as something that was very positive,” Echelle said.

Echelle explained that this proposed off-ramp did not fall into that five mile interval with Elgin’s I-44 exits being nearby, taking it off of the priority list. However, during this time, they saw issues the traffic in Elgin was causing and thought this could be beneficial, which is why they asked both mayors whether this interchange would be locally supported.

This opportunity was only taken positively by one side of the fence. Mayor Herrin said that the Town of Fletcher went on to pass a resolution in support of this off-ramp. He added that they’ve been trying to get on the OTA’s plan for nearly 10 years. 

“I can’t tell you when it’ll actually happen, but we’re all in favor of it. I think it would be great for our community,” Herrin expressed. “I think it would be great for the traffic in Elgin.”

Mayor Francais, on the other hand, was in opposition and because this particular Elgin/Fletcher off-ramp wasn’t a necessity for the OTA, Echelle said it would need both town’s support to be considered. This difference of opinion is what led the conversation to be locked away. 

Francais explained that Elgin wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for the traffic from the other surrounding communities that are essentially required to drive through the city. He said that if the off-ramp closer to Fletcher was in place it would conservatively reduce Elgin’s traffic by around 30%. This would take away Elgin’s competitive advantage to attract more national chains, such as Braums. Francais stated that national chains really only look at traffic count when considering places to set up shop.

“I have to do what’s in the best interest of Elgin,” Francais stated. “Most towns don’t try and send business to other cities.”

In addition, Francais explains that over 90% of Elgin’s budget is sales tax. A majority of Elgin’s sales tax, according to Francais, comes from people buying from those national chains. Francais explains that if they lose any of their sales tax budget, the city would have to stop cutting services. However, Herrin believes people in Fletcher and surrounding communities would still shop in Elgin. 

“Anything that I can do in Elgin that keeps me from having to go to Lawton, I’ll do,” Herrin said.

While Herrin only wants more convenience for his residents, this ramp would also benefit the residents of Cyril in the same way. Meanwhile, the plan OTA asked both towns to approve lacks important details in Francais’ eyes. He went on to say that if OTA would provide more information, such as, how much it would cost or when it would be built, then he could take that to council for discussion.

“They want us to sign off on something that’s ambiguous in nature,” Francais said.

For a broader perspective, Dark Roast reached out to Comanche County Commissioner Ryan John over his thoughts on the project.

“It is an absolute no-brainer,” John said. “The number one complaint about Elgin is the traffic.”

While John admits the recently constructed turn lane has made traffic coming off I-44 better, trying to get back onto 8th from a storefront is its own challenge. John also agrees with Herrin’s perspective on shopping, stating that people aren't going to go all the way to Lawton if they don’t have to, which results in them still stopping in Elgin. If they aren’t planning on stopping in the city, then according to John and Herrin, they shouldn’t be forced to drive through it.

“I don’t see any reason to force all those residents to pass through Elgin when all they’re trying to do is access the I-44 ramp,” John said.

Dark Roast staff additionally spoke with a verified anonymous source about the proposal. According to the source, the discussion has a high likelihood to be put in front of Elgin City Council later this year around late spring/early summer. Additionally, Elgin is reported to see a few new businesses coming to the city around March and that even if the council were to approve this project, it would still be another ten years before it’s built.

While many believe this off-ramp project will help not only Fletcher, but the surrounding areas to include Elgin, it’s ultimately in the hands of Elgin’s city council.