(The following story by Gavin Off appeared on the Tulsa World website on August 3, 2009.)
TULSA, Okla. — Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation will meet with members of the Federal Railway Administration this week to discuss the possibility of bringing high-speed rail service to Oklahoma.
Gary Ridley, ODOT director, said the meeting would help determine how the department proceeds with its nearly $2 billion request in federal stimulus funds.
Last month, the department submitted a letter of intent to ask for $1.99 billion of the federal government’s $8 billion pot of high-speed rail funds. A formal application for the money is due in mid August.
Ridley said he envisioned high-speed rail in Oklahoma growing as the state highway system has done for the past half-century.
“It’s going to become a bigger player than it is today,” he said.