A pair of Tulsa attorneys are awaiting the State Supreme Court in their year-old lawsuit filed in a bid to make part of the Will Rogers Turnpike toll-free. Their suit also seeks reimbursement of motorists who use the stretch from Claremore to Catoosa.
Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilmember Kevin Easley Jr. led the effort last year and was represented by former President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate Stratton Taylor. Easley’s lawsuit, filed in Rogers County District court, contends motorists should not have to pay tolls due to a 50-year lease agreement mandated between the Oklahoma Transportation Commission and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority in 2000.
They contend the stretch of the turnpike from Claremore to Catoosa should be free based on a state law passed 26 years ago. The state argues the former legislators are misinterpreting the law.
Easley claims the lease covered the start of the turnpike near its intersection with U.S. Highway 412 and the interchange south of Claremore. Easley’s suit also stated Oklahoma statute said annual payments should equal the net revenue that would have amounted from tolls on the leased portion in order to “avoid the expenditure of funds.” He also claimed the lease was never executed and that “hundreds or thousands” of drivers are entitled to restitution.
“By imposing a toll or charge on persons who traveled on the portion of the Will Rogers Turnpike which should have been covered by the Lease, the OTA has received money to which it is not entitled and which OTA must return to the Plaintiff and Plaintiff Class,” the lawsuit reads. “… by imposing a toll or charge on persons who traveled on the portion of the Will Rogers Turnpike which should have been covered by the Lease, the OTA has been unjustly enriched.”
Easley’s lawsuit made the claim that there was a contingency with the law and it was that the turnpike would be free when the Flint Road interchange was finished. It took 25 years for the interchange to be finished which happened in March 2025.
“They [ODOT] did not forget about this, but they were hoping we all did, and we didn’t,” said Easley, Jr. in an interview with KOTV News in Tulsa.
The Will Rogers Turnpike is an 88.5 mile toll road, carrying Interstate 44 from east Tulsa to the Missouri state line near Joplin. It was named after “Oklahoma’s Favorite Son” and features PlatePay cashless tolling. It is also famous for the Will Rogers Archway service plaza.
