Data on traffic accidents since the installation of the J-Turn on Highway 97 at 81st appears to show that the controversial intersection project is helping to reduce the severity of crashes, if not the number of them.
According to data received from Oklahoma Highway Patrol, traffic accidents have remained steady for the last three years, but the severity of crashes has dropped significantly.
Since 2021, there have been 2 fatal crashes at the intersection. There have been none since the installation of the J-Turn in 2023. Minor injury crashes saw a sharp increase in 2023, but then dropped to nearly the levels it had prior to the J-Turn. Meanwhile, non-injury crashes have risen, leading to an overall projection of a safer intersection.
The J-Turn was announced as a means of curbing the likelihood of a traffic accident at the intersection, following a study by ODOT, commissioned by then-County Commissioner Leon Warner.
For many local drivers, it was the first experience with a J-Turn, as they’re not as common in Oklahoma as they are in other states. For the first several weeks, semi-trailer trucks would continue to cross onto Hwy 97 as normal, driving directly over the new concrete median, until better visual barriers were installed to help clarify how the intersection worked.
Crashes at Highway SH 97 and W. 81st St. S., Creek County
| Year | Fatal | Serious | Minor | Possible | Non-Injury | Total |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2023 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2024 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
