To address these concerns, OTA began a $12.8-million (equivalent to $ in ) pavement rehabilitation project on February 9, 2006. Construction constraints required the entire turnpike to be closed in March, causing traffic problems in Sulphur. The turnpike reopened on September 29, 2006. The Oklahoma Transportation Commission, which oversees ODOT, voted on August 6, 2007, to begin feasibility and cost–benefit analysis studies towards accepting the of the turnpike between SH-7 and US-177. On August 1, 2011, the Transportation Commission voted to transfer the section of the turnpike west of US-177 to ODOT, designating it SH-7 Spur. The commission noted that OTA had raised the new SH-7 Spur to meet ODOT standards, and that expansion of the US-177 interchange to full access was the responsibility of ODOT. This was the first time that a turnpike had been transferred from OTA to ODOT. Transferring the turnpike was considered an inexpensive way to solve the problem of excessive truck traffic in Sulphur.