Governor Henry Bellmon opposed the Chickasaw Turnpike, arguing it would be a money loser. Bellmon had the turnpike built with only two lanes and shortened it to its current termini. Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr., an OTA board member (and future mayor of Tulsa), was later quoted as saying "I think it stinks. We never wanted to build it. It was not anything we thought was appropriate. But in order to build the three turnpikes that were necessary, that is the only way they would build it."