The OTA voted on November 11, 2002, to open discussions about transferring the Chickasaw to ODOT. The transfer would also include a one-time payment of $14 million (equivalent to $ in ) for maintenance. The turnpike had deteriorated since its original construction; ODOT director Gary Ridley said that recurrent pavement problems necessitated constant repairs. He also mentioned that there were other issues, such as right-of-way problems, that could endanger ODOT's ability to draw from the federal highway trust fund. House Speaker Pro Tempore-designate Danny Hilliard opposed the transfer on the grounds of the road's poor condition, as well as objecting to the partial interchanges. The lawmaker called the Chickasaw Turnpike "an albatross" and said "I told them that unless the Turnpike Authority brought that turnpike up to ODOT specifications, and completed the interchanges at Roff and US-177 north at Sulphur, we're not interested in having that thing dumped on the taxpayers."