 The first section of the Creek Turnpike to open was a 3.6-mile (5.8 km) segment from Delaware Avenue to its eastern terminus at Memorial Drive, which opened to traffic at 7 p.m. on March 13, 1992. Tolls were waived until 12: 01 a.m. on March 16. The next section to the west, from Elm Street in Jenks to Delaware Avenue, including the Arkansas River bridge, opened the afternoon of April 15. The final leg of the first segment of the turnpike, from US-75 to Elm Street, opened at noon on July 30. The Creek Turnpike was initially posted with a 55-mile-per-hour (89 km / h) speed limit, due to the National Maximum Speed Limit law then in effect. Traffic levels on the new highway were about double what was expected, with an average of 9,000 vehicles per day using the turnpike in August 1992; a 1988 estimate predicted only 3,000 to 5,000 vehicles would use the road each day.
