With $75 million in federal stimulus cash, the repaving of Tulsa’s Inner Dispersal Loop will be completed in a fraction of the time, said Oklahoma transportation officials.

The impact of the federal money means the project, set to run 580 days and last until early 2011, will be done in 36 months, compared to the eight to 10 years it would take if the state had to fund the project.

“This is a game-changer,” said Region VIII Transportation Commissioner Pete Regan.

The investment in transportation will return 10-fold, said David Page, Chamber chairman and market president of JP Morgan Chase Bank.

“This is good for the work force and the funding of the IDL project strengthens the local economy,” Page said.

The $75 million reconstruction of the inner-dispersal loop will also inject a boost to the economy as 600 direct and indirect jobs will be created, according to Bob Ball, Tulsa Chamber economist. The project will create an estimated $137 million economic impact over the course of the project.

The four-mile IDL encircles downtown and averages 62,000 vehicles daily. The project will re-deck more than 40 bridges on the north and west side of the IDL.

“Without this stimulus money, it would take us eight to 10 years what it being done in 18 months,” said Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley.

The project will be in three phases: The first has already started as crews patch the east and south legs. Traffic will be re-routed on those legs of the IDL as re-construction moves forward on the north and west legs later this summer.