OKLAHOMA
CITY – Congress’ failure to extend federal highway funding means that
the Oklahoma Department of Transportation will have only $7.9 million
to spend on road and bridge construction contracts in November rather
than the $53 million officials were anticipating, ODOT Director Gary
Ridley said Monday.
“We had to pare that back substantially,” Ridley told the Oklahoma Transportation Commission.
Major
projects put on hold include three in Osage County: projects for $9.3
million and $12.9 million on the Gilcrease west extension and $14.4
million to extend U.S. 60 north of State Highway 11.
Ridley said
those and other projects will have to be deferred at least until
December, when the agency normally does not do a contract letting, or
more probably January.
He said the remaining contracts must be funded totally with state funds or federal stimulus money.
“We’re pretty comfortable that those will be let in November,” Ridley said.
He said Congress approved a stopgap measure on Sept. 30 extending funding for only 30 days.
“We had hoped for an 18-month extension that would enable the states to move forward,” Ridley said.
He said the limitation comes at a time when the agency is preparing to make a $22.8 million bond payment.
The
director said the current federal system for paying for highways
penalizes state transportation departments by removing money that has
not been authorized for spending by the states.
Congress must
do something before the end of October, he said, or the Federal Highway
Administration will be forced to shut down.
If federal lawmakers
do not act, Ridley said, Oklahoma could lose as much as $135 million in
federal highway money over the next year to 18 months.
Ridley
said a series of short-time-period continuing resolutions, such as what
Congress approved last week, would be detrimental to state highway
agencies across the country because they will not be able to plan for
future needs.
“Now we’re living day to day, week to week,” he said. “We’re dealing with a lot of unknowns.”
Ridley
also filled in commissioners on ODOT’s applications for $154 million in
federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery or TIGER
grants.
Projects that would be funded by the grants include:
Tulsa
Interstate 244 Arkansas River bridge: $95 million to add to $37 million
in already-committed funds to replace a structurally deficient bridge
with a new structure with four lanes and a bicycle/pedestrian crossing.
Claremore: $27 million to add to $33 million in committed funding for an elevated freight railroad project.
Shawnee
to Oklahoma City: $32 million to repair and stabilize more than 40
miles of railroad along the Union Pacific Railroad from the city to
Shawnee and on the BNSF extension north of Shawnee.
ODOT also
submitted an application for $2 billion in high-speed rail improvements
between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, as well as to the state line with
Texas. Some $8.5 billion has been authorized for all states.
David
Streb, director of engineering, said that as of July states had
submitted more than 200 pre-application letters totaling about $115
billion in projects.
Streb said the improvements in Oklahoma’s
project would allow the Heartland Flyer to increase its speed from 79
mph to 90 mph, with a true high-speed track to be built north of Turner
Turnpike from Oklahoma City to Tulsa, allowing train speeds of more
than 150 mph.
Ridley said he understands a decision should be
reached on high-speed rail and TIGER grant recipients shortly after the
first of the year.
Also at Monday’s meeting, the commission
approved two highway improvement projects in Tulsa totaling $21
million. One would widen Interstate 44 at Darlington Avenue east of
Yale Avenue. The other would replace a bridge on I-44 over 163rd East
Avenue.
Ridley said ODOT has obligated $412.2 million of the
$464.6 million it was allocated in federal stimulus money, including
about $26 million to make changes in streets and sidewalks in Oklahoma
communities to comply with the requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act.