by: GAVIN OFF Tulsa World Data Editor
Monday, October 05, 2009
The
Oklahoma Department of Transportation approved more than $38 million of
road projects for Tulsa County on Monday, including three projects that
would build new bridges.
The most expensive project will replace the traffic signal at U.S. 75 and 111th Street in Jenks with a new $11.2 million bridge.
The bridge will carry traffic over U.S. 75 and allow ODOT to
remove the intersection’s signal, which ODOT officials said causes both
backups and accidents.
“You’re going highway speed, and all of a sudden, there’s a
traffic light,” said Kenna Mitchell, spokeswoman for the department.
The project also includes building a new frontage road on the west side
of U.S. 75 between 111th Street and 121st Street and replacing the U.S.
75 access road east of the highway.
Manhattan Road and Bridge Co. will likely begin construction in January or February, said Randle White, ODOT division engineer.
A second project that will likely start around the same time
will replace the Interstate 44 bridge over Darlington Avenue with a
six-lane span. The current four-lane bridge is listed as structurally
deficient, meaning that it needs significant maintenance, repairs or
replacement.
About 89,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day, White said.
The $10.9 million project, awarded to Sherwood Construction
Co., will also widen I-44 from four to six lanes between Yale Avenue
and just west of 41st Street.
The project is scheduled to take one year to complete.
“It’s
a safety issue,” White said. “It will make it a better highway for
everyone.” The final Tulsa County bridge replacement project approved
Monday will replace the structurally deficient I-44 span over 163rd
East Avenue with a new eight-lane span.
Chunks of concrete began falling from the current overpass in
2007, and ever since, netting under the bridge has caught additional
falling debris.
White said the bridge, built in 1958, was originally scheduled to be replaced in 2013.
“With the condition of the bridge, the department has concerns whether it would last to 2013,” White said.
The department awarded the $6.8 million contract to Manhattan
Road and Bridge Co
In other business, ODOT has also asked the federal government for $95
million to replace the Interstate 244 bridge over the Arkansas River.
The current bridge is considered structurally deficient, meaning that
it needs significant maintenance, repairs or replacement.
If awarded, ODOT would combine the money with $37 million it
already has committed to the project to build a eight-lane bridge
across the river.
In addition to highway traffic, the bridge would carry two rail lines.
One line would carry high-speed rail traffic between Tulsa and Oklahoma
City, and a second line would carry commuter traffic between downtown
and Tulsa’s western edge. That line works in conjunction with the
city’s Downtown Area Master Plan, an ODOT release said.
David Streb, ODOT’s director of engineering, said the
department submitted it’s application in September and would know if it
will recieve the grants by early next year. Streb said the fact that
the bridge will carry highway, rail and pedestrian traffic make it a
strong candidate for the TIGER grants - or Grants for Transportation
Investment Generating Economic Recovery.
“We feel these projects are very, very worthy because they’re intermodal,” Streb said.
Tulsa and INCOG worked with ODOT on the application, which is
requesting a portion of the $1.5 billion the federal government has set
aside for TIGER grants.
ODOT also requested $27 million in TIGER funds to improve the
freight railroad through Claremore. In all, the project would cost $60
million and would help ease traffic along State Highway 11, State
Highway 66, State Highway 88 and State Highway 20, an ODOT release
said.
Copyright © 2009, World Publishing Co. All rights reserved
Posted on
Tue, October 6, 2009
by Crystal Drwenski