On Oct. 14, 2011, the Board of Commissioners met and awarded bids for three asphalt paving projects within the county. These included one mile of Macarthur Blvd. from Waterloo Rd. to Simmons Rd., one mile of Santa Fe Rd. from College Ave. to Cooksey Rd., and two miles of Midwest Blvd. from Waterloo Rd. to Charter Oak. Atlas Paving Company was awarded the bid for all three projects, which totaled $351,627.50 for the four miles.
Grant funds were approved for paving both Macarthur and Santa Fe through the Rural Economic Action Plan (REAP). This program is funded annually by the Oklahoma State Legislature and administered through the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments. The purpose of the program is to provide aid to rural areas.
To qualify for REAP, population in a five-mile radius cannot exceed 7000. However, priority is given to areas with 1500 residents or less. Macarthur, approved for $30,724 in funding last year, had a population of 716. Santa Fe, approved for $58,887, had 827 residents. Interestingly, new census figures indicate significant growth in these areas. This could make future funding more difficult since the focus of REAP is to help rural communities. The area around Macarthur now has 1895 residents and the population surrounding Santa Fe has grown to 1122.
Work is scheduled to begin on Santa Fe immediately as District 1 employees begin road base preparation. Paving should follow soon thereafter, weather permitting. Plans are to begin the project on Macarthur in early November. The county received citizen donations totaling $32,000 to apply toward the purchase of asphalt. Remaining costs will be provided by the county. Thanks to grant funding and the cooperative effort of citizens, Logan County now has the opportunity
to make several more miles of roadway improvements.
Mark Sharpton
Commissioner
District 1
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