District 2 Update: Planning and construction of road projects‏

Spring and early summer has been a busy time for our road crew. Multiple projects are in both planning and construction stages. This update provides a brief description of some of the major projects.

One concerns a 60’ single lane bridge on Triplett, 4/10 mile east of Westminster, which had become unsafe. School buses and emergency vehicles could no longer cross the three-ton rated bridge to pick up children living east of it. On June 2, we removed the old bridge and began work to install two 9’ diameter x 40’ long corrugated-steel pipes. This project will require a lot of fill-dirt and sloping of approaches, but should also provide a sound and stable crossing.

In November of last year, Phillips 66 donated $205,000.00 to pave 6/10 mile of Simmons starting at Douglas and proceeding west. The other 4/10 mile toward Midwest will be paved primarily through the use of funds from the County Bridge and Road Improvement Fund (CBRI). Much has been done to clean right-of-way, reshape ditches, install tinhorns and prepare the roadbed for paving. We have also been preparing Midwest from Charter Oak to Forrest Hills for paving. Weather has delayed these two projects, and since June 30th is the end of the county’s fiscal year and all purchase orders must be closed out, it will be July before Atlas Paving Company begins laying asphalt on these three miles.

We have been working for several years to secure funding for the replacement of the bridge on Prairie Grove one mile west of Henney. We are hopeful to be able to lock in the funding this month through federal Bridge Replacement funds (BR) administered by the Oklahoma Cooperative Circuit Engineering Districts Board. (OCCEDB) We believe there will be enough funding to contract the replacement of the bridge and build the approaches. Work to straighten the road east of the bridge will be done by the county.

On June 2 a bid was awarded to C & C Maintenance for crack sealing Seward from I-35 to Douglas, Douglas from Seward to Forrest Hills and Forrest Hills from Douglas to 4.25 miles east. This will help preserve the integrity of this highly traveled road for several years.

Two other projects planned for the future are the paving of Midwest from County Road 76 to 1.3 miles south. This will be funded through an $81,629.00 2014 Rural Economic Action Program (REAP) grant. In addition, $50,000.00 will come from the CBRI fund. The other recently funded project is the paving of Green Oaks Way from Sooner to Coltrane and Cedar Lane between Simmons and Green Oaks Way. These roads met the requirements to be funded through a Community Development Block Grant. (CDBG)

A more complete list of projects can be accessed at CommissionDistrict2.com