LAWTON – A tranche of bonds that were authorized eight years ago was sold recently to underwrite more street improvement projects.
Lawton City Council voted to sell $3,150,000 of general obligation bonds to PNC Capital Market, the lowest bidder at an interest rate of 3.318646%. The debt will be retired over a 10-year period starting Aug. 1, 2025, and concluding with a final payment of $350,000 on Dec. 1, 2035, records reflect.
The tranche of bonds sold June 24 was derived from a $55.3 million Street/Roadway Capital Improvement Program that Lawton voters approved in 2017.
Councilman George Gill said the funds probably will be used for multiple projects, including the “105 in ’25” mill-and-overlay street repair program and perhaps work on Lee Boulevard between 38th and 52nd streets. Gill is chairman of the city’s Streets, Bridges, and Building Development Council Committee.
Construction on Lee Boulevard between 38th and 52nd is expected to start this fall, Gill indicated. “The plans will be done soon, within 30 days,” he told Southwest Ledger on Friday, “and then we’ll send it out for bids, which will take 30 days.”
Meanwhile, rehabilitation of 38th Street between Gore and Lee Boulevards is progressing.
Approximately 1,200 square yards of the street will receive a relatively simple asphalt mill-and-overlay, records indicate. However, much of the street will receive “deep impact repair,” Gill said. That means sections of the street will be torn out down to the dirt for preparation of 1,500 cubic yards of Type A aggregate base (perhaps 2,500 tons of gravel) before new asphalt surfacing is poured.
T&G Construction of Lawton won a $4.349 million contract to rehabilitate the mile-long route. That job will be financed with ad valorem tax receipts, city records show.