OKLAHOMA CITY – Highlights of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission’s Tues- day, Sept. 3, meeting include an update on the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Eight-year Construction Work Plan, a briefing on the department’s ongoing effort to develop the state’s first public transit plan with service providers and stakeholders and announcement of a federal grant for an innovative county bridge project.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Highlights of the Oklahoma Transportation Commission’s Tuesday, Sept. 3, meeting include an update on the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s Eight-year Construction Work Plan, a briefing on the department’s ongoing effort to develop the state’s first public transit plan with service providers and stakeholders and announcement of a federal grant for an innovative county bridge project.
Secretary of Transportation and ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz gave an update on the ongoing process of rebalancing the agency’s Eight-year Plan, which includes reprioritizing and adding highway projects based on needs and available state and federal funding.
Transportation commissioners, together with the department’s field division engineers, have been reviewing proposed projects in their areas for changes in scope and cost estimates to create a balanced statewide plan, which is expected to be brought to the commission for approval in October.
Gatz also noted that ODOT is bringing the state’s public transit providers and stakeholders together this month to identify shared goals, objectives and performance metrics for the first Oklahoma Public Transit Policy Plan and to discuss how the department’s new Office of Mobility and the Public Transit can help address the identified needs.
They highlighted two special agency accomplishments. An aerial photograph was taken by ODOT of the SkyDance bridge over the I-40 Crosstown in Oklahoma City recently received top honors from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ Standing Committee on Transportation Communications, and a department publication about the history of Red River crossings between Oklahoma and Texas earned national recognition from the Legislative Research Librarians committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Commissioners voted to award 14 contracts totaling nearly $45 million to improve highways, roads, and bridges in 11 counties. Contracts were awarded for projects in Blaine, Creek, Custer, Ellis, Grady, Oklahoma, Pittsburg, Sequoyah, Tillman, Tulsa and Washington counties.
A list of all awarded contracts can be found by visiting www.odot.org/contracts.
The nine-member Oklahoma Transportation Commission, appointed by the governor and legislative leadership to oversee the state’s transportation development, awards contracts every month for road and bridge construction. The commission’s next meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 14, which is Columbus Day, but state offices will be open. Contracts, bid information, the commission’s monthly agenda, and project details can be viewed at www.odot.org.