TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION PROJECTS
OKLAHOMA CITY – A contract to replace a rural bridge in northeastern Comanche County, and two highway repaving projects in southwest Oklahoma, were approved Monday by the state Transportation Commission.
• A 49-year-old Comanche County bridge on east/west County Road 154 that spans Ninemile Beaver Creek seven-tenths of a mile east of the SH-17 junction near Elgin will be demolished and replaced.
The existing bridge was built in 1972, records show. The structure was constructed of steel girders and a wooden deck, has no side rails, and is 40 feet long and 18 feet wide, Comanche County District 1 employee Ashley Sanders said.
The bridge is on mail and bus routes, and is crossed by an average of approximately 115 vehicles each day, Sanders said.
The Transportation Commission awarded a $1,133,369 contract on the replacement project to K&R Builders of Wheatland, Okla., the lowest of six bidders for the job.
The new bridge will be constructed of steel-reinforced concrete and will be 4 or 5 feet higher than the existing bridge, District 1 Commissioner Gail Turner said. It also will be built on a straighter alignment, he said. “It won’t be a perfectly straight alignment, but it will be much straighter – and safer – than it is now.”
Construction will take an estimated 120 calendar days to complete after the job starts, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation indicated. The site will be closed and traffic will be rerouted during the project, Turner said.
• US-183 will be repaved in asphalt from just south of the SH-5C junction in Tillman County extending north for 9.3 miles, through Manitou and on to Snyder in Kiowa County.
At $4,644,506, Cornell Construction Co. of Snyder was the lowest of four bidders for the contract. The company is expected to complete the job within 90 days after the work starts.
Average daily traffic on US-183 in 2019 was 2,100 at the northern edge of Manitou and 1,800 at the south edge of Snyder, ODOT records reflect.
• I-44 will be resurfaced with asphalt from the Oklahoma/Texas state line northeast for 1.33 miles, near Randlett in Cotton County, ODOT announced. T&G Construction of Lawton was the lower of two bidders for the job, at $679,286.
Average daily traffic volume on the highway in 2019 was 14,000 just north of the Red River, and 8,200 near Old Burkburnett Road about half a mile north of east/west Cotton County Road 1990.
ODOT allocated 60 days for completion of the job after the work starts.