OTC authorizes $95,000 in improvements for Industrial Avenue bridge in Sand Springs

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On Monday, Aug. 3, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission approved the nearly $880 million County Improvements for Roads and Bridges plan that has been updated for State Fiscal Years 2021 through 2025. The plan, managed by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, is set to replace or rehabilitate 313 bridges on the county system – of which 151 are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete – and to improve 585 miles of county roads in the next five years.

“Oklahoma’s county road network accounts for 60 percent of the state’s bridges and 73 percent of its centerline miles on our state’s transportation system and this funding is fundamental to keeping the ‘off-system’ infrastructure online for years to come,” said Tim Gatz, Oklahoma secretary of transportation and ODOT executive director.

The plan is comprised of 209 projects with all 77 counties represented. The department works with the counties’ eight Circuit Engineering Districts to prioritize projects of the highest need in each county and make the most of state, federal, local and tribal funding sources. The plan allows counties to work together to pool resources to address high-priority projects too large for any one county to accomplish. By law, ODOT administers the plan and partners with the counties to oversee the state and federal funds incorporated into many projects.

The plan identifies funding for one project in Sand Springs. $85,000 has been set aside for either repairs to or replacement of the Industrial Avenue bridge over Sand Creek. $5,000 has been designated for right-of-way improvements on Industrial Avenue, and another $5,000 will be spent on utilities improvements.