Millions of dollars in contracts were recently approved by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission for the design of future highway projects including state highway 9 near Norman, US highway 69 near Durant and the Duncan Bypass in Stephens County.
At least 17 engineering contracts for the design of the projects were approved as part of ODOT’s Eight-year Construction Work Plan and Asset Preservation Plan.
The State highway 9 project will involve widening east of 156th street in Norman. The Durant project will include reconstruction at W. Arkansas St., Kiamichi Railroad and Main St.
Secretary of Transportation and Oklahoma Department of Transportation Executive Director Tim Gatz briefed commissioners on details of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which was approved by U.S. Congress and the president in December. The bill includes reauthorization of federal funding through the rest of Federal Fiscal Year 2021, as well as providing additional COVID-19 relief for state DOTs.
The bill also includes the America’s Water Infrastructure Act, a major reauthorization and streamlining of the federal water resources program. Provisions in the law will improve ODOT’s partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and accelerate repairs to inland waterways damaged by flooding, including the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System in eastern Oklahoma.
Gatz noted that ODOT is preparing for the upcoming state legislative session and will be working with lawmakers as they begin to prepare the State Fiscal Year 2022 budget. Before the session begins in February, ODOT will appear before the Oklahoma Senate and the Oklahoma House of Representatives for its annual budget review.