Sept. 12, 2023
At its Sept. 11 meeting, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission approved the cancellation of the contract to resurface SH-51 between US-69/Dewey Ave. and SH-51/McQuarrie Ave. in Wagoner. The project will subsequently be re-bid, which is tentatively scheduled for November with construction delayed until spring 2024. In the meantime, Oklahoma Department of Transportation maintenance crews will perform some surface repairs along this stretch of SH-51 to improve driving conditions until construction can begin.
July 27, 2023
In November 2021, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission awarded 3 projects along SH-51/Cherokee St. within the City of Wagoner:
- A sidewalk project across the railroad between Filmore Ave. and Railroad Blvd.;
- A streetscape enhancement project for the area east of the railroad tracks; and
- An asphalt resurface project between US-69/Dewey Ave. and SH-51/McQuarrie Ave.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation attempted to bid all three projects together as one project, as well as bidding each project separately. This is common on highway projects across the state to encourage smaller contractors to bid on projects within their scope as well as help reduce costs to the Department, and therefore taxpayers. Additionally, the funding types for these projects meant ODOT could not require contractors to bid on the combined contract.
In this case, the bids on the three separate projects represented the best cost to the state. As a result, all three contractors were allowed to begin work at roughly the same time and would interfere with the other projects. ODOT's District 1 engineers requested the paving contractor delay starting their work so the other two projects could progress without having to remove newly laid asphalt. Since that time, the contractor scheduled work in other areas for its asphalt crews, and ODOT's District 1 leadership is urging them to mobilize in Wagoner as soon as possible as their other projects complete.
