A section of 41st Street between Sheridan Road and Memorial Drive ranks as the worst four-lane arterial road in Tulsa for pavement condition. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
Nicky Jones knows firsthand the woes of driving what could be the meanest street in Tulsa for vehicles.
Like thousands of other motorists, Jones regularly drives on 41st Street between Sheridan Road and Memorial Drive. For Jones, it's to get to her job at Boomer Audio.
"I had a flat tire on that road," Jones said. "I hit a pothole and phhtttt."
The one-mile stretch of East 41st Street ranks as the worst four-lane arterial in the city, according to a World analysis of city of Tulsa pavement condition data.
A 2010 pavement condition study commissioned by the city of Tulsa gave the one-mile, bone-jarring stretch of asphalt on East 41st a 14 out of 100 total points on a measurement system called the pavement condition index.
Today, the road features numerous patches, mini-cavernous splits in the asphalt and numerous sections with depressed seams that give the driver that false - bump, bump, bump - flat-tire feeling and sound.
So, it should be of no surprise that the major rehabilitation of that portion of 41st Street is included in a tentative list of projects totaling $919.9 million eyed by city officials.
Once completed by city officials, the funding package will go before voters Nov. 12.
The exact type of work to be performed on East 41st Street will be determined later, said Matt Liechti, city of Tulsa's Engineering Services Department planning and coordination manager.
In the meantime, the city will continue to use a 2010 arterial street pavement inspection study and a 2008 neighborhood street study to help prioritize how to spend street repair funds as they become available, officials said.
The 2010 study found that the condition of Tulsa's arterial streets has remained steady at 60 since 2006.
Neighborhood streets have fared worse in recent years.
The 2008 study found the overall neighborhood street pavement condition index to be 61, a decline from a PCI of 67 in 2004.
The 2008 neighborhood street study noted "significant decreases in the PCI's" in areas on the north, midtown and west sides compared to previous years.
The city inspects its streets every five years, with new neighborhood street PCI ratings due in 2014, officials said.
While some may equate a 60 PCI score with a low D on a school report card, Liechti said it is not fair to say that a street that scores below a 60 is failing.
"We have PCIs of 40s out there, and you drive them every day and they haven't failed," Liechti said. "They still function as a road. They may not be the most aesthetically pleasing street, but you are not getting stuck in the mud, either."
One of those roads that is not the best to look at is the 6500 block of East 26th Court.
A World analysis of the city of Tulsa's 2008 neighborhood roads study found the area located just east of Sheridan Road and East 26th Court to have the worst residential PCI scores in the city. The city's pavement condition study gave the neighborhood streets a score of 21 out of 100 possible points.
A part of the Boman Acres Third Addition, the streets in the neighborhood feature areas with multiple asphalt patches. In some areas, the road has buckled, causing the asphalt to jut upwards.
Yet despite the low pavement score, vehicles still manage to get down the streets without incident, especially if they are minding the speed limit.
And that's something East 26th Court resident Orman Landers likes to point out.
Asked about the conditions of his street, Landers, a resident of the street since 1975, said he prefers to take a conservative approach.
"I don't think they are top of the notch, but at the same time I don't know that they are bad enough that we can justify spending a lot of money on them," Landers said. "My gut feeling is none of them are super bad."
In fact, Landers said he doesn't favor passage of a new tax package to pay for additional citywide road improvements.
"I don't think new taxes are the answer," Landers said. "I think they need to stay within the budget."
A World analysis of the arterial street PCI scores found the best PCI scores were located in the south Tulsa regions of council Districts 7 and 8.
The percentage of arterial roads with scores below a 60 ranged from 78 percent in District 4 to 29 percent in District 7, according to a World analysis.
Still, Liechti said he believes it is unfair to say that Tulsa streets should receive a near-failing overall grade.
"I don't think we have any failed streets," Liechti said. "They are all passable. You can go down them in a regular economy car and get to and from your home.
"So to say that they have failed, I think, is an exaggeration," he said.
Worst arterial streets
| Council district |
Street |
Score (out of 100) |
| District 1 |
Charles Page Boulevard, 33rd to 49th West avenues |
26 |
| District 2 |
51st Street, Tacoma to Elwood avenues |
32 |
| District 3 |
Pine Street, Harvard to Yale avenues |
24 |
| Districts 4 & 9 |
31st Street, Riverside Drive to Peoria Avenue |
40 |
| District 5 |
41st Street, Sheridan Road to Memorial Drive |
14 |
| District 6 |
21st Street, Garnett Road to 129th East Avenue |
32 |
| Districts 6 & 7 |
41st Street, Garnett Road to 129th East Avenue |
36 |
| District 8 |
111th Street, Louisville to Yale avenues |
33 |
| District 9 |
41st Street, Lewis to Harvard avenues |
28 |
Curtis Killman 918-581-8471
curtis.killman@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Bad roads on city's to-do list
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