Stretch of 86th Street North near Owasso to reopen near end of December
BY RHETT MORGAN World Staff Writer
Monday, December 10, 2012
12/10/12 at 8:23 AM
OWASSO - An eight-month impediment for some Tulsa commuters is expected to be removed this month when a portion of 86th Street North west of Owasso reopens to through traffic.
Closed since April, a widened 1.6-mile stretch of 86th Street from Main Street to Memorial Drive is scheduled to reopen by the third or fourth week of December, said Roger Stevens, Owasso's director of public works. The project will cost at least $7.2 million.
Stevens said paving is under way on the first phase (Memorial to Mingo Road), and minor cosmetic work is being completed on the Ranch Creek Bridge between Mingo and Memorial.
One of the last phases of the project is the reconstruction of the Memorial-86th Street intersection. To expedite this, Tulsa County has given permission to close the intersection to all traffic from Friday through Dec. 21, said John Feary, project administrator for public works.
Among the affected properties during construction have been the Southern Links addition, Exchange Bank, Bailey Ranch Golf Course and The Villas at Bailey Ranch.
Before work began, about 11,000 vehicles used that stretch of road daily, data show. Many Owassoans who work in Tulsa use U.S. 169, but others ordinarily travel along U.S. 75, which connects to Owasso via 86th Street North.
Through the federal government, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is responsible for roughly $5.535 million of the cost of the highway improvements, Feary said in the spring. The city of Owasso is contributing about $894,000 and Tulsa County roughly $832,000 through Four to Fix the County funds, he said.
In other Owasso news:
- City Manager Rodney Ray said at last week's City Council meeting that over the past seven years, the municipality's workers' compensation payouts have dropped from about $500,000 annually to roughly $100,000.
- Also at the meeting, Police Chief Dan Yancey said the department's multiuse firearms range could be operable by Dec. 20. Plans call for the city to build the 19-acre facility in four phases to meet officers' needs.
The total investment is expected to be about $275,000, Yancey said.
Original Print Headline: Section of road near Owasso to reopen soon
Rhett Morgan 918-581-8395
rhett.morgan@tulsaworld.com
