City staff continue to work on right-of-way acquisition needed to facilitate construction on the sunset bridge rehabilitation project, approved by voters as part of the 2020 General Obligation Bond election in August, 2020. The project consists of replacing the deck on the Sunset bridge over Butler Creek.
A separate but related component of the project — constructing a pedestrian bridge adjacent to the existing bridge — was approved by voters in the 2020 Half-cent Sales Tax extension.
Plans for the project are complete, and staff continues to secure right-of-way property needed to move the project forward.
“We anticipate having that secured in January,” Siemers said.
The project will require a contractor experienced in bridge repairs, so City staff are hopeful that the Sunset Bridge project can be timed in such a way that the contractor currently working on the Tuxedo Bridge Replacement Project, Wildcat Construction, will be free to bid on the Sunset Bridge project.
“We have discussed timing for the Sunset Bridge project in hopes of getting competitive pricing since that contractor is already mobilized in Bartlesville,” Siemers said. “Based upon those conversations, we would like to advertise bids after the first of the year with the intent to be able to award a contract in March or April, with construction starting a month or so later.”
City staff have twice repaired potholes on the bridge, providing a temporary fix until the replacement project can get underway.
“On Nov. 25, we were notified that another pothole had developed in the bridge deck,” Siemers said. “Street Department staff have placed a large steel plate over the hole, similar to what we had done in advance of previous repairs. We are discussing whether we will go ahead and patch the deck one more time before construction begins or if we will leave the plate in place for that period of time. If we patch the deck, it will likely be done after the holidays.”
Tuxedo Bridge work continues
The Tuxedo Bridge Replacement project is moving along nicely, Siemers said, with contractors on-track to finish in June 2025 — or possibly even earlier.
“The deck has been removed from the bridge, and the contractor is currently working on preparing the existing structural steel for the new deck material,” Siemers said. “As work progresses we are finding some areas where some of the structural components need to be replaced which, was expected, but the contractor is making good progress. Their schedule is to be complete in June, but they seem to be tracking a bit ahead of schedule.”
Traffic over the bridge has been reduced to one lane for each direction on the eastbound bridge and Pathfinder will be closed under the bridge for the duration of the project. The project consists of a full deck replacement of the westbound bridge.