A preventative street maintenance project underway on several of Bartlesville’s busiest roads is now set to wrap up in September due to unprecedented rainfall in the area over the past few months and other delays.
The $3.7 million project, which is aimed at extending the life of some of Bartlesville’s most-traveled roadways, got underway in May and was initially expected to conclude in mid July. But rain, equipment failures, and a change midstream in subcontractors has pushed the targeted completion date back to mid or late September, Director of Engineering Micah Siemers said this week.
“Unfortunately, the HA5, which is one of the phases in this four-phase project, is extremely moisture dependent, so the contractor has had a lot of set-backs to contend with. But this project is still very much in progress, and hopefully, we will have a stretch of dry weather and will be able to make some real progress in the coming days and weeks.”
The four-phase process includes crack seal, chip seal, HA5 high density mineral bond (a pavement preservation treatment) and then striping. Crews applied the first round of HA5 on a section of Virginia Avenue last week.
“For asphalt streets, sunlight and water are the biggest factors in how it deteriorates – those are the things that break down asphalt,” Siemers said. “So, essentially, we’re trying to extend the life of those by providing a measure that seals that off and provides a good driving surface as well. These are some of our major streets that are typically higher speed limits and higher traffic volumes. There are limited measures that you can do for preventative maintenance in those types of situations. It’s new to us, but we’re working through it and I think it will be good in the end.”
Holbrook, the contractor on the project, released a new schedule for the project this week.
“We anticipate having more detailed information regarding the HA5 placement dates later this week or early next week,” said Director of Engineering Micah Siemers. “But as of right now, this is the high level schedule for the project.”
July 21-23 — Crack Seal: Finish off at E. Frank Phillips Section: Frank Phillips between U.S. Highway 75 and Madison Boulevard and Johnstone Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street.
July 21-25 — Aggregate Course: Finish off at E. Frank Phillips Section (does not include four-lane road section). Complete the aggregate course (chip seal) on Nowata Road between US-75 and Silver Lake Road, Jefferson Road between Lincoln and Boardwalk Court, Johnstone Avenue between 14th Street and Adams Boulevard, and then Frank Phillips between US-75 and Madison Boulevard.
July 28 through Aug. 6 — HA5 Logistics and Mobilization – Crew, Material, Equipment, Citizen Notifications. “The contractor will be finalizing the HA5 schedule during this time and notifying residents and businesses along the routes,” Siemers said.
Aug. 7 through Sept. 5 — HA5 Installation: Specific information to be available later this week or early next week.
Sept. 8-19 — Striping throughout the project areas.
Streets currently set for completion include:
- Bison Road — Tuxedo Boulevard to Nowata Road
- Tuxedo Boulevard — Madison Boulevard to Bison Road
- Madison Boulevard — Tuxedo Boulevard to Price Road
- Price Road — Washington Boulevard to Madison Boulevard
- Frank Phillips Boulevard — Sunset Boulevard to Keeler, Delaware to Hillside Drive and Avondale Street to Madison Boulevard
- Johnstone Avenue — Adams Boulevard to 14th Street and Fourth Street to Fifth Street
- Nowata Road — Silver Lake Road to Washington Boulevard
- Jefferson Place — Lincoln Road to Boardwalk Court
- Virginia Avenue — Hensley Boulevard to Butler Creek
State-owned highways, including U.S. Highway 75, Highway 60 and Highway 123 are not included in this project. (The project currently underway on Adams Boulevard, also known as Highway 60, is a separate, Oklahoma Department of Transportation project.)
Preventative Maintenance Repair street projects are identified on an annual basis and funded through the Half-cent Capital Improvement Projects Sales Tax, which is approved by voters every five years.
More information about this project is available at https://ha5roads.com/city-of-bartlesville-pavement-preservation/, a website produced and hosted by Holbrook Asphalt. Schedules may not accurate due to delays, but the general scope is shown.