Blaine and Dewey Co. Transportation Proiects

It’s time for my annual update of roads and bridges projects in our district. This first column includes projects in Blaine and Dewey Counties.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation lists these projects as under construction or considered active:

State Highway 3 East of Watonga, grading, draining and surfacing from 1 mile east of the U.S. Highway 270 junction extending east four miles. Work started March 23 and is scheduled to be complete next summer. The contractor is extending the current drainage structures to provide adequate clearance for future shoulder widening. Detours are being constructed in areas where the profile of the road is to be raised to reduce the deep valleys, which will improve safety and visibility. The cost is $9.9 million. Work is being done by The Cummins Construction Co. Inc.

State Highway 8 south of Okeene, bridge and approaches over Salt Creek, 7.3 miles south of the State Highway 51 junction. The project is 58% complete and should be finished this summer. The bridge deck has been completed. The contractor is forming and pouring parapet walls and tidying up the earthwork as well as working on the pavement tieins. The cost is $2.4 million. Work is being done by Haskell Lemon Construction Co.

State Highway 58 over Minnehaha Creek, bridge and approaches 0.1 miles south of the State Highway 51 junction in Canton. The project is scheduled to start in September and be complete by next summer. The cost is $2.3 million. Work will be done by K&R Builders Inc.

Various other projects are ongoing throughout Blaine and Dewey counties, including chip and seal work, utilities, asphalt patching and leveling, resurfacing and highway safety improvements. The cost of each project varies from $1,000 to more than $1 million, totaling more than $6.1 million.

Future work includes:

Five projects along U.S. Highway 270 will be let over the next five years. This month, a project will be let for work beginning 0.4 miles southeast of the junction of State Highway 51 East extending southeast 4.9 miles. Work will continue in increments of between 3 and 5 miles each summer through 2025.

In November, a project will be let for work on State Highway 3 beginning 5 miles east of the Junction of 270 in Watonga extending east 6.41 miles to the Kingfisher County Line.

Four future bridge projects in Dewey County will be let beginning in June 2021 and continuing in 2023, 2025 and 2027. The first project is a bridge over the Canadian River south of Camargo on State Highway 34. Right-of-way and utility work has already begun on this project. The remaining three are bridges on U.S. Highway 60: one over Cottonwood and Kizer Creeks, 5.7 and 9 miles east of the State Highway 34 North junction; the second over Camp and Deep Creeks, 5.9 and 2.1 miles west of the U.S. Highway 183 junction; and the final one over West Seiling Creek, 0.9 miles east of U.S. 183 on the west edge of Seiling.

There are two additional projects scheduled to be let in 2027 that will add 8-foot shoulders to State Highway 34 at U.S. Highway 60 in Vici, extending 1.4 mile north to the Woodward County Line, and to U.S. 60 at U.S. 270 in Seiling, extending 0.66 miles to the Major County Line. Work then will extend north into ODOT Division 6 in Woodward and Major counties.

During the 12 years I have been in office, we’ve been able to secure more than $46 million for Blaine County roads and bridges projects and almost $51 million for Dewey County for a total of more $97million. That’s amazing! Making sure our roads and bridges are safe for our residents and in good shape to move commerce has been a top goal for me as an elected official. Seeing the impact over the course of my service in the Legislature is gratifying.

Next week, I will talk about Woodward County projects and the following week Kingfisher and Canadian County.

If I can help you in any way, I can be reached at (405) 557-7407 or mike.sanders@okhouse.gov.