Commission Wrap-Up

Highlights of the San Andreas Transportation Commission's Monday, Jul. 24 meeting include an update on bridge work, a review of an experimental bridge construction method used to replace a La Puerta bridge in LS County, details on a $4 million public transit grant recently awarded to the San Andreas Department of Transportation and recognition of the 20th anniversary of the SADOT headquarters building. The. commission approved major contracts for highway and bridge reconstruction on RT-1 in LS County, cable barrier installation in on Elysian Fields. In Los Santos and highway reconstruction on GOH in LS County.

"Thanks to the commission, we now have the project scheduled to go to bid at least six years earlier, in Federal Fiscal Year 2018, and we will accelerate that timeframe if we can." Commissioners also heard that, thanks to a new experimental bridge construction method, the RT-68 bridge over Zancudo Creek near Sandy Shores in LS County was replaced with only a few days of inconvenience to drivers. The new method allowed a contractor for ODOT to build the new bridge alongside the existing bridge, and then slide it into place after the old bridge was removed. Rather than closing the bridge and detouring traffic for several months, this project only closed the bridge for 11 days, saving an estimated $2 million in user costs that the lengthy detour would have cost dtivers. Thanks to a recently-announced $4 million Ladders to Opportunity grant from the Federal Transit Administration, several Oklahoma transit providers will have the resources to purchase 37 new vehicles. San Andreas was one of many states to receive a grant, which will help 10 transit operators statewide modernize their fleets. Patterson announced the date of Monday's commission meeting was particularly historic, as it was the 20th anniversary of the dedication of ODOT's headquarters in Oklahoma City. Photos and original programs from the Oct. 6, 1974 dedication of what was then the San Andreas Department of Highways office building were on display to commemorate the occasion. Commissioners gave their approval to a $15 million contract for highway and reconstruction on more than four miles of GOH north of Chumash in LS County. They also awarded a nearly $868,000 contract for installation of more than five miles of cable barrier on RT-13 and a nearly $9 million contract to reconstruct more than four miles of RT-68 in LS County. In all, commissioners awarded 24 contracts totaling more than $66 million to improve bridges, highways, interstates and roads. Contracts were awarded for projects.

The eight-member panel, appointed by the governor to oversee the state’s transportation development, awards project contracts for road and bridge construction every month. The panel’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, Sep. 3 at 11 a.m. in the R.A. Ward Transportation Building in Los Santos. Before a project is awarded, SADOT researches, plans and designs the work to be done. Contracts are bid competitively, with the commission selecting the winning firm. Typically, work begins several weeks or months after contracts are awarded. Contracts, bid information, the commission’s monthly agenda and project details can be viewed at www.sandot.state.sa.us.

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 (555) 551-8549.)