Oklahoma DOT approves updated work plan

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The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (DOT) recently approved an updated eight-year Construction Work Plan, which addresses projects for federal fiscal years 2018 through 2025.

“The cumulative state funding reductions since 2010 have produced a snowball effect where projects have been pushed back later and later and now they’re being pushed out of the plan, which changes our strategy and moves us in the wrong direction,” Oklahoma DOT Executive Director Mike Patterson said.

Any work plan is required to be balanced with anticipated federal and state funding. In the past seven years, there has been an $840 million reduction in state funding, and the department is expecting $6.3 billion combined in federal and state funding.

This forced the department to cancel 40 construction projects totaling more than $204 million and postpone 42 percent of projects. This includes 65 projects that were up for bid in 2017.

Among the reductions, there were 60 fewer highway bridge replacements or major rehabilitations, 44 fewer new bridges, and 170 fewer projects overall.

The updated plan includes $370 million in projects to address urban highway congestion, 150 miles of interstate pavement improvements, and 696 miles of improvements to two-lane highways.

Though the state is nearing its goal of addressing all structurally deficient highway bridges by 2020, Oklahoma DOT estimates that it will still have to replace or rehabilitate 90 bridges each year just to keep up with the aging infrastructure.