Lawton City Council study committee wants airport access road upgraded

A deteriorating road leading into and out of Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport will get a facelift.

At least, that’s the plan by members of the City Council’s Streets and Bridges Committee, an advisory board that evaluates street and bridge upgrade projects being considered or implemented by the City of Lawton, then makes recommendations to the full council. In this instance, the recommendation is adding King’s Road to a 41-item list of roads already identified for mill and overlay work. Dividing the project into phases produces estimated costs ranging from $280,000 to $1.1 million.

Ellsworth Construction already is working on the first 10 priority roads, under a $1.55 million project awarded by the council earlier this year. The remaining roads won’t be addressed until the 2024-2025 fiscal year that begins July 1 because city officials must first find the money for them. Ward 5 Councilman Allan Hampton, who also is a member of the Streets and Bridges Committee, argues King Road is a pressing need that must be a priority and city officials need to launch the work so it can be done by spring.

King Road is the access point to Lawton-Fort Sill Regional Airport, leading into the airport grounds from South 11th Street, circling around the front of the terminal, then going back east to exit back onto South 11th Street. Airport Director Barbara McNally has said the road is a dedicated city street, which Hampton said means the city is responsible for its maintenance. Portions of the road are severely deteriorated, Hampton said, pointing to cracks and deep holes in the pavement near the terminal.

Ward 4 Councilman George Gill said the plan is to win council approval to put the project out for bids so a contractor can be selected and the work added to mill and overlay already being done. Ellsworth Construction’s $1.55 million bid to do those 10 roads was $700,000 less than what city officials had expected when they put funding in the 2023-2024 streets budget for maintenance, meaning there is $700,000 available for King Road.

Gill said committee members are recommending the work be divided into phases. The base bid would center on the road directly in front of the terminal (the most deteriorated portion), where engineers estimate a cost of $278,938. Adding the section of King Road between the terminal and entrance/exit points for the airport parking lot takes the project to an estimated $551,870, while doing the entire road is estimated at $1,099,937. Gill and other committee members suggested setting the terminal area as the base bid, adding the road leading to the parking lot as Alternative 1 and the remainder of the road as Alternative 2. That would allow at least a portion of the road to be done this fiscal year, Gill said.

Hampton, the council’s representative on the Lawton Metropolitan Area Airport Authority, said upgrading the worst sections of the road is crucial.

“It’s an important gateway to Lawton,” he said, adding those flying into the airport for the first time get their impression of Lawton from that road. “The little horseshoe (the area closest to the terminal) is really bad.”

Hampton said the upgrade would accompany upgrades under way inside the terminal. Work to double the size of the secured passenger holding area is set for completion by early spring, and airport officials are planning a celebration for April, he said.

Hampton said if only part of the road can be done with available funding, he recommends the terminal and parking lot areas, explaining the condition of the remainder of King Road is similar to South 11th Street, good enough that both could be done when the city identifies additional road improvement money.

City Engineer Joe Painter said King Road is a perfect illustration of what the city wants to do with its mill and overlay program: upgrade deteriorating roads to extend their life. Engineers say mill and overlay — grinding off the top layer of asphalt and replacing it with new asphalt — will extend a road’s life by five to seven years, delaying a complete rebuild.