Lawton’s Southwest 38th Street will be repaired, rather than rebuilt

A south Lawton arterial has been formally moved from the rebuild to the repair category, a decision calculated to trim costs and the amount of time traffic lanes will be closed.

City Council members accepted a recommendation made earlier this year by their Streets and Bridges Committee and moved Southwest 38th Street to a new list of streets identified for mill and overlay. That repair process grinds off the top layer of asphalt before applying a fresh layer, a process designed to improve the driving surface while giving the road at least five more years of life. The process can be done much more quickly than can complete rebuilds, at significantly less cost, said Ward 4 Councilman George Gill, who chairs the Streets and Bridges Committee.

Gill said analysis supports the idea that Southwest 38th Street is suitable for mill and overlay between West Gore and West Lee boulevards. That segment is part of a 2-mile project — West Gore Boulevard to Bishop Road — that city officials had identified for a rebuild project, with the Gore to Lee segment set as the priority. The cost estimate for that segment was $20 million, Gill said, adding the road could be closed for up to two years. By contrast, mill and overlay is estimated at six months and $5 million.

Gill said his committee discussed the issue earlier this year and recommended the change, but had not yet brought that recommendation to the council for action. Committee members were taking that action now “because we’re getting closer to allocating the money,” Gill said.

While city officials haven’t said how the mill and overlay project would be funded, funding is available in the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) Extension that voters approved in August. That program includes a permanent one-quarter-cent sales tax dedicated to street and bridge work.

Tuesday’s decision on Southwest 38th Street fits into work that already has begun to craft a new project list for the next 40 “or maybe 80 streets” for a new mill and overlay program, Gill said. While T&G Construction is working on the final 15 streets in the program’s initial 40 street program, city officials were waiting for funding to be identified before revealing a new list.

“Soon,” Gill said, about when the city can begin moving forward with the next round of upgrades.

The mill and overlay program is a repair/rehabilitation program that allows some deep repair work on small sections of pavement, but focuses most of its attention on the mill and overlay process. Southwest 38th Street had raised concerns because of the degree of deterioration in some areas, including lanes along the west boundary of Cameron University. But, Gill and other council members also are concerned about the length of time a rebuild could take because it would mean closing traffic lanes for long periods of time.

Ward 3 Councilwoman Linda Chapman, who represents the area, said it was time to move forward with the project. While it has been an important issue for the five years she has served on the council, she said it also is important for constituents who must drive “on one of the worst roads in Lawton.”

The repair project is expected to include more than road resurfacing.

Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren asked city staff to explore the idea of adding sidewalks and look at drainage problems.

“I’m 100 percent for mill and overlay, and full-depth repair,” Warren said, of a process that has been successfully used on other arterials, including work now under way on Northwest Ferris Avenue west of Fort Sill Boulevard.

Chris Serrano, with the city’s consulting engineering firm WSB, said engineers weren’t aware of any drainage issues, but will do the analysis.

“It sounds like the problem may be due to base failure,” he said, of deterioration that is leaving potholes in the road surface.