Work to begin Monday on West Gore Boulevard rebuilding project

Construction is slated to begin this week on West Gore Boulevard, a project residents have been awaiting for 20 years.

The $13.78 million project is proceeding under the guidance of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT), whose governing board awarded the contract to Duit Construction earlier this year. The project is focusing on the last two-lane segment of one of Lawton’s primary east-west arterials, with plans to rebuild the road to four lanes with a center turn lane between Southwest 67th and Southwest 82nd streets.

Lawton City Engineer Joe Painter said the work will be done in phases. Phase 1 is storm sewer construction, work that will be done on the 67th Street end of the work site. Painter said contractor crews were on site last week setting up the construction yard on the south side of the road near Southwest 82nd Street and preparing for storm drainage work to begin at Southwest 67th Street.

“They’ll try to get that work done first,” Painter said, adding work then will proceed to the first street construction phase, which will be the eastern side and the segment with the most residences and businesses needing access. “We’ll maintain access to all the businesses during construction.”

The work on the west segment will be different: the plan is to completely shut down the road between New Haven Church at 7902 W. Gore and Southwest 82nd Street. Painter said access to the church will come from the residential neighborhood that is just southeast of the church. There are no other houses or facilities needing access from Gore Boulevard in that area, which is why it can be easily closed, engineers have said. The west phase of the project also includes a box structure under the road.

Painter said completely closing that portion of the road will speed construction because there isn’t a need for constant shifting of traffic. Construction of the total project is slated for a little over a year, weather permitting.

City of Lawton officials have been looking at the road for almost two decades, making plans to replace the deteriorating two-lane road with four travel lanes. Painter said the project is important because the arterial provides access to Lawton’s industrial area.

“We’re trying to improve access to that area,” he said. “That’s been on the books quite a while. We’re anxious to get it finished.”

Painter and others say the road is being built through a partnership with ODOT. While the City of Lawton funded design plans, right of way acquisition and utility relocation work, ODOT is paying 80 percent of the construction cost, which is why ODOT is in charge of the project.

The duration of the project from conception to hiring a contractor forced some changes, including finding more money. ODOT committed to covering 80 percent of construction costs in 2018, but because of soaring construction costs, ODOT and the City of Lawton both had to designate more funding. That formal allocation came in March, when the City Council approved an agreement with ODOT to provide an additional $1.8 million, taking its total allocation to $8,626,791.70. Lawton’s share of construction will be $5,155,557.15, which reflects the additional $450,197.93 the city had to allocate after Duit Construction’s bid came in $2.12 million higher than engineering estimates.

Utility relocations for the projects stretched over two years, the primary reason road construction is just now beginning, City of Lawton officials said.

When completed, the road will feature four driving lanes, a center turn lane and designated bicycle lanes. City officials have said residences and businesses will continue to have access to Gore Boulevard, with signs erected to help guide drivers around work areas.