What are the latest updates on construction projects in BA?
In the October edition of Broken Arrow in Motion, we have updates on Phase One of Elam Park, the Arrow Forge Innovation District, a new widening project beginning on Houston Street in west Broken Arrow, and more.
Phase one of Elam Park is set to open soon in southwest Broken Arrow. Elam Park features a welcoming adaptive playground designed to be fully accessible and inclusive, enabling children of all abilities to play.
As Parks and Recreation Director Matt Hendren says, "Elam Park is designed to cater to the physical, sensory, and developmental needs of all children."
It includes ramps with wide pathways so children in wheelchairs or with mobility challenges can access elevated areas. It also has ground-level play equipment like adaptive swings and spinners that are easily accessible for children using mobility devices. The playground's synthetic turf provides a soft, smooth surface that is safe for everyone, including those using walkers or wheelchairs. The contractor is adding the final landscaping touches. We are excited to make Elam Park available for everyone to enjoy! We will announce a ribbon-cutting ceremony soon.
At Arrow Forge, the Economic Development Corporation, the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Broken Arrow held a groundbreaking ceremony for the innovation district on Oct. 4.
An innovation district is a concentrated area in an urban environment where entrepreneurs, startups, educational institutions, and research and development-focused institutions cluster together. These districts promote collaboration in ecosystems characterized by density, proximity, accessibility, and mixed-use spaces.
The groundbreaking ceremony highlighted the start of construction on a three-lane internal roadway that will wind through the district. Site preparation and water and sewer infrastructure construction will begin soon. Cook Consulting is mobilizing onsite to construct a new gravity sanitary sewer line, a lift station, and a force main. Cherokee Pride Construction will install a new water line and storm sewer infrastructure and build a roadway in Arrow Forge. It will connect to Florence Street with a new traffic signal. The Broken Arrow Economic Development Authority authorized a master plan for the district in September.
At Events Park, construction on the infrastructure improvements for the Sunset Amphitheater is underway. Venu, formerly known as Notes Live, is working on the amphitheater site. At the same time, the city is responsible for public infrastructure improvements such as roads, water, and sanitary sewers. A contractor installed the sanitary sewer lines and water line connections. At the same time, the work on the new pedestrian bridge has paused. After we receive the permits from the Army Corps of Engineers, work will continue on that pathway to connect Events Park to NSU-BA's beautiful campus.
The City Council approved an agreement with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for a new Events Park exit ramp connection onto the eastbound Creek Turnpike from Events Park along 38th Street. This connection will help mitigate traffic after exiting events from the Amphitheater without turning onto New Orleans Street to merge onto the Turnpike. We expect the construction contract for the new connection to go out for public bidding likely in November.
Over at Camino Villa, the new sanitary sewer pipeline installation is about 85 percent complete. Once completed, the manhole repairs and installation will begin. This entire project should be finished in late November.
The widening project is progressing on 37th Street, also known as 209th E. Ave. The east side of the roadway is finished, and the contractor is now working on the northwest side. The northbound lane is open, but the southbound traffic lane is still closed. We expect that it will open around Thanksgiving.
On 1st Place, between Washington and New Orleans Streets, a new waterline is being installed and relocated to make way for the construction of the Broken Arrow Creek Trail. The crew is presently at Ithica Street, waiting for the survey crew to finish staking the area. We expect it to take a couple of months to finish this utility relocation phase. The next steps include boring under New Orleans Street once a bid has been accepted. Engineering is finalizing paperwork with ODOT so that construction on the trail can begin once the utility work is complete. This work is being done in connection with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
On Houston Street, Becco Contractors has mobilized onsite and has started the newest widening project in Broken Arrow from Garnett Road to Olive Street. Houston Street, also known as 81st Street, will be widened to five lanes. This project also includes new sidewalks, ADA curb ramps at the intersections, new traffic signals, signage, and pavement markings at Houston Street and Olive Avenue. Traffic control is now in place, and construction is underway.
To learn more about past, current and future projects in BA, please visit the Broken Arrow Capital Improvement and GO Bond Projects interactive map.
 Ridership on Broken Arrow Transit has increased 276 percent over the previous public transportation option, saving the City of Broken Arrow more than $31,000 during four months of the six-month pilot program. (Data is not yet available for August and September).
Due to its success, the city will enter Phase 2 of the pilot program, which will extend service times and widen the service area map.
Broken Arrow has been awarded a $250,000 Section 5310 grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to increase mobility for seniors and assist people with disabilities.
"It's touching to see the impact this service has made on individuals who don't have reliable transportation, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, the youth who either don't own or can't afford a vehicle," said Community Development Director Rocky Henkel. "This program allows individuals an affordable option to get groceries, pick up medications, make it to scheduled doctor appointments, and get to and from work or school."
Broken Arrow Transit is an affordable public transportation option that is currently available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at a cost of $2 for a 3-hour ticket, or $4 for an all-day pass. Additionally, the program is free for all veterans, super seniors (75+), and minors (18 and younger). Discounts are available for seniors over 65.
The FTA grant will be distributed through the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG) and will fund Broken Arrow Transit’s operational expenses for the next two years.
“This grant will be very effective,” Henkel said. “Right now, we’re using general fund dollars to pay the operational costs. This grant will eliminate the need to use general fund money for the next two years.”
In March 2024, the city replaced the 508-bus route with Broken Arrow Transit, an on-demand, curb-to-curb public transportation system with specific geographic boundaries that operates through Metrolink of Tulsa (formerly Tulsa Transit).
Phase 2 will be implemented in two phases. On Oct. 1, the service map will be updated to include a wider city reach from the northeastern part of the city to include Broken Arrow High School and to the south to include Walmart and the Aspen Ridge Reasor’s. Plus, in December, the operational times will increase two hours a day, to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
City Manager Michael Spurgeon said Phase 2 of the pilot program will be shorter than the original six months for Phase 1.
“We talked about this specifically. I didn’t want it to be another six months; this phase will probably be four months,” Spurgeon said. “We want to make incremental changes along the way to make sure that we are using taxpayer funds correctly.”
Broken Arrow Transit provides a better mode of transportation and decreased the city’s budget by more than $31,717, from the Tulsa Transit 508 and bus routes. The savings are approximately 50 percent of the city’s total cost, $65,119.26, from April 1 to July 31.
City Councilor Lisa Ford spoke glowingly about the Broken Arrow Transit program.
“This is such a blessing for so many of our residents! They pick you up at the door and take you to the door. It’s not like you’re waiting in the rain, and maybe they will pick you up or maybe they won’t,” Ford said. “This is one of the best programs our city has ever done! I think we’re going in the right direction, and I’m happy we’re continuing to look at it to make it a better program.”
As a condition of the grant, the city must provide a 20 percent local match to supplement the funds already allocated for the micro-transit program. The funds for the 20 percent match, totaling $50,000, are available through the City’s General Fund account.
“At some point, we may add weekends; we have to manage this because we don’t want to create an expectation we can’t fulfill,” Spurgeon said.
During the next phase of the pilot program, the city will examine the number of drivers on the road to service the citizens and look at wait times.
Spurgeon indicated that additional vehicles may need to be purchased at some point.
“To go from 170 rides per month to a 276 percent increase in six months is incredible, and we’re just getting started!” Spurgeon said. “It is much more cost-effective, and it is a concept most people use today to get around. I appreciate the City Council’s support on this.”
The Broken Arrow City Council approved the authorization to enter Phase 2 of the pilot program at its meeting on Sept. 17.
In the latest episode of the Vibe Broken Arrow Podcast, we have a special guest, Jerry Schuber, Director of Solid Waste and Recycling.
The Director joins us to share the most recent updates on the city's waste management. He talks about the new side loaders, changes to the bulky waste pick-up system, and gives a preview of the upcoming Trash Bash and Recycling Rally. You can listen to the complete episode on your preferred podcast streaming platform or watch the video here.
Check out the latest developments in our community with the September update! Dive into the details from this month's meetings to learn all about the actions taken by the council. 📝🌆 ✅ 4 Rezoning Requests 🏗️ 2 Planned Unit Developments 📜 2 Conditional Final Plats. Watch the video here.
 The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the City of Broken Arrow $5.84 million from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Transportation Discretionary Grant Program for planning and preliminary design for multimodal transportation improvements along several street corridors within Broken Arrow.
The project will include bicycle, pedestrian, vehicular and safety enhancements along the three primary urban arterial corridors of Aspen Avenue, Elm Place, 9th Street, and Kenosha Street.
Roadway and interchange improvements, and off-street trails and greenways will also be included in the project. The project will incorporate roadway improvements along the Elm Place and 9th Street corridors from Kenosha to Albany that were included in previous grant applications.
The City Council approved a grant agreement authorizing the city's participation in the program at its meeting on Sept. 17.
The grant provides funding for the engineering design, environmental planning and services, public outreach and coordination, and preliminary right-of-way and utility planning/coordination.
"The goal of the grant is to make communities with major highways more connected," said Engineering and Construction Director Charlie Bright. "We're very excited that we got this grant—almost $6 million just for design is huge."
The grant will be coordinated through the Indian Nation Council of Governments (INCOG) and the Federal Government.
While this is a planning grant and does not fund the project's construction, Bright says the city will apply for future grants to cover construction costs as the design process progresses.
"We do have a lot of bond money set aside for those areas, but if our bond money can go with federal dollars in that situation, it will allow us to improve this area even more," Bright said.
As a condition of the grant, the City of Broken Arrow will contribute a 20 percent match, totaling $1.46 million, from existing 2018 General Obligation Bond funds.
This grant includes allocations for trail and sidewalk improvements along several roadway corridors. The first pedestrian connectivity corridor is located along Hillside Drive, beginning at Camino Villa and proceeding westward to 9th Street, also known as Lynn Lane. An additional connecting trail will extend north to Nienhuis Park and Broken Arrow High School. Another pedestrian connectivity corridor is along Kenosha Street, beginning at 9th Street and continuing westward to Aspen Avenue. Finally, a pedestrian connectivity corridor will be included in the project from Kenosha Street, north to 46th Street South near the entrance to Union Public Schools' Rosa Parks Elementary.
The last piece of the project's scope includes planning and preliminary design for widening improvements to the intersection at Aspen Avenue and Omaha Street, with arterial widening extending north to 46th Street South.
The Aspen and Omaha intersection final design and construction is funded by previously awarded Federal Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STP) funds.
The grant was a long time coming according to Bright.
"We've been waiting for this one for a long time, and we're happy it's here," Bright said. "We applied and were approved for the RAISE grant approximately a year ago."
Bright acknowledged Project Engineer Brent Stout for his expertise in planning and securing grants for the City, enabling it to receive Federal funding after two previous grant applications were denied.
"When he joined the city, he pointed out several things we could do better and helped us fill out the application," Bright said. "The first year he applied is the year we got it. So, we're very appreciative of his efforts and excited to get this grant."
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