NORMAN — Improvements at two city intersections and a 60th Avenue NW widening project may happen sooner than expected if a proposal by the state Transportation Department is accepted, city officials said.
State officials are offering to pay 50 percent of the cost and make the funds immediately available to improve the Classen Boulevard and Imhoff Road intersection and the intersection at Robinson Street and 12th Avenue NE, Public Works Director Shawn O'Leary said.
Transportation Department officials also are offering to "bump up” planned improvements to 60th Avenue NW by about three or four years, O'Leary said.
In exchange, the city would assume maintenance of five additional miles of roadway currently designated as part of the state highway system. State officials want to modify state highway designations on portions of U.S. 77 and State Highway 77H, turning over responsibility for maintenance to the city, O'Leary said.
Maintaining those five additional miles of roadway would cost the city about $20,000 every five years to restripe and replace signs, the public works director said.
"We believe the advantages the city would get through this proposal would outweigh the disadvantages,” O'Leary said.
The city wants the state to pay more than 50 percent of the cost of improvements to the two intersections, if possible, O'Leary said, "So we're still negotiating on this point. We think the state should pay 60 to 80 percent of the cost of those improvements.”
Widening and improving 60th Avenue NW from Tecumseh Road to Indian Hills Road currently is scheduled for 2013. Under this plan, O'Leary said, reconstruction of that portion of the road would be moved up to 2009.
Improvements to the intersections could begin by 2009 also, he said.
"We will be asking that the city council consider passing a resolution in favor of the plan,” O'Leary said.
Traffic congestion at the two intersections has been a growing problem, he said.
"And the feedback I'm hearing in the community is that people are very much in favor of getting 60th improved. More people than we realized use that route,” O'Leary said.
A major advantage is that the improvements would alleviate flood problems along that portion of 60th, O'Leary said.
