The project includes surface, drain and bridge repairs and the widening of the highway to four lanes, stretching from the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 9 north to the Arkansas River bridge, which is the county line between LeFlore and Sequoyah Counties.
Corn said the project is made possible through federal transportation stimulus funding. Oklahoma will receive a total of $340 million in transportation stimulus funding, with work beginning this month on nearly $250 million in road and bridge improvements throughout the state. He said he did not know how long the project will take to complete.
Corn said the announcement was positive news for both the state and LeFlore County.
“Our rural roads and bridges must be a focus of state government’s efforts to improve our transportation infrastructure,” Corn said. “This is positive news for LeFlore County residents, and I’m pleased ODOT has approved plans for this project. This puts us in position to begin construction very soon.”
The total, estimated cost of the project is $20,696,687.21. Cannaday said the announcement of a record number of road and bridge improvement projects in recent months was good news for Oklahoma.
“This is positive news for a state that has continuously been ranked as having some of the worst roads and bridges in the country,” Cannaday said. “This funding will allow for the completion of numerous high-priority road and bridge projects, making travel in Oklahoma safer and more efficient for everyone.”
Brannon said he was pleased that construction would soon begin on the project.
“We all understand the important role that our roads and bridges play in making our communities great places to live,” Brannon said. “Grants like this are critical for our communities that don’t have the financial resources of major cities, but still must support a significant amount of traffic.”
