Yukon commission approves minutes and receives updates on signal projects, utility relocations

The Yukon Traffic and Transportation Commission approved the minutes of its Jan. 21 meeting and heard staff updates Feb. 11 on planned traffic-signal projects and utility relocations, including bids expected in March and an OG&E plan to place lines underground.

The commission took its lone formal vote to approve the Jan. 21 minutes. A motion to approve was made and seconded; the chair called for the vote and members answered “Aye.” The transcript does not record who moved or seconded by name.

Why it matters: The items discussed — traffic-signal installation, utility relocation and lane widths — affect construction timing and right-of-way changes on Yukon streets and will determine when crews can begin work and how drivers and pedestrians will be affected during construction.

Staff updates focused on three projects. First, staff said the city is preparing to go out to bid for traffic signals “at and Tenth” and that 12-foot travel lanes have been approved; those lanes “should go out to bid in the next month or so,” staff said (location not specified in the transcript). Second, staff reported on Yukon Parkway and Vandement signalization: OG&E has reset poles and is awaiting a bore crew expected to start March 1, and staff said the project will be bid in March. Third, staff addressed utility relocation at Northwest 10th (referred to in the transcript as “Shadeck, Northwest Tenth”): a developer declined to grant an overhang easement needed to move an OG&E pole farther south, so only a single fiber or Cox line and some poles will be relocated; staff said poles will be moved to where sidewalks are now and that “many utilities have to be moved.”

Staff described the OG&E work as placing wires underground at the intersection so there will be “no wires going across the intersection—they’ll be underground,” and confirmed the boring is to install underground conduit and lines. Staff also mentioned work involving an AT&T line; specifics about which lines or exact costs were not provided in the transcript.

No formal motion or vote was recorded on the bidding schedule, the OG&E bore, lane width approval, or the utility relocations during the meeting. The updates on schedule depended on external contractors and utility crews: staff said a bore contractor was expected to arrive March 1 and that bidding will follow once contractor availability is confirmed.

The meeting included roll call and brief checks for traffic concerns from commissioners; no public comment was recorded. With no further business reported, the chair adjourned the meeting and said the next meeting will occur in March.