The Oklahoma Transportation Commission on Jan. 8, 2025, approved a negotiated settlement with APAC Central Inc. for $946,320.70 related to a State Highway 20 contract, authorized engineering contracts and supplements, approved assignment of six construction contracts between private firms, and received a director's report highlighting major projects, federal funding uncertainty and a renewed safety campaign.

The settlement approved by the commission covers two components: $279,092.42 for documented delay-related overhead costs and $667,228.28 for differing site conditions encountered during earthwork that required additional borrow material and smaller equipment, the commission was told. Mister Davis, presenting the item, said the original contract—awarded Feb. 3, 2020—was for $15,450,000 with 350 calendar days of contract time and that the negotiated total of $946,320.70, combined with prior changes, exceeded the statutory 10% threshold requiring commission approval.

Why it matters: the settlement resolves an outstanding contractor claim so the department can close contract accounting on the State Highway 20 project near Skyatook and proceed with related project management tasks. Commissioners voted to approve the settlement following the presentation.

Commission action on contracts and assignments: the commission approved several engineering contracts and supplements. Presenters said Contour Engineering will provide services for a county bridge replacement in District 1 with a contract value not to exceed $103,939. MacArthur Associated Consultants was selected for shoulder and safety improvements on a two-lane State Highway 54 project in District 5 with a contract value not to exceed $1,707,480. Commissioners also approved aggregate supplements of $1,500,000 for a set of on-demand grant-writing consultants (including STV infrastructure, Garver and Jacobs) and a second supplement of $1,000,000 for Smith Roberts Balschweiler for District 8 design services.

The commission also approved an assignment of six highway construction contracts from J and R Sand Company Inc. to Haskell Lemon Group LLC following an acquisition. Mister Davis said the assignment was effected by an assignment and assumption agreement dated Nov. 12, 2024, and that the commission’s resolution was requested under state law (Title 61 §120 was cited during the meeting).

Change orders and other contract items: commissioners received information on change orders with cumulative totals of $150,000 or less (item presented for information only) and approved change orders with cumulative totals greater than $150,000 after review in a subcommittee. Mister Leonard presented the informational change-order summary and confirmed the $150,000 threshold is defined in the administrative code and implemented in commission rules.

Smaller programming and lettings actions: the commission programmed a $50,000 repair project to fix vehicle impact damage to 91st Street over U.S. 75 in Tulsa County (District 8), funded with state aid, with an estimated letting in April 2025; the commission approved proposed bid openings and the consent docket of routine items.

Director's report: Director Gatz gave a year-in-review and preview of significant 2025 work. Highlights included continued shoulder additions on rural two-lane highways, completion of diverging-diamond and other interchanges, reopening of the Route 66 Bridgeport bridge after rehabilitation, and a $124 million Federal Highway Administration grant (paired with bonds) toward replacement of the U.S. 70 Roosevelt Bridge across Lake Texoma, a project currently scheduled for 2029 with an estimated total cost of $250 million.

Gatz warned that a continuing resolution at the federal level will fund federal programs only through March 14, 2025, and said that uncertainty could require adjustments to letting schedules if further appropriations are delayed. He also outlined near-term projects that will affect traffic in 2025 — including widening and airport-access work on State Highway 152 (estimated completion late spring 2026), bridge rehabs on local streets over I-44 that will operate under intermittent lane restrictions, and a widening and pedestrian-improvement project on U.S. 259 near Broken Bow expected to finish in October 2026.

Gatz announced a refocused safety campaign for 2025 under the department’s Make Oklahoma Safe initiative, emphasizing seat-belt use and work-zone awareness. He noted that more than 63,500 Oklahoma teens have completed the state’s Work Zone SAFE program since it took effect Nov. 1, 2023, and said seat-belt use in Oklahoma is ‘‘in the mid-eighties’’ (approximately 84 percent), a rate that still ranks the state in the lower tier nationally.

Announcements and awards: the commission observed a moment of silence for Jaden Jackson, an ODOT heavy equipment operator killed in a work zone on Dec. 30. The commission also postponed the Pharoah award presentation until February for scheduling reasons; ODOT recognized two winners of concrete pavement awards for work on U.S. 69 in Bryan County and U.S. 177 (Perkins Road) in Stillwater and introduced Lance Underwood as the new Enterprise System Services director who will oversee IT, data management and business services.

Votes at a glance: the commission approved the minutes of the Dec. 2, 2024 meeting; approved the consent docket; programmed the $50,000 vehicle-impact repair on 91st Street (Item 4); authorized engineering contracts and supplements (Items 5 and 6); noted informational change orders under $150,000 (Item 7); approved change orders over $150,000 (Item 8); approved assignment of contracts from J and R Sand Company Inc. to Haskell Lemon Group LLC (Item 9); authorized the negotiated settlement with APAC Central Inc. for $946,320.70 (Item 10); approved proposed bid openings (Item 11); and adjourned (Item 13). Where a mover was not named explicitly in the transcript, the meeting record simply shows the commission called for and recorded a motion and a second and then a roll-call or screen vote showing the motion passed.

What’s next: ODOT staff said letting dates and schedules may shift if Congress does not pass full appropriations beyond the March continuing resolution; several large construction projects will begin or ramp up in 2025 and are expected to cause intermittent traffic impacts. The commission indicated it will continue to provide updates to affected communities and to coordinate with local officials on project communications.