Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission approves bridge repair, engineering contracts and supplements; consent docket items pass
Summary
The Transportation Commission approved a $792,000 bridge repair, multiple engineering contracts and contract supplements across districts, and accepted two damage settlements during its Aug. 18 meeting; several agenda items were approved by voice vote with no roll call tallies provided in the transcript.
The Transportation Commission on Aug. 18 approved a mix of project programming, engineering contracts and supplements that the department said are included in its eight‑year construction work plan.
Item 131: The commission approved a programming item to repair bridge impact damage in District 1 (Muskogee County), State Highway 165 northbound bridge over Chandler Road, 2.1 miles south of US‑62. ODOT estimated the repair cost at $792,000 to be paid from state aid funds and scheduled the project for an October 2025 letting. The presenter said traffic remained open above and below and that a party responsible for the damage was known but the department had not confirmed whether that party had sufficient funds to cover the damage at the time of the meeting.
Item 132: Commissioners approved multiple engineering contracts. The department selected firms for statewide on‑demand architectural services (aggregate $500,000), an on‑demand independent cost estimator (Innovative Contracting and Engineering LLC, $500,000), and multiple district engineering contracts including—but not limited to—Benham Design LLC for a bridge on State Highway 31 (contract value $1,107,791) and Friese and Nichols Inc. for preliminary engineering on US‑69 through Owasso (contract value $1,562,864). Several of these projects are scheduled for federal fiscal years 2027–2030 in the department's eight‑year plan.
Item 133: The commission approved contract supplements across statewide and district‑level contracts. Notable increases included $1.6 million in additional aggregate funding for on‑demand environmental studies and a $2.0 million aggregate increase for on‑demand bridge rehabilitation consultants. Multiple district project supplements ranged from roughly $151,950 to $963,947 depending on project and phase; the department said these supplements add remaining work into the eight‑year program and advance scheduled let dates.
Item 135 and related change orders: The commission approved change orders with cumulative totals greater than $150,000 where required and received the informational change‑order list for cumulative totals of $150,000 or less.
Item 136: The commission approved two requests to settle damage to state property claims. In one McLean County case (collision with a cable barrier on 10/22/2024), ODOT accepted a pro rata insurance settlement of $8,114.96 even though damages totaled $11,330 and the damager's policy met the $25,000 minimum liability coverage. In a Tulsa County case (collision with an impact attenuator on 07/02/2023), ODOT accepted a $16,000 settlement after initial denial because of an excluded driver on the household policy; the department recommended approval in both cases.
Item 137: Commissioners granted final approval of the county designation order for fiscal year 2026, used to prioritize county participation in the County Road Machinery and Equipment Revolving Fund per the referenced statute. Department staff said the fund distribution is based on a county dollar‑per‑mile figure derived from several tax revenues and that the Department of Transportation County Advisory Board recommended the order.
Other routine agenda items, including approval of minutes (Item 126), consent docket items and awards from recent bid openings, were passed by voice vote. The transcript records that motions "passed" for these items; the meeting record did not include detailed roll‑call tallies in the audio excerpts.
The department said it would track whether the party responsible for the SH‑165 bridge damage has sufficient funds, and staff answered commissioner questions about specific supplements and schedule clarifications.
