Council approves final change order for FY23–24 street rehabilitation; project to end near $2.2 million

The Claremore City Council approved the final change order for the fiscal year 2023–24 pavement rehabilitation project, voting to decrease the contract by $93,617.80 and reconciling final unit quantities so the project will finish at about $2.2 million.

City staff told the council the work combined the 2023 and 2024 street rehab programs and addressed major areas including the Florence corridor (from Ninth Street to Highway 88), parts of Fourth Street and Cherokee in downtown, and the Westwood subdivision on the west side of town. Garrett Ball, a city staff member who presented the project report, said R and L Construction completed the work and that the contract was funded by the city’s 11% street sales tax.

Ball said crews uncovered subgrade failures in several locations during excavation, notably on Florence Avenue where backfill around drainage structures had settled over time and left little or no subgrade beneath existing pavement. That condition, he said, allowed water infiltration and accelerated failures. The city added scope earlier in the project with a $205,007.72 change order; the final change order approved at the meeting reconciles measured quantities and reduces the contract by $93,617.80, leaving the total near $2,200,000.

“We consider it a successful project,” Ball said, noting that the city also performed crack sealing and other surface maintenance intended to extend pavement life in areas not rebuilt.

Council members asked whether the repairs had reduced flooding along Florence; staff said pavement work itself would have only localized effects but that some inlet repairs done during the project should help short-term drainage. Staff also noted the city’s pavement maintenance plan focuses on surface preservation and that larger drainage or full‑rebuild needs are addressed separately.

The change order was presented as the final reconciliation of unit-price quantities; the council approved the motion by roll call. City staff said citizens’ complaints about the project were minimal and that the project finished on time and under the adjusted budget.

Staff indicated additional administrative change‑order documentation would appear as a separate agenda item when necessary.