Trust hears update on 60-inch transmission main relocation around Tinker; ARPA funds pay construction
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Summary
Staff told trustees that work on a 60-inch transmission main reroute around Tinker is underway, that phase 1 pipe is installed and awaiting testing this fall, and that phase 2 is about 20% complete; the project is being paid with ARPA grant funds and managed by Public Works with the trust in an advisory role.
The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust received an update Aug. 26 on the 60-inch water transmission main relocation around Tinker, a multi-phase project paid with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funds and managed by the city's Public Works Department with the trust serving in an advisory role.
Kendra Alexander, a staff member presenting the project update, told trustees the project includes roughly four miles of 60-inch transmission main and associated valves and fittings. She said phase 1 covers about a two-mile segment along South Douglas and Southeast 70th Street, up Post Road to Southeast 59th Street, and that all pipe for phase 1 is welded in the ground and backfilled.
"As of today, all the pipe is welded in the ground, backfilled," Alexander said. She said the project completed a pre-punch list in April 2025 and that staff plan to begin filling the first two-mile segment in September to perform hydrostatic testing and pipeline flushing, followed by disinfection, site restoration, final inspection and commissioning. Alexander said the team is still determining whether phase 1 and phase 2 will be commissioned simultaneously.
Phase 2 is about 20% complete on pipe segments, she said, and remains the portion that will include final crossover connections and taps to the existing 60-inch main. She described current construction impacts: lane restrictions and road closures along Douglas as crews perform vault installations, removal of abandoned prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP), installation of tapping sleeves and preparation for line stops and final connections.
Trust staff noted upcoming work will require setting up two 48-inch bypass lines and installing tapping sleeves and tees so sections of the existing 60-inch main can be isolated and cut to make new connections. Browning, the general manager, and other trustees emphasized the complexity of isolating and making live taps on a 60-inch transmission main and praised staff coordination among water quality, line maintenance, Tinker stakeholders and residents.
The presenter said because ARPA funds are used for the reroute, trust funds are not being spent on this project; Public Works is managing construction while the trust provides advisory oversight. Trustees did not take formal action on the update.
