Council approves nearly $550,000 design contract for Tucson Street; study will compare three- and five-lane options

Broken Arrow City Council approved a design contract for work on Tucson Street on May 20, and the contract will fund engineering studies to determine whether the rebuilt road should be three lanes or five lanes, Councilor Lisa Ford said.

The studies will examine drainage, the Olive and Tucson intersection and the tradeoffs between adding full lanes and using turn lanes, Ford said. "One lane of road is very, very expensive," she said, arguing the city should avoid overbuilding if a smaller configuration meets long‑term needs.

Councilor Lisa Ford said the design contract alone was "nearly $550,000," a figure she and the host discussed to illustrate present construction and engineering costs. Ford said the work will also include sidewalks and upgrades to water and sewer lines so the city will not need to tear up a rebuilt street soon after construction.

Ford and the host referenced a recent comparison with Olive Avenue between Kenosha and Albany, where staff found intersection turn lanes addressed many problems without widening the whole corridor. Ford said the design work will show what three lanes would accomplish versus five lanes so elected officials can decide without having to return later for costly rework.

The meeting transcript records the council approving the design contract but does not provide a formal vote tally in the remarks captured here. The councilors said additional design and engineering work must be completed before the council decides whether to proceed with a narrower or wider final construction plan.

For background, councilors emphasized being "intentional" about rebuilding streets so the city can "do it right once and not have to redo it," and noted the design phase will inform future construction budgeting and scope.