Lamar council directs engineers to keep Business Highway 75 four lanes; 6th Avenue access remains under debate

The Lamar City Council instructed consulting engineers to continue design work for the Business Highway 75 reconstruction project keeping the corridor four lanes for its full length. Council Member (unnamed) moved the direction; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote.

Council members and residents reported hearing community input favoring a four-lane configuration. The mayor summarized three options previously presented by engineers: retain four lanes for the full corridor; convert the north segment of 6th Avenue Southwest to three lanes while keeping the south segment four lanes; or pursue access changes including eliminating 6th Street Southwest access and adding pedestrian accommodations.

The council then debated whether to close or limit access at the skewed five-leg intersection where 6th Avenue Southwest meets the corridor. Some council members and residents urged keeping the access open to preserve business and emergency routes; others noted signal complexity and safety concerns that might favor consolidation.

Adam Denney, who identified himself as working with Tulsa Republic and responsible for traffic and safety analysis along the corridor, told council the unusual five-leg intersection "is not a typical intersection" and recommended consolidating access. "From a traffic and safety perspective, I think that's a location where we would recommend closing an access," Denney said, while acknowledging tradeoffs such as increased travel distances for emergency response.

Council directed DGR and FDHU to proceed with the four-lane design, but left detailed decisions about 6th Street Southwest access for further discussion with engineers and stakeholders.

Next steps: Engineers will continue detailed design for the four-lane option and return with recommendations on 6th Avenue Southwest access and signal phasing for council consideration.