18th Street Project to Open Soon

The 18th street extension and Shundi Road project should be completed on time and within the bid amount, according to City Project Inspector Jim Heard.
"We hope to open the road to traffic in about 10 days; the sod work adjacent to the roadway should be completed shortly after that," Heard said Wednesday.

The original bid was $2,062,274.35; spent to date is $1,472,698.68 leaving $589,575.67 remaining. The project is 1.270 miles in length including a three-lane Shundi section of .603 miles, built to 1999 ODOT standards with a 10 inch aggregate base, four inches of Type A asphalt, plus 2 and a half inches of Type B asphalt. The 18th street portion is 24 feet in width with no shoulders.

Some $771,255 of the money spent is on underground work that cannot be seen---storm drains, concrete boxes, and $93,000 worth of curbs and gutters. The first layer of asphalt has been applied to the 18th street portion, with another two and a half inch topcoat to follow.
The above numbers do not include engineering fees.

The project has been a source of great interest and confrontation since the decision was made by Council to build 18th street instead of improve 13th street. Cited as reasons were the need for another outlet to the East to serve the new hospital building, and extensive utility relocation costs for 13th street.
"We have taken great care to see that the project is finished on time and within the bid," Heard said.

In Bartlesville, a nearly one mile extension of Silver Lake Road was completed recently, with a 24 foot roadway and eight feet of shoulder on both sides, for a total of 40 feet. The project used 16 inches of base plus 8 inches of asphalt and included a bridge, but no storm drainage or curbing/guttering. Cost was $1.5 million including engineering fees and was built by M.J. Lee Construction of Tulsa, according to Terry Lauritsen, Bartlesville City Engineer.