If you don’t want to read this blog, I understand. The pictures tell the story as well or better than I ever could.
But here goes. Riverside Drive will be closed from 24th to 41st streets beginning Monday to allow the city to rebuild the roadway.
City officials chose to do the work now to coincide with the construction of A Gathering Place for Tulsa park to ensure there is no reason to go back into the road once it is completed.
For example, A Gathering Place will include two land bridges over Riverside Drive. Rather than overhaul the road and then have to close it to construct the land bridges, city and park officials agreed to work on the projects simultaneously.
“The full closure is the most effective way to fully protect the public from all the different construction activities being performed both by the city of Tulsa and The Gathering Place,” said Jeff Stava with Tulsa’s Gathering Place LLC.
Paul Zachary, director of the city’s Engineering Services Department, said the city will evaluate the closings as construction moves forward.
“We realize some of these closures are going to have unintended consequences,” Zachary said. “We will deal with them as they come up to minimize the impact of the closures.”
<a href=”http://www.tulsafrontier.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Closing-pic-2.jpg”><img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-697″ src=”http://www.tulsafrontier.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Closing-pic-2-300×225.jpg” alt=”Closing pic 2″ width=”300″ height=”225″ /></a>
The roadwork and related infrastructure projects, as well as the park, are scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2017.
Zachary encouraged residents to call the city’s Customer Care Center –918-596-2100 — as quickly as possible if they see something that could help the flow of traffic run more efficiently.
Details of the work are provided below. But this is really a simple story: For the next 24 to 30 months, don’t try driving along Riverside Drive from 24th to 41st streets. It will be closed.
CLOSURES
— Riverside Drive from 24th to 41st streets will be closed from July 13 to late 2017
— Initially, limited local traffic will be allowed between 21st to 24th streets
— Local traffic only will be allowed along Riverside Drive from 35th Place to 41st Street.
— Local traffic only will be allowed along Riverside Drive from 24st Street to just south of the 21st street Bridge.
— Access from Riverside Drive to 21st Street will remain open.
— Ramp off of 23rd Street bridge onto Riverside Drive south will be closed
RIVERSIDE DRIVE REPLACEMENT
The $19 million project is part of the city’s Improve Our Tulsa capital improvements package.
It will include the replacement of Riverside Drive from 24th Street to 33rd Place. The roadway will remain four lanes, with inside lanes measuring 11 feet wide and outside lanes measuring 12 feet wide. A median ranging in width from 4 feet to 21 feet will stretch from just north of A Gathering Place for Tulsa park south to 33rd Place.
A sidewalk will be built on the east side of Riverside Drive from 21st to 27th streets. The sidewalks will be 6 feet wide with a 7-foot-wide tree lawn between the curb of the road and the start of the sidewalk.
The sidewalk and the properties to the east, excluding A Gathering Place, will be separated by a 2.5-foot-high brick wall topped with a wrought-iron fence.
REPLACE CROW CREEK BRIDGE
The existing bridge at approximately 3200 S. Riverside Drive will be replaced with a new one that will be elevated about 8 feet. The bridge is being raised to allow for construction of pedestrian trails below it.
INSTALL STORM WATER DRAINS
Work on this project has begun. The drains will run from the neighborhood directly east of A Gathering Place, under the park, and into the Arkansas River.
One of the reasons Riverside Drive must be closed is to allow the drains to be installed under the road and into the Arkansas River.
INSTALL SANITARY SEWER LINE
A 54-inch line will be installed on the west side of Riverside Drive from 33rd Street to 27th Place.
INSTALL WATER LINE
A 12-inch water line will be constructed from 24th to 35th streets on the east side of Riverside Drive and around the perimeter of the park.
The reconstruction of a section of Riverside Drive will include constructing a median that will range from 4 feet to 16 feet wide.
RELATED PROJECT
The city plans to rehabilitate 31st Street from Riverside Drive to Peoria Avenue while Riverside Drive is closed.
The $1.4 million project is part of the city’s Improve Our Tulsa capital improvements package.
The work will include repaving the road and the possible construction of a sidewalk. A bike lane is also being considered.
kevin@readfrontier.com
918-645-5452