Tulsa Celebrates National Public Works Week May 20-26

5/22/2018

May 2018

Streets Benefit from $1 Billion Invested Over the Past Decade

As Tulsa celebrates National Public Works Week this week – May 20-26, our infrastructure is showing results from more than $1 billion invested in Tulsa’s streets and bridges over the past 10 years. Through the $452 million Fix Our Streets funding approved in 2008, and $625 million of the $918.7 million Improve Our Tulsa funding approved in 2013, Tulsans have made a major financial commitment to streets and bridges.

These improvements, combined with recent mild winters, have resulted in noticeably fewer potholes on Tulsa’s streets. From fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2018, the Streets and Stormwater Department has documented 28 percent fewer potholes needing repair.

With approval of Vision Tulsa in 2016, Tulsa’s streets now benefit from a permanent sales tax, setting the stage for continuous improvement. Vision Tulsa funding has enabled Tulsa’s Streets and Stormwater Department to purchase equipment and to hire personnel to perform crack sealing repairs on the streets. Sealing cracks gives streets longevity, preventing moisture from deepening the cracks to cause further deterioration.

For information about City of Tulsa arterial street projects that currently affect traffic and a link to the Oklahoma Department of Transportation website, go to www.cityoftulsa.org/traffic This webpage also provides links to information about the City of Tulsa’s capital improvement programs.

Vision Tulsa also includes $510 million in economic development projects, administered with City of Tulsa Public Works personnel.

In Tulsa, residents rely on public works for clean water, dependable sewer service, stormwater drainage and flood control, collection of refuse and recycling, as well as maintained streets, traffic signals, signs and pavement markings. Tulsa public works also include engineering for infrastructure and other projects, maintenance of public buildings, snow and ice removal in winter, and grass mowing in the summer.

Observance of National Public Works week is led by the American Public Works Association. The American Public Works Association first celebrated National Public Works Week in 1960. Since then, the annual Public Works Week calls attention to the importance of public works in daily life: planning, building, managing and operating vital services for the community.