What are your concerns? Fixing Stillwater Streets: $25.9M Budgeted

Ask just about any resident what would you do to improve Stillwater, and the answer will be “fix the roads.”

What would surprise most is that from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2020, the Stillwater City Council has appropriated $25.9 million for capital projects to do just that.

Capital transportation projects are major street reconstruction projects, ranging from sidewalks, bridges, stormwater drainage, milling and repaving, to full reconstruction of the roadbed. They are essential to keep the City’s infrastructure in a state of good repair.

The City of Stillwater plans, funds and oversees construction of capital projects; however, some of the projects are in conjunction with partners like Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Payne County and Oklahoma State University.

The $25.9 million for transportation projects and programs is broken down as follows:

• $11,562,373 for Pavement Management Program
• $4,001,823 for Bridges
• $1,847,999 for Street Projects (Includes Multi-Use/Active Transportation)
• $6,104,619 for Joint Projects with Oklahoma Department of Transportation
• $1,150,000 Reserved for Transportation
• $1,000,000 for Stormwater Master Plan
• $124,001 for Modeling
• $144,166 for Traffic Control

$11.6 Million for Pavement Management Program

What is pavement management? After investing in repaving and repairing streets, the City also takes steps to keep that pavement in good shape as long as possible. To do that, the Pavement Management Program (PMP) identifies, prioritizes and recommends maintenance strategies (preventative maintenance, rehabilitation, reconstruction, deferred maintenance) for each street based on their condition and use. Funds were allotted in FY17, FY18, FY19 and FY20 for a total of $11.6 million.

$4 Million for Bridge Projects

In addition to planned bridge projects (which includes 3rd Avenue over Boomer Creek and Husband Street over Boomer Creek), the City also had to budget for an emergency repair for the bridge on 26th Avenue that was damaged in the floods earlier this year.

Bridge projects currently funded are as follows:

• 3^rd Avenue over Boomer Creek
• Husband Street over Boomer Creek
• 26^th Avenue Bridge Replacement

$1.84 Million for Street Projects

Street projects included in the FY2020 budget are as follows:

• Western Road from 3^rd Avenue to Virginia Street
• Hall of Fame Avenue from Ridge Drive to Monroe Street
• Husband Street Pedestrian/Bicycle Corridor

So how are street projects selected? Street projects may be part of general concepts in some of the City’s Master Plans or are considered because of public input gathered through various platforms.

If a street is to be modified, the following steps have to take place: selecting an engineer, surveying, studies, locating and possibly moving utilities, securing additional rights of way, design work, call for bids for construction, refining the budget and possibly going back to council if the budget exceeds the original appropriation.

Also since 2016, staff has followed the Multimodal Transportation Policy when street projects are considered. Multimodal (also called active or alternative transportation) calls for street designs to incorporate the needs of multiple users (not just vehicles), which may be the addition of or the improvement of sidewalks and bike paths.

$6.1 Million for Joint Projects with ODOT

The City of Stillwater often partners with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) on street projects.

Many people don’t realize this, but 6^th Avenue (SH 51) and Perkins Road (US 177) are maintained by ODOT. ODOT is responsible for planning, funding, repaving, striping, removing snow and ice, and filling potholes.

However, the City is an active and involved partner for projects that ODOT is working on within city limits. In addition to the highways themselves, ODOT works to improve access to them—even on city-owned streets.

Current joint projects include the following:

• Airport Industrial Road
• US 177/North Perkins Road from McElroy to Lakeview Roads
  • Anticipated Date (Construction): Construction is by ODOT and scheduled for bidding in FY2021
  • Anticipated Date (Completion): FY2022
• State Highway 51/6th Avenue (Included in ODOT’s 2019-2026 8-year plan)
• Western Road and Hall of Fame Avenue (Completed)

For the Perkins Road project, the City is responsible for design, utility relocation and rights of way acquisitions, ODOT is responsible for construction.

But what about potholes?

The City’s Public Works Department is responsible for filling potholes and that does not come out of the $25.9 million. The City takes care of the potholes, restriping and other needs that residents call in as problems. Report a pothole or other street issue here.

Additional Projects

The remainder of the $25.9 million are tools that help improve the streets as well. This includes the following:

• $124,001 for Modeling
• $1,150,000 Reserved for Transportation
• $1,000,000 for Stormwater Master Plan
• $144,166 for Traffic Control

Funding Sources

City of Stillwater’s transportation money comes from a variety of funds.

• General Fund: The General Fund is the primary operating fund of the City. All general tax revenues and other receipts not allocated by law or some other contractual agreement to other funds are accounted for in the General Fund. The principal sources of revenue for this fund include sales tax and franchise taxes, licenses and permits, fines and forfeitures, and fees. Of the 3.5% sales tax received, 1.5% is transferred out to other funds. Expenditures include general administration, public safety, transportation, community resources and library.
• City Capital Fund: Budgets and accounts for capital expenditures of the City.
• Transportation Fee Fund: Budgets and accounts for transportation fee revenues and expenditures related to enhancements to the City’s transportation system.
• Transportation Improvement Fund (Transportation Sales Tax Fund): Budgets and accounts for street improvements or debt payments funded by the related half-penny sales tax.

Also, we welcome questions, comments and pin drops on the map below. What are your concerns?

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