PAST: Shawnee voters passed a bond issue in 1987 that included several projects. Among them was the widening of Kickapoo Street, which is the last of the projects to be completed. City Engineer John Krywicki said the delay on the project was due to two primary causes. The first is that it is the hardest of the projects included in the bond issue and the second is that there have been “a lot of acquisitions” related to the widening of Kickapoo Street. Funding for the project, which will span from MacArthur Street to Kickapoo Spur, is estimated between $8 million and $10 million and is shared between the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the city of Shawnee and earmarked congressional dollars, although there is a funding shortfall of about $404,614. A total of 80 land parcels were needed for the project to begin. The acquisition process for those parcels began in April 2009 with an approximate cost of $1,440,000.
PRESENT: Deliveries of about 6,200 feet of plastic pipes that will be installed by contractors B&H Construction of Goldsby began arriving Thursday in Shawnee. The pipe will replace older Oklahoma Natural Gas lines — many of which are metal, Anne Maloy-Coker, area manager for the east-central area of ONG, said. “It’s an older line and it was to our advantage to go ahead and replace it,” she said. “We’re the first ones in and we were waiting on the pipe. It’s a high density pipe that is sturdier and easier to pull through.” The pipe is being delivered at several key locations along Kickapoo, she said. The reason for storing the pipe in various locations is so it will not have to be moved several more times during the installation process but instead will be by the places in which it will be installed, Maloy-Coker said.
FUTURE: Crews will begin installation of the pipe sometime during the first week of August. “They will bore most of it,” Maloy-Coker said. “They drill underground, pull the drill out and pull the pipe through, rather than dig a big ditch. Then they start connection to all the meters again.” The installation will take about 2.5 to 3 months to complete. At the end of the project, ONG personnel will go door-to-door to the customers attached to the meters at which the pipes will connect. If a customer isn’t home, a card will be left on his or her door notifying of the intent to disconnect and reconnect the lines. Customers must be home for the reconnect for safety reasons and ONG will not charge for the service but will light and inspect all gas appliances for the customers. “They won’t be without service for days, just a few hours,” Maloy-Coker said. “If they aren’t home, they just need to give us a call when they receive the card on their door and will come out right away and hook them up, even in the evenings.” Also in the future are relocations of other utility services prior to other aspects of the widening project.
SAFETY FIRST: Because construction projects do carry risks for crews, Maloy-Coker said Shawnee residents and visitors should be aware of some precautions workers will take to remain safe that could affect motorists in the area. “We’re going to be looking out for the safety of our employees on the right of way,” she said. “So we might have to disrupt traffic in the area at times to keep them safe. Safety is our primary objective.” She said utility customers should also take heed of another safety suggestion when performing construction, repair or other work on their properties. “Before you dig, call Oklahoma One-Call,” she said. “It doesn’t cost anything for them to come mark your lines and the number is real easy to remember now. You simply dial 811 before you dig.” More information about that free service can be found by visiting http://www.callokie.com/.
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PAST: Shawnee voters passed a bond issue in 1987 that included several projects. Among them was the widening of Kickapoo Street, which is the last of the projects to be completed. City Engineer John Krywicki said the delay on the project was due to two primary causes. The first is that it is the hardest of the projects included in the bond issue and the second is that there have been “a lot of acquisitions” related to the widening of Kickapoo Street. Funding for the project, which will span from MacArthur Street to Kickapoo Spur, is estimated between $8 million and $10 million and is shared between the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the city of Shawnee and earmarked congressional dollars, although there is a funding shortfall of about $404,614. A total of 80 land parcels were needed for the project to begin. The acquisition process for those parcels began in April 2009 with an approximate cost of $1,440,000.
PRESENT: Deliveries of about 6,200 feet of plastic pipes that will be installed by contractors B&H Construction of Goldsby began arriving Thursday in Shawnee. The pipe will replace older Oklahoma Natural Gas lines — many of which are metal, Anne Maloy-Coker, area manager for the east-central area of ONG, said. “It’s an older line and it was to our advantage to go ahead and replace it,” she said. “We’re the first ones in and we were waiting on the pipe. It’s a high density pipe that is sturdier and easier to pull through.” The pipe is being delivered at several key locations along Kickapoo, she said. The reason for storing the pipe in various locations is so it will not have to be moved several more times during the installation process but instead will be by the places in which it will be installed, Maloy-Coker said.
FUTURE: Crews will begin installation of the pipe sometime during the first week of August. “They will bore most of it,” Maloy-Coker said. “They drill underground, pull the drill out and pull the pipe through, rather than dig a big ditch. Then they start connection to all the meters again.” The installation will take about 2.5 to 3 months to complete. At the end of the project, ONG personnel will go door-to-door to the customers attached to the meters at which the pipes will connect. If a customer isn’t home, a card will be left on his or her door notifying of the intent to disconnect and reconnect the lines. Customers must be home for the reconnect for safety reasons and ONG will not charge for the service but will light and inspect all gas appliances for the customers. “They won’t be without service for days, just a few hours,” Maloy-Coker said. “If they aren’t home, they just need to give us a call when they receive the card on their door and will come out right away and hook them up, even in the evenings.” Also in the future are relocations of other utility services prior to other aspects of the widening project.
SAFETY FIRST: Because construction projects do carry risks for crews, Maloy-Coker said Shawnee residents and visitors should be aware of some precautions workers will take to remain safe that could affect motorists in the area. “We’re going to be looking out for the safety of our employees on the right of way,” she said. “So we might have to disrupt traffic in the area at times to keep them safe. Safety is our primary objective.” She said utility customers should also take heed of another safety suggestion when performing construction, repair or other work on their properties. “Before you dig, call Oklahoma One-Call,” she said. “It doesn’t cost anything for them to come mark your lines and the number is real easy to remember now. You simply dial 811 before you dig.” More information about that free service can be found by visiting http://www.callokie.com/.
