Moore Set To Start Three Road Projects Monday

Three different road projects start Monday in Moore, all part of a new comprehensive master plan for the city.

Drivers can expect lane closures during construction on S Telephone Road between SE 4^th Street and SE 19^th Street, as well as SE 19^th Street between S Eastern Avenue and S Bryant Avenue. S Janeway Avenue between SE 12^th Street and SE 17^th Street will close completely, however, until a new park is installed in its place.

That section on the west side of the divided S Janeway Avenue is the main way in and out of the neighborhood to its north and west. Some homeowners say they had no idea it is about to shut down and force them to find an alternate route.

“There’s no good way, but it would’ve been nice to know something about this,” said Alan Canfield, whose house is one of the few that withstood the 2013 tornado.

Canfield feels the new development around him should be put on hold until traffic solutions are put in place, and his neighbors agree. Dawson Fenimore rides his bike from his house to Walmart via S Janeway Avenue almost every day.

“Now it’s going to be a lot harder to get there,” he said. “It would be a lot easier if they built a bridge right here because a lot of this has already been enough trouble to get past it.”

Instead, the city will construct a green space complete with residential housing and commercial property, with a new Janeway Avenue down the middle.

Until then, drivers will have to travel via Eagle Drive or Santa Fe Avenue to get in and out.

“We’re going to have to weave through the neighborhoods with everybody else that we never bothered. It’s not congested, but it will be in the mornings and evenings with everybody trying to get home,” Canfield said.

Canfield said getting on to SE 19^th Street from alternate routes will cause even more of a back-up, especially coupled with the construction further east. SE 19^th Street will only be open to local traffic between Eastern and Bryant during lane reconstruction.

Meantime, crews on Telephone Road will work on expanded features for both pedestrian and driver safety.

The Janeway development is expected to open in September 2019. Telephone Road construction is set to wrap up this November, but the city has not announced an end date for the SE 19^th Street project.