Downtown Street Work Finished

A major construction project downtown is done and it's not the BOK Center.  The News On 6's Emory Bryan reports downtown streets are open after years of work.

The arena is about to open, and the streets are ready for the crowds.  The work was tied into Vision 2025 and the arena and both came together at the end.

A few orange traffic signs are left, and workers are scrambling on a few small projects, but for the most part, the massive street repair project downtown is done.

"All this was planned in conjunction with the arena to try to have it open in time for the opening, and made our deadline barely," said Albert Martinez with the City of Tulsa.

Visitors who might be unfamiliar with downtown will find newly paved streets that are smooth enough for a scooter.

The downtown street work included 50 blocks that were resurfaced or rebuilt.  The city rebuilt sidewalks, added street lights and dozens of trees.  A new park was built at 6th and Main, and signs give directions to all the attractions.  The total cost was $37 million.

Drivers will have it easy once again, but after a full year and a half of heavy construction not everyone is sold on it.

"It's too little and it's too late.  I think the street stuff should have been done before the arena," said Tulsan Bruce Stone.

"It's kind of hard to see what's going good when you see so much that needs improvement," said Tulsan Connie Williams.

The completion of all the major work, according to the city, doesn't mean there's not more to do.  Most of it for the next couple of years will be routine maintenance.

"It's such a relief to have everything open and running smooth," said Albert Martinez with the City of Tulsa.

The work started two years ago on Boston Avenue, which was the biggest job of them all.  With rain delays, it took almost two years.  Altogether, it's the biggest repair job downtown has ever seen.  It was a combination of tax plans, including Vision 2025 money that paid for the work.

The streets won't last forever, of course, but the streets close to and leading to the arena are concrete so they'll last longer and not need any work that might disrupt the flow of traffic to the BOK Center.