Broken Arrow City Leaders Struggle To Get Hillside Drive Open Again

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. - Some businesses in Broken Arrow will have to wait even longer before Hillside Drive is open again.

It's been closed for nearly a year after heavy rain caused a portion of the retaining wall to buckle.

BA's leaders are trying to get a new company to completely rebuild it.

City councilors originally hoped to have this road open again by the end of this month. They spent almost an hour at their meeting, talking about how to get it done.

Broken Arrow city leaders say pressure is mounting to get Hillside Drive open again.

The city budgeted $1.5 million to fix the wall, and the lowest bid from two companies was $2 million. Those bids were rejected.

"Here's the deal, we spend $1.5 million and we get a segment wall, and it fails, we just wasted another $1.5 million. We get a wall that actually stands," Vice Mayor Scott Eudey said.

BA's vice-mayor and city councilors say now more than ever, they're cautious of finding the right company to do the job. This retaining wall has already failed twice since it was built in 2014.

"How confident are you we can get someone competent enough to get this wall," Eudey said.

Now, the city plans to bid two different types of retaining wall. It's what they're calling "Schedule A," and "Schedule B." When they get those bids back, they'll weigh the pros and cons.

"I just don't want another failed wall," Councilor Johnnie Parks said. "I've been ridiculed more on our ability to build walls than anything else."

They'll increase the construction deadline to six months, to lower the cost and consider removing the ODOT pre-qualification requirement.

City leaders say they understand they need to get it right.

"It seems like we only have one chance to get things right, and if this wall fails it might be the end of me," Eudey said.

They hope to open the bids next month and would love to start construction in July.

If the job gets done within the six-month deadline, Hillside Drive could open by the first of next year.

News On 6 reached out to Stoney Creek Hotel and was referred to its corporate office for comment. We did not immediately hear back from the corporate office.