'We Know It's An Issue': Broken Arrow Plans Road Improvements

The City of Broken Arrow approves nearly $6 million in federal money to start planning for some major improvements to intersections along the Broken Arrow Expressway.

Ray Sparks owns Fins for Grins, an aquarium store, on Elm just south of the Broken Arrow Expressway.

The store’s been open for a year and Sparks says he has customers who both drive and walk to his store.

"We get quite busy on Saturdays and Sundays, and so making it easier for them to come in,” said Sparks. “Just getting in and out of the parking lot would be great."

The City of Broken Arrow says money from the federal government will help them plan for improvements to the roads and sidewalks across the city, including on Elm Place and Lynn Lane from Kenosha to Albany.

"Broken Arrow is traditionally a north and south community, where everything went toward the Broken Arrow Expressway because back 20 years ago you didn't have the Creek Turnpike,” said Charlie Bright, the Director of Engineering and Construction for the City of Broken Arrow. "The way it was developed and the way it's grown, traffic is a big problem around the Broken Arrow Expressway."

Bright says this project has been in the works for quite some time, but projects like these can cost tens of millions of dollars.

City leaders want people to know they hear people’s concerns about all the traffic backups around the highway.

"I think mostly for our community, the feedback we get is, we need to address the issues on Lynn Lane and address the issues on Elm,” said Bright. “We know it's an issue, and we have been planning. A lot of the funds that we have available today are from the 2018 general obligation bond."

Sparks is glad the city is moving forward and thinks it will be a good thing for his and other businesses.

"Even us getting in and out gets really bad if we're going out for any reason,” said Sparks. “People have talked to us about, are there any plans, so it's good to hear that they are going to make some plans."

The city says this project is still in the beginning planning stages, so it could be five to 10 years before construction begins.

For a list of the projects included and more information from the city visit here: brokenarrowok.gov.