BROKEN ARROW, Okla — Construction in Broken Arrow on west Houston Street and south Olive Avenue is still underway.
Vivian Weeks is a Broken Arrow resident. She said she has noticed an increase in traffic due to construction.
The city is working to build five lanes at the intersection, but residents, like Weeks, said it’s been a long process.
“It does make it a little harder to get in and out and get around this area with the road construction," she said. “It just needs to pick up a little bit in the speed of things, if possible, but I really don't know what's taking that the amount of time. There could be issues that we're not aware of.”
2 News took these concerns to the city to get some answers.
Charlie Bright is Broken Arrow’s Director of Engineering and Construction.
He said some obstacles that have lengthened the construction process include heavy rains and running into unexpected utilities like natural gas lines.
“I know one of the big concerns we’ve had from citizens, and rightfully so, is that it’s shut down longer than originally anticipated," he said. "Think we originally said we anticipated opening the intersection back up in June.”
Bright said the process is still going to take time and effort, but he's hopeful.
“The good news is we're getting close, I actually anticipate us opening the south side of the intersection in the next two weeks," he said. "For the bad news is, for the people outside, is when we do open the south side, we'll transition and we'll shut down the north side.”
Bright said he hopes the lane project will be done at the beginning of next year, so residents can start getting in and out of the city more efficiently.
“It seems like this area is really growing," said Vivian Weeks. "So it'll be nice to have more lanes so that people can get around quicker.”
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