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McAlester News Capital

Nov. 17, 2009
By James Beaty, Senior Editor

It’s been a long time coming, but a state bridge east of Hartshorne that has been closed to traffic because of ongoing work is now open.

That’s according to the latest word from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.

Both lanes of State Highway 1 over Gaines Creek, east of Hartshorne, closed on July 14 so construction work could start on a bridge replacement project. The bridge over Gaines Creek is near Higgins and approximately 13 miles east of Hartshorne.

Work on the new bridge cut off what for many had been a well-traveled route between the McAlester, Hartshorne and Haileyville areas, and the Buffalo Valley, Talihina, Tuskahoma and Clayton areas.

Those traveling from McAlester to Talihina, for example, had been forced to take a detour, with the most common one being to take U.S. Highway 270 to Wilburton, and from there taking State Highway 2 to the south.

The original Gaines Creek bridge had been constructed in 1941. It’s been replaced by a new concrete and steel structure which was part of the $1.8 million bridge replacement project.

Approximately 1,400 vehicles a day drive over the bridge spanning Gaines Creek, according to ODOT.

In May, the Oklahoma Transportation Commission awarded the project to a joint venture consisting of Plains Bridge Contracting of Oklahoma and Treas Construction Inc.

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OKLAHOMAN: Oklahoma’s budget crisis remains top issue

BY MICHAEL MCNUTT    
Published: November 20, 2009

Senate Republicans want the governor to call a special session next month to deal with the state’s budget crisis instead of waiting until January as he suggested.

"It’s very clear that more reductions in spending are inevitable,” said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn Coffee, R-Oklahoma City, after Senate Republicans met in a closed caucus meeting. "Agency heads are awaiting our direction as to how much their budgets will be reduced.

"We have a good feel for the direction revenues are heading, so why wait any longer?”

Gov. Brad Henry prefers legislators "do their budget homework” by doing what he proposed, such as holding detailed public hearings on the consequences of deeper budget cuts this fiscal year and getting more reliable revenue information, a spokesman said.


Expense studied
"Special sessions are expensive, and with the current revenue crisis facing the state, it’s especially important that taxpayers get their money’s worth with a well-informed, well-prepared Legislature,” said Paul Sund, Henry’s communications director.
The governor thinks it is more prudent for legislators to wait until the state Board of Equalization, charged with approving revenue projections, meets Dec. 21 to come up with revised estimates for this fiscal year and the first projection for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins July 1, Sund said.

"Governor Henry stands ready to work with legislative leaders to address the budget crisis as quickly as possible, even if it takes a Christmas special session to do it,” Sund said.

House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, stayed out of the brouhaha.

"We still believe it is critical that we continue to work together to determine as best we can the budget hole for the current fiscal year and the estimate for fiscal year 2011 before making any rash decisions,” Benge said.

He directed his appropriations subcommittees meet between Dec. 1 and 11 to assess agency budgets. The Senate appropriations subcommittees have been talking with agency heads the past two weeks on the effect of deeper cuts.

Tax revenues for the state could come in about $1 billion below estimates for this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

By meeting in special session, legislators could tap the Rainy Day Fund, the state’s savings account, and decide how much of its nearly $600 million should go to agencies this fiscal year.

Tax revenue for the state has come in about 22 percent below estimates this fiscal year.


There was only one option
Since August, the only option for state officials to deal with the revenue shortfall is to order across-the-board cuts in monthly allocations to state agencies. Five percent cuts started in August and are expected to continue through June.
The state also has borrowed $155.5 million from other accounts to keep the cuts at 5 percent. The money has to be paid back by June 30.

Henry said earlier this week it’s expected the state would have to borrow from other funds next month to pay expenses.

Some GOP legislators are concerned about the borrowing practice, saying it basically is committing money from the Rainy Day Fund.

One Democratic senator supported the Senate Republicans’ call for a special session next month. Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, has been seeking signatures from legislators; Corn, who’s running for lieutenant governor next year, needs two-thirds of the 149 legislators. He’s got less than 50, all Democrats.

Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor can call a special meeting of the Board of Equalization to declare a budget failure. Then the governor could call a special session, Coffee said.

Tulsa World Staff Writer
Thursday, November 19, 2009
11/19/2009 3:57:13 AM

Legislators fear that "we may be boxing ourselves in" by not dealing more aggressively with dramatic revenue shortfalls, House Speaker Chris Benge said Wednesday.

Speaking a day after Gov. Brad Henry announced a three-point plan to address the widening budget gap, Benge, R-Tulsa, said legislative leaders would continue to work with Henry but that it is time to "interject some reality" into the situation.

"I felt like the governor and Treasurer (Scott) Meacham are taking a too optimistic view," Benge said. "We may be looking at a $1 billion shortfall. I hope we're not, but if you project it out, that's what it would be."

He said he believes that it would be "prudent" to cut state spending more than the 5 percent already ordered by the Office of State Finance.

"If we put it off," he said, "it's going to make it more painful later on."

General revenue fund collections for the first four months of the fiscal year that began July 1 are nearly 25 percent less than projections and nearly 30 percent less than the total of the previous year.

The response to those shortfalls has been 5 percent across-the-board reductions in monthly allocations and temporary fund transfers that have to be repaid before the fiscal year ends on June 30.

Benge said the practice is essentially committing money from the state's $600 million constitutional reserve fund without the consent of the Legislature.

"We've become increasingly uncomfortable that we are boxing ourselves in," he said.

Nevertheless, Benge said, a special session to deal with the budget would have little value until mid- to late-December, when the first preliminary revenue estimates for fiscal year 2011 are issued.

"We need to know how big the hole is, and we need to know something about 2011," he said.

Benge disagreed with Meacham's assessment that the state's economy has bottomed out.

Pointing to an Oklahoma State University report issued Tuesday, Benge said he sees no reason to expect state revenues to recover this year or even next.

Benge acknowledged that some legislators might view the situation as a chance to eliminate some elements of state government.

"This is definitely an opportunity to reassess," he said. "It's not necessarily anything anyone is getting delight out of. It may be we'll look at some programs that in the past have been off limits."

Benge said he hopes that steps will be taken to better level out fluctuations in state revenue and that he thinks increasing the cap on the reserve fund "will be part of a serious discussion."

FULL ARTICLE

by: JIM MYERS
Tulsa World Washington Bureau
Thursday, November 19, 2009
11/19/2009 3:55:17 AM

WASHINGTON — Oklahoma Transportation Secretary Gary Ridley said Wednesday that the state could miss its construction season, especially for major road projects, if Congress continues its month-to-month funding approach.

"That's why it is imperative to be able to have certainty of adequate funding for the year in the first part of the year so we can make sure we can continue to let projects," he said.

"There will be a decline on what we will be able to do next summer."

In Washington to brief the Oklahoma delegation on highway funds, Ridley again said it is counterproductive to have a stimulus program to create jobs and fund much-needed projects in Oklahoma and then immediately have an approach that blocks additional projects.

He also repeated figures showing that the short-term funding approach provides Oklahoma $15 million less a month than it expected.

"It does make it extremely difficult for us to program our projects," he said.

Ridley said he explained the situation in Oklahoma to members of the state's congressional delegation, including Republican Sen. Tom Coburn.

Recently, Coburn conceded that the month-to-month funding approach created problems for Ridley and the state but said he favored that approach as a way to push fiscal discipline in Washington.

"It is not our position to tell a U.S. senator or a congressman how to vote," Ridley said when asked about Coburn's comments. "It is our job to explain how action or inaction affects Oklahoma."

Coburn would not comment on his visit with Ridley.

Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe, a major player on transportation issues, continued his push for a six-month extension of the funding for road projects.

"As Gary pointed out again," Inhofe said, "the costs of congressional inaction are high."

Failing to pass a longer-term extension would mean the highway program would be funded at levels 33 percent lower than what states received under the last highway bill, he said.

Inhofe is the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

He and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the committee's chairwoman, and others have written Senate leaders to urge them to take the necessary steps to allow the six-month extension to proceed.

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Transportation: Widening U.S. 412 and U.S. 81 are high on wish list, which includes high-speed rail

ENID — Making U.S. 412 four lanes from Enid to Woodward and improving U.S. 81 north of Enid were the biggest highway needs discussed Tuesday during a meeting of Enid officials and the state Transportation Department.

Craig Moody, of the Transportation Department’s planning and research division, said the department updates its 20-year plan every five years. "It helps steer the department where it needs to go,” he said.

Former state Rep. Curt Roggow said a two-lane highway with wide shoulders would be sufficient for U.S. 81 north of Enid because of the cost of building highways.

Moody said he is hearing a lot of calls for high-speed rail service.

Air quality standards for towns with populations of 10,000 and more could also affect future projects. Moody said the Environmental Protection Agency wants to increase clean air standards.

City Commissioner Daron Rudy said the problems in rural Oklahoma are caused by blowing dirt, not cars.

Among the strategies the Transportation Department listed are improving bicycle and pedestrian routes; expanding passenger rail service; expanding the availability of van pools, buses and park-and-ride lots; coordinating rural, tribal and urban transit; and increasing communications between local transportation systems, rail and airports.

There is $8 billion in federal stimulus money available for improvement and expansion of high-speed rail service. Oklahoma has requested $2 billion, which would build the rail system and purchase two trains, Moody said.

FULL ARTICLE

Transportation: Widening U.S. 412 and U.S. 81 are high on wish list, which includes high-speed rail

Craig Moody, of the Transportation Department’s planning and research division, said the department updates its 20-year plan every five years. "It helps steer the department where it needs to go,” he said.

Former state Rep. Curt Roggow said a two-lane highway with wide shoulders would be sufficient for U.S. 81 north of Enid because of the cost of building highways.

Moody said he is hearing a lot of calls for high-speed rail service.

Air quality standards for towns with populations of 10,000 and more could also affect future projects. Moody said the Environmental Protection Agency wants to increase clean air standards.

City Commissioner Daron Rudy said the problems in rural Oklahoma are caused by blowing dirt, not cars.

Among the strategies the Transportation Department listed are improving bicycle and pedestrian routes; expanding passenger rail service; expanding the availability of van pools, buses and park-and-ride lots; coordinating rural, tribal and urban transit; and increasing communications between local transportation systems, rail and airports.

There is $8 billion in federal stimulus money available for improvement and expansion of high-speed rail service. Oklahoma has requested $2 billion, which would build the rail system and purchase two trains, Moody said.

FULL ARTICLE

The Oklahoman
BY MICHAEL MCNUTT   

Published: November 19, 2009

That likely won’t occur, for legislative leaders and Gov. Brad Henry have said they don’t want to spend all the nearly $600 million in the Rainy Day Fund to deal with revenue that is about 22 percent low this fiscal year.

In the unofficial opinion requested by state Treasurer Scott Meacham, First Assistant Attorney General Tom Gruber writes that two triggers that allow legislators to appropriate up to 75 percent of the money have occurred.

• The Board of Equalization earlier certified that legislators will have less money this fiscal year than the previous year to appropriate. That made 37.5 percent, or about $225 million, available for use for this fiscal year.

• Another 37.5 percent became eligible for appropriation when shortfalls began this fiscal year.

Legislators can also declare an emergency, freeing up the remaining $150 million. For that to happen, the governor has to declare an emergency and two-thirds of the Senate and House have to agree; legislators could declare an emergency with a yes vote of three-fourths of the members in each body.

Meacham, the governor’s chief budget adviser, said the unofficial opinion gives legislative leaders and the governor flexibility with the budget.

Legislative leaders have cautioned against using too much of the savings account because the next fiscal year may be another lean year.

State agencies have received a 5 percent cut in their monthly state appropriations since August.

Legislators can direct specific budget cuts. The governor has suggested a special session in January if revised budget figures next month show steeper cuts are necessary for state agencies, most of which cut budgets by 7 percent at the beginning of this fiscal year.

FULL ARTICLE

The Journal Record - by Marie Price

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McAlester News Capital
NOV. 17, 2009

By James Beaty, Senior Editor

Asphalt which has been placed over cracks to patch up the road approaches to Hereford Lane Bridge has now pulled apart — leaving gaps in the roadway just a few feet from where the new bridge spans U.S. Highway 69.

Sand and gravel placed in the cracks have not resolved the problem, either.

Rain has washed out some of the filler material, leaving the cracks as deep and wide as ever.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation Acting Division 2 Engineer Calvin Carney acknowledged that the fix was supposed to be temporary.

He said he hopes that ODOT will get the results by this week of soil that’s being tested from the site.

Opened to traffic in October 2008, the bridge abutments and road approaches to the new bridge have started to separate and crack.

A portion of one road shoulder has dropped almost two inches within a few feet of where the bridge passes over U.S. Highway 69 — one of the most heavily-traveled bridges in the state.

To try and determine what’s causing the problem, ODOT sent drilling crews to obtain core samples of the soil at the site.

“They are analyzing that material now in Oklahoma City,” Carney said on Monday afternoon.

Samples had been obtained by first drilling through concrete at the site and then taking soil samples every 18 inches, he said.

“We’re looking at the material that’s under there to see what it did or it did not do,” Carney said. He said he hopes the tests will show “what’s happening with the ‘fill’ material.”

Prior to the Hereford Lane Exchange project, 139 density tests were performed, according to Carney. The tests, among other things, were to determine the moisture content on fill material used to build up the road approaches to the bridge, according to Carney.

“We’re looking at what happened to it,” Carney said. “It could be disbursive soil.”

Asked what he meant by the term, Carney said “It’s just like when you put water on sugar — it liquefies,” he said.

Has that happened at any other bridges around McAlester?

“I’ve seen this in other areas,” Carney said. He said he saw a similar problem on Highway 59, in LeFlore County. Ultimately, ODOT used materials, including sandy soil and cement, to help fill a cavity that had formed under the highway, according to Carney.

Shouldn’t such “disbursive soil” have been detected by testing prior to the construction of the Hereford Lane project?

“Sometimes it doesn’t appear,” Carney said. “Everything is lovely and then, things happen.”

The News-Capital reported in June that approaches to the bridge were dropping and crumbling, leaving those who were driving across it to experience sudden jolts as they drove over the structure.

Following that report, ODOT put some asphalt over a portion of the bridge approaches, hoping to lessen the “bump” factor for drivers.

However, the deterioration has continued.

Edmond-based TTK Construction Co. served as contractor for the bridge project, according to ODOT. The state agency planned and contracted out work on the $7.2 million interchange.

The Hereford Lane Exchange project came about after there were a number of accidents at the old Hereford Lane Intersection, which forced drivers heading from East to West Hereford Lane to have to cross the busy U.S. Highway 69.

Included in the project were the 240-foot long bridge and its approaches, a service road and entry and exit ramps on the bridge’s north and south sides.

Now, the new interchange and bridge prevents people who are driving on East and West Hereford Lane from having to cross four lanes of Highway 69 to get to the other side.

Carney and ODOT still insist the bridge is safe and there’s no need to close it to traffic — although some local residents have started by-passing it.

Some drivers have told the News-Capital they are now sticking to the service roads and avoiding the new bridge, concerned about its safety after their vehicles hit the bumps in the roadway approaches.