During the City Council Study Session on Monday, Sapulpa Project Manager Mike Russell provided an update on several city projects, including Dewey Avenue.
The update began with the good news that though the landscaping contractor had initially said they’d be off work until January 5th, they actually came in between Christmas and New Year’s Day to get a start on moving the large planters closer to the road—one of the final items on the “punch list” the City announced shortly before the holidays.
“So there’s four more left (to move),” Russell told the city councilors in attendance that evening. “After that, we’ll have to install some benches and ‘drop-off rails’, those are currently in the manufacturing stage; we’ve measured all those and are getting those together.”
The drop-off rails are the handrails to be installed in the various “loading zones” on the redesigned Dewey Avenue. Currently, benches are placed in those spots so pedestrians have a visual cue that the sidewalk changes slope at that point.
“Other than that, there’s a final cleaning power wash,” Russell said. “So what we’re looking at is opening on January 16th.
Speakers to be added to some light poles
Russell added that 10 of the 40 or so light poles would have speakers mounted on them. “They’ll be two to a pole,” he said. Sapulpa Main Street is coordinating that installation.
City Manager Joan Riley said it wasn’t part of the original plan, but they wanted to be sure they were included in the final project, presumably because of their popularity during events, especially the Route 66 Christmas Chute.
Russell and Riley both assured the council that adding the speakers wouldn’t affect the integrity of the light pole. “There’s no warranty issue,” Russell said.
Additional truck route signage coming, speed limit to be reduced
Another concern has been alerting semi trucks to the new height restrictions, though Russell said he was hopeful that many trucking companies have already updated their routes accordingly.
“Thankfully, it’s been closed for a while,” he said. “Hopefully, those truckers are used to using the correct route. It’s on the state’s website, it’s on the signage. We’re about to install east and west signage, says ‘no semis,’ along with a height limit sign.”
City Attorney David Widdoes said the City Council would issue a resolution that would most likely result in the speed limit remaining 35 mph from Mission to Maple Street, then changing to 25 mph from Maple to Elm, and finally to 15 mph from Elm to Main Street.
