News from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has approved and work has started on a $1.3 million renovation of an overpass over Union Pacific Railroad tracks southeast of Chickasha.

Deck replacement and substructure repair on the half-mile-long project on the H.E. Bailey Turnpike are due for completion by summer, according to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. The renovation is being financed from toll revenue.

Corporation Commission approval was required because the overpass spans railroad tracks and is classified as a railroad crossing. The commission has had jurisdiction over the opening, closing and modification of railroad crossings since Oklahoma became a state in 1907.

In other recent railroad actions, the commission ordered the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway to make permanent repairs to the surface of its crossing at State Highway 152 east of Mustang by late May. That highway is a major traffic link between southwest Oklahoma City, Mustang and U.S. Highway 81 west of Mustang.

The commission also approved installation of flashing light signals and gate arms and an 80-foot-long concrete crossing surface at the Union Pacific Railroad crossing at State Highway 69A in the Pryor Industrial Park south of Pryor. The safety upgrade is being done in connection with widening and reconstruction of the highway from two lanes to four lanes within the industrial park.

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