Local airport officials authorize improvements

span class='leadp'More than $16.07 million in construction contracts were approved Thursday by members of the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust, including taxiways, airfield electrical improvements, aircraft noise insulation and storm sewer projects. //span Trustees also tentatively accepted $20.4 million in pending Federal Aviation Administration grant offers for construction and noise programs during the next fiscal year. / On a day when two trustees, Don Himelfarb and Dewey Bartlett, were absent because of conflicts, the three remaining board members deferred action on TAIT's proposed $34.49 million 2007-2008 budget, the Tulsa Airport Authority's proposed $18.9 million 2007-2008 budget and a $154,187 runway incursion project at Jones Riverside Airport. / Trustees approved four contracts totaling $7.4 million for construction associated with Taxiway Charlie at Tulsa International Airport.

Taxiway Charlie is 5,000 feet long and runs parallel to the 7,000-foot east-west runway. / Major construction on Charlie will extend the taxiway 1,900 feet to the east to ease movement of aircraft when the 10,000-foot main north-south runway is reconstructed in two years. / Low bidder of three bids on the Taxiway Charlie extension was Tulsa-based Sherwood Construction Co. with a bid of $6,700,191. The engineer's estimate on the project was $6,432,815. / Board members approved a $545,414 construction management and materials testing agreement with PBS&J of Orlando, Fla., to ensure federal specifications are met on the Taxiway Charlie project. / The board also approved a $29,888 agreement with Southwestern Bell Telephone -- now known as AT&T Inc. -- to relocate telephone and fiber-optic cables adjacent to Taxiway Charlie. / Trustees approved a $158,053 agreement with AEP-PSO, or American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma, to relocate electrical cables in the path of the taxiway extension. / More than $1.24 million in construction contracts were awarded in association with the Taxiway November project. / November, a half-mile long, is parallel to the main north-south runway and extends into the North Development commercial area. Construction will add 75-foot to 100-foot extensions to the width of the taxiway, officials said. / TTK Construction Co. Inc., Edmond, was low bidder for the grading, drainage and concrete paving work with a bid of $1,154,990. The engineer's estimate was $1,344,245. / Low bidder for construction management and materials testing for the Taxiway November project was PSA-Dewberry of Tulsa with a bid of $80,000. / Trustees approved a $10,300 contract with Garver Engineers of Tulsa for engineering services on the Taxiway November project. Garver prepared the original design for the taxiway. / The board approved $2.1 million in contracts for airfield electrical improvements at Tulsa International. The work includes improvements to the high-voltage electrical power system that feeds the airfield lighting vault and the passenger terminal. / Industrial Controls of Oklahoma Inc. of Tulsa was the low bidder for the construction with a bid of $1,980,921. The engineer's estimate was $2,122,267. / Trustees approved a $135,980 construction management and materials testing contract for the electrical improvements with the Benham Cos. LLC of Tulsa. / The board approved $1.97 million in contracts to finish the last phase of the Southeast Storm Sewer project at Jones Riverside Airport at Jenks. When completed, the drainage system will carry stormwater from the airfield to the Arkansas River. / Becco Contractors Inc. of Tulsa was the low bidder for the construction with a bid of $1,769,375. The engineer's estimate was $1,733,610. / A construction management and materials testing contract for the storm sewer project was awarded Meshek & Associates Inc. of Tulsa in an amount not to exceed $200,000. / Trustees also awarded $3.3 million in contracts for the ongoing seven-year, $40 million aircraft noise mitigation program at Tulsa International. The program is designed to reduce noise levels in 1,700 homes and businesses mostly south of the airport. / C&S Cos. Inc. of Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded a $2,027,627 professional services contract to manage the noise program over the next year. / S&L Specialty Contracting Inc. of Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded a $1.28 million contract to sound insulate 43 homes in the next phase of the program. The engineer's estimate for the work was $1.3 million. / / D.R. Stewart 581-8451 / /

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.