Contracts, grant OK'd for airport runway at Tulsa

In a special meeting Thursday, the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust accepted a pending $7.59 million Federal Aviation Administration grant for phase two of the reconstruction of Tulsa International Airport's 10,000-foot main north-south runway. Trustees also approved three contracts associated with the phase two runway reconstruction project. Jeff Hough, deputy airports director of engineering and facilities, said the second phase of the runway reconstruction project will involve the north 1,000 feet of the runway.

Construction on phase two is expected to begin next winter or spring, Hough said. Sherwood Construction Co. of Tulsa recently completed the $7.7 million first phase of the runway project, which rebuilt the 18-inch-thick-by-150-feet-wide south 1,300 feet of the runway. The main runway was last reconstructed about 30 years ago, airport officials said. Hough said the $7.59 million FAA grant accepted by trustees for phase two of the runway work is 95 percent of the cost of the project. TAIT will contribute the balance of the costs. Trustees approved a $6.83 million contract with Sherwood Construction Co. for the phase two runway reconstruction design work. Sherwood's bid was the sole bid received on the project. "We're very satisfied with the bid," Hough said. The engineer's estimate of phase two design costs was $7.03 million. Trustees also approved a not-to-exceed $499,000 construction management services contract for the phase two runway project with Atkins, North America Inc. A not-to-exceed $204,465 contract for preliminary engineering services on reconstruction of the 6,101-foot west, or general aviation, runway and its associated Taxiway Lima was approved with Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. of Fort Worth. Hough said the west runway engineering work is being considered because in the latter phases of the main runway reconstruction, some of the commercial airline traffic will be shifted to the west runway. D.R. Stewart 918-581-8451 [email protected]