Voters in Moore approved a $49 million bond project to improve streets. Here's how.

MOORE — A majority of residents voted mid-November to pass a $49 million bond to widen and resurface streets just south of Oklahoma City.

With 100% precincts reporting, 56% of Moore voters supported the bond proposal, while 44% voted against it. Moore City Manager Brooks Mitchell said the Nov. 14 vote approved the largest general obligation bond project in the city's history (not counting the city's schools).

Of the 63,200 people living in Moore, according to the most recent US Census Bureau data, at least 2,217 residents voted on the bond, with 1,250 people supporting the effort.

When asked why 967 locals might have voted against the bond, Mitchell said opponents had voiced concerns about the condition of the local economy and how it might be affected in the future by property taxes collected to support the bond. City officials, in turn, have pledged to keep the millage rate at 16.5 or under, and to stagger the street projects so that traffic flow is not severely disrupted.

"There could be all sorts of factors, but 56% voting in favor, at the end of the day, is pretty good," Mitchell told The Oklahoman.

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What improvements will the bond fund for Moore?

At least 70% of a proposed $49.39 million dollars will be poured into constructing, reconstructing, improving and repairing streets and bridges throughout all three of Moore's city wards. These various projects include:

• Resurfacing the intersection at Shields Blvd. and NW 27 at costs of $4.8 million. Mitchell said the intersection needed to be resurfaced and widened "most immediately" to better prepare for increased traffic flow from QuikTrip and E-Express convenience stores expected to open nearby in early 2024.

• Resurfacing Telephone Road, from SW 19 to SW 34, at costs of $10.9 million. This is a heavily-traveled road, Mitchell said, that also would benefit from being widened to 5 lanes.

• Resurfacing SW 34, from Little River to Eastern Ave., at costs of $7.4 million. Mitchell also said engineering and design costs would be covered by this allocation.

• Phase 1 of resurfacing the intersection of Broadway and Eastern Ave. with a roundabout, and realigning SE 24, at costs of $4.3 million. City management said the multi-phase project would make the intersection safer and more efficient.

• Phase 2 of resurfacing the 19th St. and Tower Drive/Broadway intersection to Eastern Ave., at costs of $6.1 million. Mitchell said the intersection "has been problematic for some time" and needed to be realigned to accommodate better turn lanes and widen the Broadway section into 5 lanes.

• Phase 3 of resurfacing S Broadway Ave., from Eastern Ave. to Willow Pine, at costs of $5.1 million. The two-lane roadway would be widened to four lanes.

• Engineering, designing and resurfacing the intersection at Santa Fe Ave. and SW 19, at costs of $4.7 million. City planners say that additional lanes will ease traffic congestion for this busy area.

• A citywide project with $3.6 million for ongoing maintenance and repair of arterial roads in Moore, including areas like Bryant Avenue near Veterans Memorial Park, and NW 5 from Broadway to Interstate 35. This would encompass miscellaneous concrete panel replacement, asphalt milling and overlay work outside of the scope of the other projects.

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Funding for engineering and redesign work was also approved with the proposition, which included:

• $355,000 related to the NW 27 and Shields Blvd. project.

• $305,000 in additional design for NW 27, from Shields Blvd. to I-35.

• Another $355,000 in design and engineering for resurfacing Main St., from Broadway Ave. to Eastern Ave.

• $455,000 in design and engineering work for the resurfacing of Eastern Avenue from NE 12 to NE 27.

• $405,000 in additional design and engineering work for resurfacing Eastern Avenue from Broadway Ave. to SW 34. This is currently two lanes, and city planners hope to expand it into four lanes in the future.

• $610,000 in design for NE 27, from Eastern Ave. to I-35. The condition of the roadway needs improvement, and city engineers will design plans that can be implemented later.

"Our city continues to grow, and we have to address the actual condition of the roadways for the increased traffic flow that we have now and we anticipate will continue in the future," Mitchell said. "This was a situation where we wanted to take care of the current needs but also address what our future needs are going to be."

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Moore voters approve $49 million bond for street improvement project